#10 marks a milestone achieved!

How time flies!!

I've zoomed past aligners #6, 7, 8, and 9, and now I'm on aligner #10!! :) Milestone achieved!! 

(Well it's not entirely rational but #10 just seems like one good milestone to arrive at. It does mark the completion of 1/6 of my journey! :D)

Yes it's been a long long while since I last updated but I'm really still in the same stage of teeth movement. There is little change in my smile at the moment, but definitely lots of moving at the back because there are gaps between all my molars and premolars now (which make eating meat and veggies annoying cos they get stuck so easily). Here's a picture of the full view now, nevertheless, for some comparison from how it originally was. Aligner #10 is the top picture :)

And a comparison of my aligners to see how far I've come! Top row is aligner #1 and bottom row's aligner #9 (because I'm wearing #10 now). I know the aligners may look unclean but they're really all cleaned before they're kept :( After being through that few aligners, I've come to accept that stains are gonna be there regardless of how meticulous I am with the cleaning, brushing and rinsing. So, yeah. Here're my old aligners~

It's not very obvious, but the "teeth" in aligner #9 are more spaced out than those in #1, and the shape of aligner #9 is also slightly more U-shaped than #1's, which is more "V". The ideal shape at the end should be a nice U-shape :)

Had two short aligner reviews before I moved on to aligner #10, and basically everything's going according to the treatment plan :) I'm having lesser of sore gums now, though it can still be hard to bite on the day that I switch over to a new set of aligners. My teeth felt more sensitive to temperature changes though (e.g. rinsing after having a hot drink, or having an iced drink just after removing my aligners), which I wondered if it was a temporary state because my teeth are moving and "weaker", or that my frequent brushing of 4 - 5 times a day had resulted in sensitive teeth (which was an issue I never had before Invisalign). My dentist informed that it wasn't likely to be either of those, but I could continue to monitor to see if the issue persists and in the meantime, try toothpaste for sensitive teeth to see if it helps, which the clinic also kindly provided. So, we'll see how it goes!

Anyway, I was overseas in Batam a few weekends ago too and it definitely was tricky! For one thing, it was hard having little or no access to a proper cleaning system when you're out and eating. There was no other choice but to just rinse (at not-so-clean basins) and re-insert my aligners after a meal outside. Another issue was, of course, the duration of my aligners being actually on.. But you're not doing yourself justice by not eating all the local delights and whatever you want when you're in another country!!

Although it wasn't that much of local delights for this trip, the long meals I had were definitely way off the optimal 2-hours limit for aligners being out. As advised by my dentist previously, it is understandable that patients eat more often and leave their aligners out for a longer period of time during holidays (haha :P). What we can do is to compensate a little by wearing the set of aligners for the full period of 2 weeks, and of course continue to try having the aligners on for as long as we can.

Well, I have a longer 9-day trip to Taiwan (the land of awesome street food!) comin' up in December and that would definitely be a greater challenge than that weekend trip which seems like peanuts right now. Let's hope things will remain well during this time! :)

On to aligner #4 and #5

Aligner #3 was a sore experience! Following the tightness that came with the elastics in the first few days were very sore molars and gums on days 6 to 8. It was really hard to chew my food and I had to opt for a slightly softer diet on those days, so no biscuits, crackers, or m&m snacks :(

Aligner #4 was pretty much a faster experience and time just seemed to fly by quickly. It might be because I was busy as well, but it did seem like a shorter experience with the aligners and very soon, 10 days were over and I was on to aligner #5! :)

I'm now on day 2 of Aligner #5 and I gotta say, this set of aligners are the tightest yet. Besides aligner #2 which was tight because I just had my attachments and elastics newly added on, aligner #5 almost took my teeth out when I tried to remove them >.<

The aligners weren't difficult to remove, but the removal did send up shots of intense soreness from the teeth to the roots to the gums. The intense sensations were short-lived, fortunately, and the intensity now is not as high as it was during the first removal of aligner #5. I do hope my teeth get accustomed to their new positions soon!

