Invisalign

After years of being told to get braces over an over by every dentist, hygienist, etc., I finally started the Invisalign today. It took a while to prep because all cavities, crowns, etc. need to be done before starting Invisalign. I actually didn't know when it's going to start because I had so many things I had to get done before we even got to the Invialign prep.

I talked to my mother about this on the phone a few months ago and I discovered that my mother didn't let me get braces because she thought I would stop eating from of the pain. All this time (like 20+ years) I thought it was because we couldn't afford it. I should have figured this out when my brother got braces and I didn't. He had to get them because he was missing two teeth (never came out - or I should say he didn't have them at all) Again, I thought it was because he's a boy. If she only knew how much I love to eat today...

Anyhoo, I went in a couple weeks ago and my dentist showed me the computer simulation of what my teeth are going to look like in the next several months. Our original plan was for him to pull out one tooth to make room for my bottom teeth. It sounded kind of weird at first that he wasn't going to pull two on each side to keep things symmetrical. His reasoning (and other dentists have told me this, too) was that that's all that needs to be pulled in order to make room, and you can't tell that it's not symmetrical unless you stare very closely. Then I thought about not ever getting that tooth back once it's pulled, so I opted to shave several teeth thinner to make room.

I asked the dentist what we're doing today and he responded, "we're putting buttons on today." I think he used similar materials as fillings to put buttons on the surface of my teeth to make the invisalign fit and stay on my teeth (kind of like Lego). He then said that he needs to put on A LOT because my teeth have to move a lot. Fabulous.

After the buttons were put on, he shaved my teeth down. It felt a little sensitive but was fairly quick, then he put my first Invisalign piece on. This really hurt in the beginning but it's not that bad after a few minutes.

I had to take it off before I ate dinner tonight, but it was soooooo hard!!!! I probably struggled for good 5 - 7 minutes. Those of you who know me well know that this is not acceptable when I'm hungry. I thought maybe this will help in staying away from eating junk. but you never know.

My dentist told me I can just rinse my mouth and put them back on without brushing my teeth, but I did just to be on the safe side. So annoying, but just have to keep reminding myself how great they are going to look when I'm done.

I haven't decided what to do at work. I mean, I teach education classes at work and talk a lot in front of my clients. I'm gonna sound very weird. I can't pronounce the "S" sound very well. I talked on the phone and face to face with coworkers but no one seemed to notice the difference. Whew.