The waiting is the hardest part: Part III

When I last updated this blog, I had three weeks to go and then I would have a re-scan to correct a couple teeth that had gotten off track. I wasn't sure what to expect as far as how much time this would add to my treatment plan, but boy did I get a shock yesterday when I had my visit. SEVENTEEN more aligners to go now. They also added SEVEN rubber band buttons to the two that I already had, so I now have NINE metal pieces in my mouth. They had taken all the clear attachments off my upper teeth at the last visit when they scanned me, and now they have added ten of those to the top, and an additional couple on the bottom.

I am disheartened. I really had only anticipated maybe another 4-5 weeks. An extra 4 months is just crazy. Honestly my teeth look pretty good now, I just didn't think there was that much work to be done yet.

The main thing they seem to be focusing on is my bite. They told me that moving the teeth is the easy part, but getting them all to line up together on the top and bottom is tricky. This is why I have so many more buttons. They are really going to focus on dialing in my bite by utilizing elastics. At times I will be wearing 4 rubber bands at once.

Again, I am impressed with their commitment to making sure that I am happy with the end results. But man am I bumming right now with how far I have to go.

Just 3 weeks to go. But....

I have three more aligners to complete my treatment. However, I've already been told that after that they'll do a re-scan and send to Inivisalign to start a new series to correct some uncooperative teeth. The same tooth that has always given me trouble is way off course, as is one of my front upper teeth. The attachment came off that one, and the orthodontist decided to not bother to replace it since we'll be re-booting my treatment plan anyway. I have no idea how much longer this will mean the process will take, but I wouldn't think it would be too much. Anyway, I'm just glad they're adamant about making sure that the end result is one that I'll be happy with.

This is a good time to discuss how my habits have changed over time. I'm no longer quite as worried about adhering to a strict 22 hours per day policy. Usually, I have them out for at least two hours just in the morning while I have breakfast and sip a couple cups of coffee. Some days I forget to use the Acceledent. When I go to a restaurant, rather than brushing and all that, I usually just kind of rinse with water and pop them back in after eating and then brush when I get to a more convenient location. In short, I've gotten used to the whole thing and don't freak out over details quite so much anymore. I'm really comfortable with them now. But I still can't wait until it's over.

Regular Appointment

Well I went to the orthodontist yesterday, and all went well. He wasn't concerned about the movement of the teeth that I talked about in my last post. He made some room for my bottom teeth by shaving in between them in several spots.

He said he is happy with my jaw movement and that I can go to only wearing the elastics half of the time. Crazy thing is, I'm very used to them and it feels weird without them in. I put them back in before I left the office and left them in for rest of the day. I took them off at night. I think that's what I'll do for awhile until I get used to the idea of an unrestricted jaw during the waking hours.

I forget to point out that I lost an attachment on the bottom, but it doesn't seem to be causing any trouble so it can wait until my next visit.

Can You Eat With Invisalign In?

I was just talking to a new coworker who noticed my Invisalign and said that he just completed his treatment less than a year ago. He said that his treatment course was 27 months long! Then he told me that after about a year he just started eating with them in! He said he couldn't chew or bite off things like meat, but anything on the softer side he would leave them in for. He said it was actually easier because all you have to do is rinse them off when you're done. I am just baffled. I once tried to eat a martini olive with them in and couldn't bring myself to do it. I cannot imagine doing this!

Can You Use Mouthwash With Invisalign?

I love to use mouthwash. I usually keep a bottle in my drawer at work and use it throughout the day. Since I've gotten my braces though, I haven't. The brushing makes up for it, but sometimes I still feel like I could use a cleanse.

I don't know why, but I just always assumed that using mouthwash with Invisalign would be a bad idea. No one told me not to, but I guess I just figured that the green might stain or at least get trapped in there temporarily and look weird. But I tried it the other day, and it's fine. I just rinse with water when I'm done, and it works great.

Will We Need Another Reboot?

I have a regular visit tomorrow, and I have concerns about another tooth. It's the opposite one as before, and it seems to not be coming down. This one did not get a new attachment when my new aligners came in, and I think it probably should have. You can see it here in the center with the large gap between the tooth and the bottom of the aligner:

In fact, the same tooth that had been giving me trouble before seems to not be tracking so well again. Have a look:

Not as bad as before, but still concerning. Keep in mind that this is the very first day with this particular aligner, and some space is normal. I even have been wearing the aligners for a little longer than a week before changing to the next one to try to correct any issues, but it doesn't seem to matter.

One thing I have taken away from this experience is that if we have to change treatment plans again and get all new aligners, I will INSIST that all attachment be removed and new ones installed.

The Reboot

Three weeks after my visit they finally called to tell me that my new aligners were in. However, the doctor was out of town that week so I couldn't get in until a full month after we had ordered them. It was longer than expected, but still quicker than the old way. But here's the thing with wearing the same trays for 4 weeks: it's gross. They turned yellow. I soaked them in peroxide. I soaked them in Efferdent. I soaked them in peroxide and Efferdent together, which made a nice bubbly mess, but left them still disgusting. I do not ever want to have to wear them for that long that again.

The big question I've been wondering while waiting was how far out this whole episode with the tooth that wasn't tracking would set my treatment plan back. I was on tray 16 of 44, so 28 to go. My new set has 21 total. So even though I lost a month waiting, I'm still going to finish 3 weeks ahead of schedule. Can anyone explain that to me? How exactly did having to adjust for an uncooperative tooth shorten my overall treatment? Makes no sense to me, but I'm not complaining.

At the visit, they had to adjust some attachments for the new aligners. The two on my front upper teeth came off (though they told me that they would be going back on later) using basically a dremel tool. They added two to my lower teeth towards the back one side. I can't quite figure that out, either. You would think since the bottom were doing fine that the same course of treatment would apply.

The assistant that was working on me clearly did not want to do any more messing with the attachments than necessary. I specifically asked her if the attachment on my trouble tooth needed to be changed, and she said no. After she was done, the doctor came around to examine me and pointed out that all the attachments on my bottom front teeth were a different shape and size and needed to be changed. So back in she went, ground them off and re-applied them with the new mold. Another inspection from the doctor, and I was done.

Except I wasn't.

After I got home, the first time I took the tray out and looked in a mirror I realized that the attachment on the tooth that had been giving me problems did not line up with the notch in the tray. At all. It was in a different spot, and was a different shape and size. I was very frustrated. If it was any other tooth, I would not have been so worried. But since it was the tooth that caused us to have to completely redo my whole treatment plan, I thought that we had better get it right.

I called and asked to speak to the orthodontist himself. I explained what I saw and he agreed that it should be redone. He said to come on over and they would get me in right away, which they did. When I walked in, the assistant that worked on me the day before gave me a funny look and said, "What are YOU doing here?" It was kind of awkward, but she fixed me up and now I don't have to worry about it.

Two days later, an attachment fell off a bottom tooth. I'm going to just keep an eye on it and have them fix it at my next regular appointment.

OH! One more thing...   Since they removed the attachments on my front two upper teeth, I got to see if the whitening I've done permeated the attachment. It did! There is not a darker color where the attachment was, they are evenly white. NICE!