Other than that, I do feel my last molars moving into place and more small gaps in btween the rest of my teeth. Routine-wise, however, I gotta admit that I'm getting a little lazy now haha. There were quite a few occasions where I took drinks, like Milo, with the aligners on and only gargled my mouth after that. Also about one or two occasions where I snacked about 2 hours before dinner time and only gargled before putting my aligners back on because I figured dinner time was gonna be soon and I will be eating again anyway =X Bad habits!!! Am trying hard not to let them kick in because they do increase the chances of potential decay and my aligners did get more stained as well :( The stained aligners probably aren't obvious to others but they are very noticeable to me because I see them everyday and the discolouration just gets stronger. So, it's not good! I shall attempt to stick to the optimal routine more for aligner #5. Wish me luck!

Stretchy elastics and aligner #3!

Trip to the dentist on 4 Sep'13 to add on buttons for my elastics! Somehow my blur brain registered that elastics will only be on from my 5th aligner onwards....... But it's really from my 2nd aligner onwards so after the buttons were attached on today, i had my elastics as well.

Frankly, I'm not that excited about elastics because they kinda make the treatment a lot more visible :( But okayy for the sake of achieving my desirable end results, let's just quickly get them over and done with!

At the appointment, I had a quick aligner review with my dentist who informed me that I should be feeling some gaps at the back of my teeth where food gets stuck very easily too.

Well guess what?
Bingo! Well done teeth! Great that u're movin' in the right direction and so quickly too ;)

And since my dentist was there, I had a quick check with him about my current cracked aligner and asked if it's ok to switch to the next set when I'm only on my 11th day. Not that the aligner was causing me discomfort in any way, but there would always be this worry that my aligner might break when i remove it this time every time i have to do that. Also, just in case another aligner cracks in future, I want to know if it would be alright to move on to the next set. So according to my dentist, if I'm able to wear my aligners on for 22 hours a day, and in view of the current treatment stage where we're moving tooth by tooth towards the back, it would be alright to switch aligners at the 10th day or even on the 7th day :)

So I'm on to my 3rd aligner now!

First impression: It feels reaaally tight together with the elastics. Besides the usual initial tightness with a new set of aligners, it also felt like my jaw movements were restricted, or like my jaw was "clamped" together when my mouth's closed :X

normal smiley view with aligner and elastics

full front view with aligner and elastics

elastics on the left

elastics on the right

The last photo's the best I could get to give a slightly clearer view of the button that the elastics hook on to. The two buttons on the front (attached to my canines) are tooth-coloured while the two at the back (attached to my molars) are metal, much like those on traditional braces. After the buttons are bonded to my teeth, they're trimmed for comfort so that they don't cut my skin. So far, the only issue I've had is with the metal button on my left molar, which seems to "catch" onto my cheek when I eat, making me bite myself a little :( For that, my dentist gave me some wax to stick over the metal button so that the surface kinda smooths over. However, if the wax doesn't help, then the button can be re-positioned. Well, the wax does help a little, and I don't bite myself so often now after my skin got used to the button. Hopefully the issue gets completely resolved soon!

Putting on the elastics was pretty easy with the help of a little plastic holder (refer to photo below). So basically I just have to place one elastic band over the hook on the holder, use the holder to hook the elastic band over the metal button, and then stretch it up to the tooth-coloured button at the front :)

holder, elastic bands, and bag of elastics

Thankfully, elastics don't cut me, so wearing them was pretty comfortable and I adapted to them soon. Let's hope aligner #3 comes with a good experience too! :)


Fun fact: There are different animals on the bag to indicate the different strengths of the elastics! Zebra's the least strength and good for starters' use :) In the event that stubborn teeth don't move with the elastics, stronger elastics may be given (e.g. indicated by Elephant).

Oh no :(

Horrors!!

I found a crack in my upper aligner on Day 9 of 2nd aligner while cleaning them in the morning :(

Had a few petrifying seconds with fleeting thoughts about how the crack came about, like was it during removal was it because i brushed them too hard was it because i held them the wrong way.... Thankfully, they were still pretty functional so I placed them back on and called my clinic for advice.

