Cruising along and the Invisalign Diet

At the outset of this blog I thought there would be much to say, but three weeks along my Invisalign experience has been remarkably uneventful.  While I am conscious of the aligners and tend to "play" with them with my tongue, they are not particularly intrusive or bothersome.  Insertion and removal have become a quick process.  While I hope that the next 41 weeks are as easy, I am sure there will be some bumps along the way.  My biggest concern is that one of the veneers on the top front teeth will come off or break, causing a slow down in my progress, possible new molds, etc...

On the plus side, I planned to use my Invisalign time as an excuse to begin a diet.  I figured (1) my mouth would hurt and I wouldn't feel like eating, or at least would eat softer food, and (2) at the very least I could cut way back on snacks since you can't eat with the aligners in your mouth, and removing them, though easier than I thought, is still an impediment to constant snacking.

I definitely did decrease snacking the first two weeks, and in the third week began a modified South Beach low carb diet.  And have lost 7 pounds without too much effort.  Nice!  Even if I go back to my less healthy higher carb diet, I think I will continue to take advantage of the "no eating while the aligners are in" rule, which can only help me lose a few more.

Not so bad

The new aligners at night gambit paid off.  The aligners came right out in the AM, no hassle and no pain.  Aligners still feel a bit snug, but they are coming out relatively easily.

Week 2 ends

Finished out the second week.  Aligners are fitting much looser than the first few days. I would even say they are comfortable.  My teeth have shifted - there is more space between the teeth for flossing, and my bite sits differently.  Nice to see some early progress.

Decided to put in the second set of aligners tonight; I figured it would be easier to remove them in the morning.  Still not looking forward to removing them in the AM - it may be a bit uncomfortable or painful.  New set is very tight - how soon I forgot how tight set 1 was 2 weeks ago.

So this is me...

At first glance, my before smile looks pretty good.  No teeth sticking out in odd directions, or large spaces.  But a look at the closups shows the issues I want corrected - misalignment in front and sides, slight open bite.

Initial photo - right

Initial photo - left

Initial photo - front

Moving along

Week 2 is almost over.  My teeth have definitely moved already, and the aligners are much looser than in the first few days.  The top comes out quite easily, and the bottom easier than before, though the attachments on one side seem to stick, which means that removal still hurts a bit. 

Reasons

So why am I going through this at my age? At first glance my teeth look don't look bad at all largely thanks to veneers on the upper incisors (lower teeth look OK to begin with). However, my bite is off - I have a slight open bite, the midline of my front teeth is off, and the back teeth don't mesh, meaning chewing and biting are just not right.

Both orthos I consulted said they were surprised I did not have TMJ (jaw) pain, and I would probably develop pain in the future. It would be nice to have an improved smile and actually be able to bite and chew properly.

My insurance will cover a good piece of the fees, and I am hoping the whole process will be less than 1 year. I have 22 upper and lower aligners, bringing me to 44 weeks, plus the possibility of refinements, so I should be on target.

First day

First visit after impressions was to have attachments attached, and to install the first aligners. Attachments was a fairly easy process - tooth surface is prepared (maybe an acid etch?), the material is placed in an aligner, then the aligner is inserted and a special light device is used to harden the material. I have 1 upper attachment and 5 lower.

Since the aligners went in with the attachments, I was done. The doc gave me 2 cases, the second set of aligners, and some "chewies", and told me to leave the aligners in for a couple of hours. After that, I was to remove them for meals and brushing.

Wish I had been given the chance to practice insertion and removal of the aligners. At lunchtime I removed the upper fairly easily, but the lower was a bitch. Felt like I was pulling my teeth out by the roots. Finally worked it out, but 2 of the attachments came out with the aligner. D'oh!

Welcome

So my adventure in Invisalign begins. Consulted with a couple of orthodontists in November, waited until January so my flexible spending account would kick in, and went to my chosen ortho to begin the process the first week of January.