And in the Bginning There Was...tray 1 - Massachusetts, MA

I haven't posted in a long time! My daughter's wedding has come and gone and we should soon be getting some pictures. I am on the final tray of my refinements and next week will be getting a lingual bar retainer and the clear retainer for my top teeth. I've had my bottom retainer for a while now. the reason I'm getting the lingual bar retainer in addition to the clear removable retainer is that my teeth have very good memory. If I leave my aligners off for a couple of hours at one time, I definitely notice a gap. After having them back in for a few hours the gap closes. So my teeth are still mobile and the lingual bar will permanently keep the gap closed, especially during the initial phase of using the clear retainer. I've had my buttons off for a week now but am still keeping the last aligner in to prevent the gap opening while waiting for the retainer to be completed. I do notice a tiny gap now so we'll see how my dentist will handle it. I certainly don't want to have this gap when I get the permanent lingual bar! i'll post pics soon!

Things at my house have been crazy. My daughter's wedding is just 13 days away so we are BUSY! I am on tray three of my refinement trays and my teeth look great! I did try the Zoom whitening gel but didn't have much luck with it - my teeth whitened VERY unevenly. So 3 days before the wedding I am doing the 1 hour treatment. Before the whitening I am going to have all my buttons removed and they will remain off until the day after the wedding. I am planning on still wearing my aligners even without the buttons - I think they will be tight enough to stay on - just like my bottom retainer stays on without attachments. I'm just afraid to leave them completely off for 21/2 full days because if left off, my teeth very quickly separate! I had forgotten my aligners at work one afternoon so left them off overnight - in the morning there was a definite difference in the spacing between my front teeth! It is amazing how fast they separate! My dentist told me that teeth have a memory - that us why after refinements, you need to wear the retainer 24/7 (or as close as possible) so your teeth start to remember the "perfect" position. But with each aligner they look nicer and nicer.
This is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I feel like I cafinally have a beautiful smile now! It is a commitment but one that is well worth it. I'll post some pics of my new smile at the wedding as soon as I can after the big day. Wish us luck and if you are praying people - please pray for good weather on October 4th!!! Thank you!!

I'm still waiting for my refinements to come in. I stupidly decided after they removed my buttons that I wanted to go with a few more aligners so I have been approx. 2 weeks without anything and my gap does seem to be a tad bit wider - which I was expecting. After all, that's why they give you a retainer. But on the bright side, the office made me a retainer for the top to hold me over until I get the trays. So at least the gap won't open any more than it has. The problem has been that my dentist went on vacation before I decided to go with the refinements but hopefully by the end of the week I'll have my refinement trays. I'm hoping to get in 4 full trays before removing the buttons for the wedding. If i need a few more trays after that, that'll be fine. While I am doing the retainers, I am also doing the home Zoom whitening treatment. It is another commitment! I brush my teeth, put the gel in the retainer, put the retainer in for 30 minutes then take the retainer out, brush again and clean my trays! I'm sure once I get a system going though it'll be easier. The funny thing is that the gel comes in syringes so it looks like I'm going into the bathroom to "shoot up" twice a day LOL! But I've only put the gel on twice so no real results yet. I'm noticing my bottom teeth are a little sensitive but nothing real bad. So that's my story. I would recommend as you get to the end of your invisalign treatment, think very carefully about getting the refinements. Once you take off that last set of trays - you WILL notice even the smallest imperfection, so go for the refinements and do it at your last visit - don't wait.