According to them, since the cracked aligner wasn't causing me pain or discomfort in any area, and since I have an appointment just a few days later, I could continue using the aligner until then. Of course, I could make a trip to the clinic immediately and let them have a look, but honestly I think they wouldn't be able to do much either - I mean, it's not like they can "glue" and seal the crack up right? I could also get a replacement of my 2nd aligner (which will take about 2 weeks to arrive and will cost $100) but I find that unnecessary since I'll be switching over to my 3rd aligner soon.

And so, I had my cracked aligner on for the next few days and prayed that it wouldn't crack further or even break.

Moral of the story?
Be really gentle with your aligners! >.<

Day 18

Yup it's quite a big gap from the previous time i recorded my short journey with invisalign.. but was too caught up with things and now i finally found some time!

Back from my previous update, the rough-edges issue was well-resolved with the trimming done at OSD, and my lips and tongue were much more comfortable a few days later. my ulcers were able to heal, and my tongue was able to adapt well to the aligners so lisp was about 90% gone by the end of my 1st set of aligners. hooray! :)

had my 2nd set of aligners on 24 Aug, and i had attachments bonded to my teeth as well. quite a number of them, cos i had a few problematic teeth that really needed to move, so i have "bigger" attachments on my upper canines, two small attachments each on my 4 upper premolars, and one small attachment each on my lower canines and premolars. the attachments are tooth-coloured, so personally, without the aligners on, i don't find them that noticeable unless someone looks very closely at my teeth. With aligners on, yes they're more visible. However, people who didn't know about my invisalign treatment still don't notice it until I tell them :)

top: without aligners

bottom: with aligners

attachments on the left side

attachments on the right side

With the attachments, putting the aligners on are still easy, but it's definitely harder to get them off. I struggled with the worry of breaking my nails or the aligners, and requested getting a tool from my dentist to pry the aligners off but was rejected cos I shouldn't be dependent on the tool. :( it does makes sense, yes.. and I'm glad my aligners cooperated and finally came off after lots of tugging and pulling. They still don't hurt my teeth or gums, though they can be very tight on the teeth when i'm halfway through removing them. My fingers did feel slightly sore from the tiny battle though :( Thankfully, removal of the aligners over the next few days got better and they're now as easily removed as my first set. There was also no difficulty with eating and brushing as well.

Another thing that I'm excited about is also that there are now gaps between my upper molars, which means my molars are moving backwards pretty signifcantly already! :) My dental floss doesn't even get stuck between adjacent molars anymore; it just goes right between them with no resistance! However, food does get stuck in that space more easily so flossing's much more necessary now. Lots of effort needed! But I suppose that's all worth it cos I'm starting to get someee results even from my 2nd set of aligners :) I can't wait to switch to the next one!

Day 4 of invisalign! :)

Good in that I'm kinda getting used to the routine and my teeth feel pretty fine too. Not that much of soreness or tenderness, though it can ache a little when i bite and I cant bite down fully on my food :( think some indigestion will come along.. but that's not the bad part! bad part is the rough edges are causing some abrasion on my inner lips and tongue and giving me ulcerssss. yikes. gave OSD a call and went back to trim the rough edges. it's a bit better now but i can still feel the roughness.. it may be becos my skin is already sore and hypersensitive now so it doesnt feel significantly better, but let's hope it will really get better very soon.. don't want anymore random bleeding from my ulcer again :( go away!

*prays for better adaptability to invisalign. that includes having lesser of a lisp!*

other than that, all's good :) im happy that ppl dont even realise im on "braces" and are impressed by the technology now haha. let's hope things continue to be better :)

My first set of aligners!

Days before the start of my 2-year journey with invisalign and the "time constraints" that are gonna come with it, I had a good time enjoying my favourite food in the longest time possible and also had a buffet! So, I'm all ready to step into treatment!

The appointment in getting my first set of aligners was exciting and thankfully, smooth-sailing as well! The aligners fit in pretty easily, weren't uncomfortable and I didn't have much issues removing them as well. Removing the aligners wasn't painful for me, but probably will "hurt" my nail polish after a few more tries haha.

