Detached Attachment And It Feels So Good!

I no longer have attachments.  Today was the day that I bid farewell to my Invisalign attachments and prepared for the next stage of my treatment - the RETAINER!

It feels so good to be able to run my tongue against my teeth and no longer feel strange bumps! Granted the purple goop they put into your mouth to make a model for the retainer feels a bit strange too!  But, it only take a few minutes and it was welcomed because it meant the end is near.

I was just days shy of 16 months. I started wearing Invisalign on Dec 11, 2012.  Today, April 10, 2014 I am attachmentless!

I'm looking forward to the retainer.  I plan to wear it all day as instructed by Dr. Nguyen (Dr. WIN) and then once he gives me the go ahead, just at night!

It will be so nice to be spontaneous in food courts, at sporting events, and the movie theater! I will be able to drink, and pop food in my mouth without having to "take out my teeth" as I became fond of saying.

I won't miss the brushing and flossing every time I took out my Invisalign trays.  I will miss my new family!  Dr Nguyen and his staff are all fantastic, and I actually looked forward to going to my appointments to say "hi" to them all.

Next week I will start wearing my retainer.  And, that sound so good!

Smiling,
Sylvia

And The Refinement Stage Begins!

Today I went to the orthodontist to get new attachments put on and receive my new trays. I will be wearing ten more trays for approximately twenty more weeks of Invisalign treatment.
Here's my latest video.

Going into Overtime!

Well, the last play of the game didn't happen.  Today I went to my orthodontist expecting to have him remove all my buttons and attachments, and order my retainer.  Instead, I signed up for some refinement trays.  I figure I've come this far I might as well try to get the most yardage I can. So, they took new impressions, and once my refinement trays are in I will establish the new end game. It may be four to five more months of wearing the trays (8 -10 refinement trays), followed by six months of full-time retainer wear.  

I did get my funny tentacles, as my husband called them, removed.  I then proceeded to go to my regular dentist for my six month cleaning.  If feels good to be able to run my tongue over smooth, clean teeth.  I guess I should savor this for the next several weeks while my new trays are being designed. I may need to have some new attachments put on for those trays.  I'll have to wait and see.

I was hoping to be done with this process by my 53rd birthday in November. I guess I will have to find a new Birthday gift!   

Dr. "Win" is hoping to still move the two teeth on both sides of my two front teeth.  

So let overtime begin.  I'm still short of the initial treatment plan that had a lot more trays, so I can be thankful for that!  

Attachments at the beginning stage

Look no funny attachments

They are smoother and cleaner!

The "Almost there" me!

Still smiling,
Sylvia

The end game!

Well, we've established the end game!  I'm almost done with adjusting my teeth. That close-to-perfect smile is inching closer.  We are talking a game of millimeters. I could probably choose to do refinements on my teeth from now until eternity in quest of the perfect smile. I'm choosing to settle for close to perfect!

Today I discussed further treatment with my orthodontist. We decided that I may have to live with my black triangle on my top teeth, but the alternative would require refinement trays and more shaving of both my top and bottom teeth. I decided that my bottom teeth are pretty thin already, and with no absolute guarantee that all the black triangles would close, I'm going to leave well enough alone.

So, what I'm doing now is wearing tray 19 again on the bottom teeth and moving to tray 20 on the top. The Orthodontist is still trying to slightly move my two teeth next to my front teeth inward. I'm going to wear the trays for a month versus two weeks and see where I am. Trays 21 and 22 will be benched. No game action for them!

On October 29th I will find out if I can remove all my attachments and buttons and go to the retainer! Or we may call an audible and come up with a new game plan!

It feels like this process has gone fast and yet slow!  The year has sped by fast. But, I'm actually getting a bit tired of the aligners. It will be nice to just wear clear trays without attachments and buttons.

 My big win for today was that I get to stop wearing rubber bands! Dr. WIN also filed some of my teeth to give them a better shape.

Still smiling!
Sylvia

Tray 20 video

Toes and Teeth, Who Likes Them Anyway?

Toes and teeth are quite alike. At first glance, they seem fine. But, the closer you get to actually inspecting them, the more you find they are not so perfect or pretty!

I have funny toes so I'm used to thinking that my toes are weird. Now that I have been undergoing the Invisalign process, I have become all too familiar with my teeth, and all their imperfections! So I can now say that from head to toe, I'm a perfect combination of Imperfect!

I like to tease that my toe on my left foot is so short because I'm a twin and I was supposed to be a Siamese Twin and attached to my twin by that toe!  Of course that's not true. I just have a funny toe! My second toe is short and likes to go for a ride on my third toe!  My right foot looks pretty good, at least in my mind. The toes are short but at least they are in proportion.

Most of my life I have had a fang tooth that stuck out.  Now with Invisalign I'm reducing that. I wonder if there is a procedure to pull on toes and make them grow?  Just kidding. I wouldn't actually go through with that procedure.  I can hide my toes.  My teeth, now that's impossible!

So I will continue to walk on with my current feet.  My toes will still take me where I need to go. I may have more bunions on my feet, but that's probably due to aging and shoes!  Don't get me started on shoes!  They were not created for the well being of our feet!

My teeth are getting closer to what the Invisalign video showed as my end result.  Of course, now that I look at them more than three times a day while I'm brushing and flossing after meals, I can rest assured that I will still find something wrong with them when I'm done. I now notice every slant, tilt, slight protrusion and discoloration of my teeth.  The more we become aware, the more we can fret!  Dang, I thought I was just moving a fang!

Oh well, I guess I shouldn't really care. As long as I feel better, then it should be deemed success. But, you know what, I still think toes and teeth are really not that attractive!

This little piggy......

Before and at tray 17!

Still smiling
Sylvia

Tray 17 Video