Well it seems like it. As someone pointed out I haven’t posted any updates since early October! Sorry bout that. Teeth-wise things have been going well. I’m now on trays 15 – which only leaves two more trays for my lowers! So you might be thinking that with only two trays to go, my lower teeth must be getting there – surely? I’ll pull the camera out later and we’ll have a look. My upper teeth still have a long way to go – 15/32, so I’m almost half way. I still have an overbite and there has only been very small movement in my upper teeth – I’m hoping that we’ll be looking at a lot more movement over the second half of the treatment.
Have I learned anything new in the last couple of months? I suppose there are a couple of things that I might have said before that I’d like to reinforce now. Mouthwash. Throughout the treatment so far I’ve brushed three times a day after meals, very rarely snacked and only drank water with my trays in. After each brushing I use Listerine Total Care mouthwash. Sometimes after I run out of mouthwash it might be a few days before I get the chance to buy some more – and in those few days there is a far greater build-up of plaque etc that need cleaning from the trays. So if you want an easy life (in terms of cleaning your trays) use mouthwash after brushing (and before putting your trays back in).
The other thing that has happened is a result of me biting my lower lip accidentally early on during the treatment – it flared up like a split lip but then took ages to heal. It still hasn’t properly – it’s healed over but there is a lump there, and I’ve been referred to the hospital dentist to get it sorted out. It is just adjacent to a tooth that has an attachment on it and I think it must be a position that is easily caught if I’m not careful. It’s more annoying than anything else.
Like I said I’ll put up the latest progress pictures later on, and you’ll see that my lower teeth are lining up nicely. It has made a huge difference to the way I eat – if I were to eat a bacon sandwich previously I would be half biting, half ripping the sandwich apart and probably pulling out a rasher of bacon at the same time because my teeth weren’t able to bite through it properly. Now I can bite through things properly!! No more eating like a rabid wolf 🙂
Jo
January 9th, 2011 – 14:34
Hi Ed,
Thanks for the update! I was struggling to find any UK based reviews of invisalign! I have just signed the consent form for treatment, 16 trays upper and lower along with 8-10 attachments and various filings! So am really nervous at the moment but also just want to get going!
I am worried about the lifestyle changes, meals and nights out being out of the window etc. Has that affected you at all?
Thanks 🙂
Ed
January 12th, 2011 – 20:07
Hey Jo – 16 trays that’s nothing – you’ll be finishing at the same time as me!!
In terms of lifestyle changes it didn’t really affect my wife and I. It helps that we are both doing Invisalign at the same time and we have someone we can talk to about it. It doesn’t stop us going out for meals but it has stopped me snacking as much – just because I’ve become fastidious about brushing my teeth after every meal. You get good at whipping your trays out discreetly for those moments when there isn’t the opportunity to do it in private.
Let me tell you that in the first couple of days you will be thinking “oh my god what have I done”. Mainly because it will feel like someone has strapped a plastic ruler to your teeth. But that sensation goes away during the first week. Really, once you get used to it after a month or so, you forget about the inconvenience of it all and it doesn’t affect your life too much. Just stick to the program!