 "Chewies" were also given and gotta be used every time I wear the aligners on. As the name goes, u gotta chew/bite down on it with ur aligners on, so that the aligners will fit ur teeth better. Aligners will have to worn optimally 22 hours a day, so that works out to about 30mins per meal? With the remaining time set aside for brushing, flossing, and cleaning of the aligners.

I was told that I could only take cool water with the aligners on. No hot water because the heat may "melt" the plastic and alter its shape and therefore your treatment. Anything else, aligners have to off. Which means a little more trouble if you're craving for that bag of chips or a piece of chocolate, or if you happen to just walk past Starbucks and get tempted by their Java Chip drink :(

Okay, that's just me.

Teeth will have to brushed before aligners are put back on so that u don't trap dirt inside and get straight-but-rotted teeth at the end of the treatment. For the fuller package of very-good oral hygiene, I shall get into the routine of flossing daily as well!

Aligners have to be maintained, if not they're just gonna be gross material u place in ur mouth. Basic cleaning is easily done with a toothbrush and some toothpaste, but care has to be taken to not be too rough in case you break the aligners! The advice given to me was to ensure the entire aligner was on my palm when I brush it so I exert equivalent pressure instead of exerting too much on one side. I've been brushing my aligners at least twice daily, and so far they seem pretty hygienic to me. So let's hope that'll keep them sufficiently clean for the 2-week period!

top: without aligners

bottom: with aligners

I simply loveeeee how literally invisible the aligners are! And I'm just glad the long-awaited journey has finally started for me :)

My next appointment will be 2 weeks after, whereby I'll get my 2nd set of aligners, have attachments added on, and also get aligners #3 and #4, because reviews are gonna be 6-weekly in future :) Can't wait!

Preparation for Invisalign - Wisdom teeth removal

As mentioned in my first post, my invisalign treatment plan would require all my wisdom teeth to be gone, so arrangements were made for that.

Based on the X-Ray I took at OSD, my two upper wisdom teeth were straight and could be extracted as per normal. The lower two were considered impacted, however, and would require surgery to remove them.

For financial reasons, my wisdom teeth surgeries were done at another clinic. And for considerations on pain tolerance and ease of eating, I split my surgeries up into two appointments such that I'll remove the wisdom teeth on the right side first, and then the left.

I chose local anaesthesia for the surgeries and fortunately, that worked out well for me and was painless throughout both surgeries. The first surgery was uncomfortable though, mainly because I haven't felt any dental drilling for so long and partly because I was anxious about how it was progressing. It helped that my partner accompanied me all the way :) Emotional support is important!

First surgery came with complications for my case, however. Possibly because I had very deep roots for my wisdom teeth, bleeding at the extraction site (which was not sutured) did not stop entirely for me even 2-3hours post-surgery. After checking my first gauze when I awoke from my nap, I figured the gauze had to be changed as it was completely soaked with blood. And that was when the horror began, because whatever little blood clot there was came off together with the gauze removal and I literally "bled like mad". It was a frightening and panicky situation for my partner and I but, to cut the horror story short, a return trip to the clinic solved the issue as the clotting managed to stabilise with this tiny sponge-like thing placed over the site together with fresh gauze. And simple reassurance from my dentist and partner that I'll be fine, and won't die :P My right cheek was very swollen, however.

Recovery phase was pretty normal, with the wound slowly healing up and me gradually progressing from soft foods to a normal diet. Some bruising on my right cheek/jaw emerged around the 4th day of recovery, and unfortunately stayed there, very visibly, for quite a longer while than normal. It was still faintly there even after I recovered from my second surgery, in fact :(

The second surgery was arranged two weeks after the first, and was a lot better with no complications, which I am very grateful for in view of the nightmare I went through for the first round. Swelling wasn't too bad, clotting was fast, and bruising didn't stay for long :)

After full recovery from the two surgeries, which took about a month in total, my final set of teeth were ready for the master impression (a mould of your teeth) to be made for invisalign! The master impression is what the invisalign treatment will be based on, and therefore it is very important that it is accurate and gives a good picture of exactly how much space is available at my "empty" wisdom teeth sites so that my other teeth can move in nicely :)

Once the master impression is completed, my dentist can do up the customised treatment plan and simulation, show it to me to confirm if the simulated results are ideal, and then go ahead to send the order for my aligners. For my case, my dentist demonstrated two simulations, one with just my 4 wisdom teeth gone, and another with further extraction of four premolars just in case I wish to push in my teeth even further. In view of my strong reluctance to remove  my premolars, I kept to the original plan and my initial options, and my full treatment plan was confirmed :) Hooray!

