Happy Birthday Me- Let the Invisalign Journey Begin - Indianapolis, IN

I turn 38 this week, and today began my Invisalign journey. It all happened relatively quickly. About six weeks ago, I went to the dentist complaining because I had a tooth that I thought just had a receding gum line. This particular tooth just happened to be one that never had braces on it, so she suggested that Invisalign fix the problem. Allow me to digress just a moment.

At the age of 18 I had not lost all of my baby teeth. It turns out that 10 of them were fused to the bone, which was why they had not come out on their own. After being surgically removed, most of them came in by the time I had braces for four years during college. However, that one particular tooth literally took almost ten years to come in, which is why it never had braces and thus came in at a crooked angle. It had always bothered me, as did the fact that after TMJ surgery and my wisdom teeth were removed my top retainer never fit, but my teeth appeared straight to most people, besides me. Therefore, when my doctor pointed out that she could fix the one tooth with Invisalign, I began to wonder what else she could fix.

Would she be able to close the small gap between my two front teeth that my husband does not notice but that is noticeable to me? What about aligning my top and bottom teeth? They are straight, but it bothers me that they do not align. I do have some gaps, too, and I wondered if they could be fixed.... I did not have a chance to wonder too long, because I literally got a call at work today saying that there was an opening in an hour and asking if I wanted to take it, because my aligners were finally in, after being ordered almost six weeks ago.

So today I went to the office, four days short of my 38th birthday, start with the aligners. The doctor said Invisalign considers my case difficult, because of the previously mentioned tooth. However, she gave me the next three aligner packages, and they are marked 2/15 and 3/15. 15 does not sound like a lot of aligners, does it?

I am glad that I found this website over the weekend, because today I was prepared for what would happen when the doctor mentioned, was it called, IPR? I was not, however, prepared for the horrible smell of it! I counted fourteen attachments placed on my teeth, and she said that there are things called power bites, or bite bars? I may not have this term right, but I guess I am suppose to bite down on them a lot during the day to move my teeth. Since chewing gum will be out of the question, I actually think this will be quite a nice distraction.

While not a snacker, I do tend to sip on my chai tea latte at work and chocolate milk at home at night. I know that this will not be possible with Invisalign, and will be a good habit to break. However, this lifestyle change it what intimidates me the more than any possible pain with this process. So, wish me luck.

Now my bag is packed for work with chapstick, dental floss, toothpaste, and a toothbrush (I already have the Tylenol at the office). Is there anything else that should be in it?

Sorry to have rambled in this first post and have asked so many questions. I just needed a place to vent and have a feeling that this forum will become a lifesaver in this process. Now it is time to go brush my teeth and put in the aligners before bed. Hopefully the first night goes well.

Thanks for listening!

So, I am two days into the whole Invisalign process and the first few days have been interesting. I finally bit the bullet last night and, after trying to tough out the headache and pressure caused by the aligners, took two Advils. This helped me to finally get some sleep. I did so again this morning, and the day has been a little better. The trays are still very tight and hard to get off, but this site has taught me that this is normal the first few days.

I am noticing some changes in my lifestyle all ready. I used to work at my desk as I ate my meals. Now I tend to enjoy them more, albeit a little faster when I eat them, because I want to save up my two hours without them for home at night when I can enjoy a leisurely dinner with my family (I eat breakfast and lunch at work). I used to be a snacker, but now I do not do this. My biggest change, though, was that for years I fought the battle of getting up in the middle of the night and eating. Since starting Invisalign I have yet to do this, which is something that I have been trying for years to stop doing. This alone has already made the process worth it, especially if I will forever be able to break this habit.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day. I have three birthday meals out planned with friends, which really messes up the routine that I have established. How I will fit in 22 hours of wear time during leisurely meals I have no idea!

Thanks for listening!

So I have now had my Invisalign for almost two weeks (two weeks as of this Monday, to be exact), and I feel that I am finally getting into the swing of things. I am used to my office mates wondering why I take so long in the restroom, as it was a week before they finally asked and were surprised to learn of my new teeth, as I call them (Since I have lots of attachments and one especially large one on my front tooth, which I feel is very obvious, this surprised me). I have stopped eating while I work which helps me be less distracted and means that I can still enjoy my meals, while eating them faster, and thus being able to keep the aligners out longer while having dinner with my family at night. My old habit of snacking before bed has ceased, which is a good thing. Since I have heard that weight can increase, I have also tried to stick to what I normally eat meals, and not binge eat, so that the scales do not go up during this process.

Last night was a big date night with my husband, and I managed to keep the aligners in until right before we ate our meal, at which time I quickly ran to the bathroom and took them out. We did not eat dessert, so it was easy to put them back in after the meal was complete. Tuesday will be hard, because we have a two hour office Christmas luncheon, followed by a family Christmas dinner at that night. I just cannot seem to figure out the timing so that I am not rude to either group by not eating yet getting in my 22 hours of wear time. Even if I skip breakfast, I am not sure if I can do it. Any ideas?

The ultimate challenge of life with Invisalign starts on Friday, when my husband and I leave for a two week trip to Australia. I will be fine on the first four hour flight to LA, but the 14 hour flight across the ocean is where it may be a bit difficult. It may be easier just not to eat, if my stomach can handle it. Although, I have read that Colgate Dental Wisps help, too. Once we get there, since we are traveling on a tour, meal times are a bit out of my hand, but I am always up for a good challenge- LOL.

Once again I have talked everyone's ear off. If you have read this far, thanks for listening!