My Invisalign Journey

I am now on my third set of aligners, so technically I am in my 36th week. The sets have 14 pairs of aligners and I'm still changing them out weekly. The transition is amazing, my teeth are not perfect yet and I have one on the top that has been really stubborn. It just does not want to come out from behind my front tooth.
Information time: at the end of my first and second 14 weeks, my doctor did a new scan, this is a pretty simple process and completely pain free. I waited 2 weeks the first time and 3 weeks the second time to get the new aligners. When they came in, she removed all the old attachments and replaced them to fit the new sets. I have 10 now, with 8 on the top and 2 on the bottom. I have had ipr several times but again, this is not painful, it's a little odd feeling but doesn't hurt in any way.

I really hope that at the end of this 14 weeks I'll be done but I just don't know. my jaw structure is so small that I sometimes wonder how it's going to be possible to not have crowding. But, according to the projection, it looks like my teeth/arch widens out a little.

The aligners have not been much of an inconvenience, the longer I have them the more laid back I've become about the whole eating thing. I eat and if I know I'm going to be awhile at the table afterwards, I just rinse with some water and pop them back in until I can get to a proper brush and floss. I'm not running into public restrooms, awkwardly positioning things on sinks and messing with automatic faucets for fear that if I don't brush right away, my teeth won't get straight. I've gone on a few trips and had no issues.

My cleanings have gone very well, and my gums are in great shape.

I'm going to post a few pictures later on today, I just have to get to a different computer to do that.

Please feel free to ask me any questions or concerns about your own experience.

Oh! and as a tip, OAP is THE best product to keep the aligners clean. I have tried all of them and it by far outperforms everything else. I just pump one pump on to a soft toothbrush, give them a quick brush and set them in a little cup while I brush and floss my teeth, then I put a little water in the cup to cover them and leave them for about 60 seconds. I do this every night and my aligners are clean and clear. I drink iced coffee with them in and they're still clear. Also, if I didn't mention it before, I usually put my aligners in water when they're not in, I have found that when they dry out, they get yellowy, so I just always have a little Tupperware type container handy and place them in that.

Okay, photos coming up soon!

I had my first follow up appointment at the end of 5 weeks. All seems to be going very well. I've adjusted to having these foreign objects in my mouth and honestly, I feel more comfortable with them in than out due to the attachments still being a little "pokey".
I had a few more IPR areas done, it really isn't bad but I felt a little queasy, probably from the sound. There is absolutely no pain involved.
Now on to the good stuff. After having only had these trays for a little over a month, I can already notice a difference. I took a sneak peak at tray 10 and holy guacamole! I am beyond excited! My teeth are sooooo much straighter! I know I have a long way to go but it's just so inspiring to see the results so quickly.
I don't know how long still, but after 14 weeks, they are going to rescan my teeth and get a better evaluation. It's also really cool that my dentist is so excited for me and along with me.