Cheers to the beginning of my invisalign journey!

Yup so here's another diary on someone's invisalign journey and all the experiences that come along with it. As with others, I wanna record my personal journey down because firstly, it's gonna be almost life-changing for me! :) And as YOU may also be considering this, I hope what I've noted down about my journey will help shed some light about how the invisalign treatment plan could be like. Maybe it'll facilitate your decision-making on whether or not to go ahead with invisalign :)

And of course, I spent a lot of time deciding and a LOT of money on this treatment so I really wanna remember as much of it as possible. Simple. :P

So here's some background.

I'm 24, and I wanna fix my buckteeth and have a smile that is less protruding and of course, straighter as well. The thought of straightening my teeth had been on my mind for eons because people have commented about it and in fact, I did enter my name into the waiting list for traditional braces at National Dental Centre (Singapore) when I was a teen, but eventually rejected the thing when it was my turn simply because I was afraid I'll look hideous with braces on. (I still have that fear, though) Years passed, the thought re-emerged and got pushed aside again, and now it finally came closer to reality as I've stepped into the workforce and am able to finance the treatment cost better. Further motivation came when I decided I really wanted to smile confidently and beautifully for my wedding photos in future :)

However, no offense, I am not keen on having metal in my mouth, nor am I keen on extracting my premolars, as with the usual teeth-straightening plans. (Why would you wanna take out teeth that are perfectly healthy and normal??) I also wanted a treatment that would be as un-noticeable as possible because............................................... okay I'm vain :(

So I did my research on invisalign and called up a number of clinics, got the approximate price ranges and the type of "packages" that various clinics offer, went for a consultation to check if invisalign would be suitable for me (thankfully yes, it can be done!), and .... after an entire year of consideration ... finally chose Orchard Scotts Dental for my invisalign treatment because I feel they offered the most comprehensive package so far :)

For one thing, their dentists are platinum elite providers for invisalign. IMHO, if you're deciding on it already, there's no point trying to scrimp on the treatment cos invisalign is gonna be expensive in general anyway, so why not just focus on the credentials of the dentists that are offering it? :) Plus points for good customer service as well!

The OSD package also includes retainers, which most of the other clinics I checked do not include. (If I don't remember wrongly, they're an additional $300-$500 at the end of ur invisalign treatment). The package, however, does not include other services such as dental cleaning/polishing, replacement of fillings, teeth extraction, teeth whitening etc, although invisalign patients do get a discount for these services :)

Lastly, invisalign is possible for me WITHOUT the extraction of my premolars! That is a huge relief for me, really. I will, however, need to remove my four wisdom teeth (which are also starting to decay and which I had been procrastinating on) to create the space at the back for my teeth to move into, and have each tooth scaled to create space as well. This alternative may sound like I might as well be extracting my premolars, but personally, I think it's good enough.

For me, invisalign treatment costs $8000 (w/o GST), and will take about 2 years to complete. I have 59 aligners to go (that's a lot, yes), will have attachments bonded to my teeth from the 2nd aligner onwards, and elastics to be included from the 5th aligner onwards. My lower teeth will also straighten much earlier, in about a year. There was a computer simulation to show me how my teeth would be moving during the treatment, and that was helpful in visualising the end results and makes me look forward to that! It was also awesome that there was a 24-month instalment plan available for the credit card I use, so it makes the budgeting slightly easier.

And so, with the end in mind and all factors considered and understood, the decision was made and the treatment plan was signed. Hello, invisalign! :)