Aparna Sadineni, DDS

Day: 2 Tray Number: 1 I can vividly remember waking up at my best friend’s house in the 5th grade from a dream where my parents decided to invest in my future hotness, and hook me up with braces. Then her cat came and swatted at my face, waking me up from my wishful thinking. Being 24 almost 25 years old, I’ve obviously held onto that dream for a reason. I never “needed” braces because the dentist always said the procedure would be “90% cosmetic” which was not enough of a push for my parents. I held this pointless internal grudge when they then proceeded to buy them for my two younger sisters, but by this time, I was in college so there was no point in throwing a temper tantrum about it…I was more concerned about having enough money to fuel my adoration for summertime patio drinking. Fast forward to a few years later, and I have a job that provides me with benefits, enough money to live in a nice area, lease a nice car, AND drink on patios J (not-so-humble-humble brag over). So I opened up this magical thing called a “Savings Account”, and once I had 80% of the money quoted from the free consultation, I said sign me up sucka! (Not really, my dentist is a really nice lady who kind of intimidates me so I’m sure I threw a “ma’am” in there somewhere). My trays came in about 2.5 weeks after sending them off the the *mythical Invisalign lab*, which was impressive because I was expecting them in about a month! I went in to get them in yesterday, as well as the attachments… ATTACHMENTS. Now keep in mind that even though they advertise them as being practically invisible, it’s because those models (we can refer to them as extras if you think model is too generous of a term?) don’t have attachments. They’re basically these little spikes (stop calling them buttons people, they’re spikes) that are tooth colored and attached to the front of certain teeth, depending on how the lab decided it wants your teeth to be adjusted. Now if you’re lucky like me, you could end up with not one, but TWO attachments on your front tooth (as well as 10 others amongst other teeth). WHERE YA AT, FELLAS?! Nothing says “wanna make out?” like two big clear bubbles on your front tooth. Gone are the days I can just flash a harmless smile at a cute guy with a man bun, but now I’ll have to perfect a quick and flirty speech about how don’t worry, my teeth don’t have pimples, it’s just my invisible braces. Want to buy me a drink now? Anyways, it’s my second day wearing them and it’s basically everything I’ve expected from what I’ve read on other message boards. I’ll go ahead and rank based on the attribute: **Scale of 1-5, 1 feels like there are two little angels cupping each tooth, and 5 feels as if every tooth is on death row. Discomfort: 4 – It’s obviously sore, but I can take that like a champ because I knew what I was getting into. I’ve heard the soreness goes away after a week or so, but comes back when you change each tray. Also, the sides of the trays can cut the inside of your mouth, but the dentist said I could file it down with a nail file if I wanted. Ease of Eating: 4 – Goes hand in hand with the soreness. Let me put it in some perspective for you: I made mac and cheese for lunch, and chewing the noodles hurt. This girl is living on mashed potatoes for the next couple of days. Clarity of Tray: 1 – I just put it in, so no clouding yet (obviously). Ease of Talking: 2- I notice a slight speech impediment when I say my “s” words; however, a lot of that has to do with not wanting to move my mouth to scratch my mouth any further (see “discomfort” above). Comments made from others: I had a few people tell me they couldn’t tell I had them in until I smiled (I guess I can reprise my akward emo stage now…?) Is it working yet?: …This doesn’t even apply at this moment. HAPPY INVISALIGNING, PEOPLE! Also, I’ve never dreamt of food more. You were warned.