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!