At 45 yrs old My Invisalign Journey to a Beautiful Smile :D (Overbite; Crowding) - Cary, NC

With nervous excitement I started this journey towards more fabulous teeth yesterday late afternoon!

So far dental wax is my BEST FRIEND! I can't image what my tongue would be like without it. I find myself eating less often today. Because I don't want to mess with putting the wax back on after I put them back in my mouth. I'm guessing this will all get easier. Or my tongue will get less sensitive.

I'm already finding my "sweet spot" that I hear others reference, regarding moving & installing them. I have a big button thingy on my top left side that left me feeling like I might break my tray everytime I removed it until dinner tonight.

Not too sore, though I am very aware I'm wearing them. Looking forward to a time when I forget I'm wearing them, as I've read can happen at some point.

My weekends are often filled with both a date night with the hubby & a girls night with my BFF's, plus some time with my mom. That is if I'm not working the whole time. This weekend was no exception. I was concerned about how I would handle eating out & having some cocktails with my BFF.

Eating out turned out to be no problem. I just decided I would pack a toothbrush, toothpaste & my dental wax, of course ;) It is still my best friend. I excused myself to the bathroom after eating & brushed my teeth, etc. No one seemed to notice, or care. I've decided that I've just got to do what I have to do.

After dining out this weekend, I did decide to buy a smaller toothbrush this weekend...when I was shopping for them I found Wisps...has anyone tried them before? If so, any recommendation on where to buy? I haven't tried them yet, but I'm hoping they will be a good option for when I'm away from home.

Drinks turned out to be a different story. I felt like I had them out too much yesterday to keep them out while I had some wine last night. So I just drank water while my friend drank beer. I'll plan better next time.

I'm a little more concerned about Bunco this upcoming Friday night. Any tips for handling events that last a few hours & involve drinking alcohol? I'm pretty flexible about what I drink, so if someone has a good option, I'd appreciate it!

I've been surprised that so far only person to notice the trays is my hairdresser who said something when she was standing above me washing my hair. I've had to mention it to my friends & family, only because I wanted to share my excitement. They too were surprised by how unnoticeable they are when in my mouth.

It's been just over a week since I got my first tray & attachments (they were put on my teeth on day one)...I was so excited (seems like a lifetime ago, in certain ways) to get this journey started. I was also pretty nervous. I was worried about how much it would hurt. Would it set off my TMJ? Would people notice & did I care? Would I be able to get them on & off w/out breaking them? Would my tongue survive? Would I talk funny?

By day 2 or 3, I was seriously beginning to question if I could do this for a year. I was tired of feeling the trays & attachments in my mouth. I was weary of all the taking them in & out to eat, drink, etc. My tongue was sore, etc.

My worries over the week changed from would I ever forget I had these on my teeth, to oh crap, I forgot to take them out before I popped that chicken nugget in my mouth (yes, that happened last night at Bunco, after a few drinks, lol).

Earlier this week my husband (who had braces in his teens) laughed at me saying I was treating the trays like my first child. He said give a it a month or two, you'll be popping them out laying them on the counter, then blowing on them before you put them back in your mouth. It did make me laugh. I must admit, I'm not anywhere close to that now, but when we went out to dinner the other night, I realized I forgot my case, I set them in a small dish, he looked at me with that knowing look.

Well, I've come a long way baby. I guess is the bottom-line. I now have reached the I'd rather wear them than not. I swear that's why they do the attachments. I'm convinced it's to make you wear the trays as much as possible. You just get to the point where it feels more comfortable. Your tongue gets bored & you forget there in.

Things that worried about for no reason: I've had no TMJ problems, yay!! I only had a slight lisp a few hours & it was never enough for anyone else to notice. I learned how to get them on & off w/o breaking them. Just took a little time to find my way. No one has noticed them, except my hairdresser while she was washing my hair & she knew I was getting them. And, even if someone did notice, I don't care :D

Lastly, I've decided to keep my sanity that I would do as other have said, live my life. I will do my best & that's all. I drink clear drinks with them in...I read someone say that since they were brushing their teeth 3 or more times a day & they had read that it takes a while for anything on your teeth to do damage, that was enough...I agree. It's the risk I'm willing to take.

Best wishes for Beautiful Smiles to all those who are on the journey with me :)

Wow, the last two weeks have really flown by...hard to believe it was time to put in my first new tray today! I had a full day filled with appointments so I decided to wait until the end of the day to put in the new tray. I have to admit I was quite impatient today. Curious to know how the new tray would feel. Not sure why I was in such a hurry. Can I go back to my old tray?? LOL, just kidding, not kidding?! The new tray is so tight. I heard others talk about feeling like their old tray was loose after putting the new tray in, so true! I was also so surprised by how clean & clear the new trays are in comparison to the old ones. I took a picture of them side by side, note I did not brush the old set before the pic.

Excited about the movement I'm starting to see on my bottom teeth. It's been 2 months since I started my journey.

It's been a while since I posted pics or a review of any sort. I am loving the Invisalign results. Last week I took these pics. I'm starting to notice my smile is changed in my normal pics. I'm used to wearing the trays, it's become a way of life that I don't think much about these days.

Teeth are not moving as much as dentist hoped. He is going to do a complete mouth scan next month before tray 10 to see if we have to adjust my treatment plan. I find that I have to use the dental wax again to fill gaps created at the bottom of the trays. Hope my teeth either hurry up & catch up or the change in treatment plan fixes that...has anyone else had to have a change in the middle of the plan? Do you understand what the implications are?