Invisalign - DAY 36 - Start of Tray #3

Finally, today was the day. Today Dr. Azani was going to add the attachment that I ingested two weeks ago. This one was going to stay on, I just felt it.

I sat in the chair and was eased back while the technician prepped my tooth. Yanni or Kenny G was coming through the office sound system to let me know that everything was just fine. The appliance was placed, the ultraviolet heat was applied and that's when the technician let me know the wonderful news..."I don't think this is going to stay on either". WHAT?!?!?

As she went and got the doctor, I crossed my fingers hoping he would sit down, look at the placement and have better news. He sat down, looked at the placement and said "If it comes off again, no worries."

I found out that the attachments all have different functions, just like the Olympic Curling teams. Some attachments are there to turn the tooth, the way the 'sweepers' brush the ice to 'curl' the 'stone'. Some are there to push the tooth forward, the way the Skip 'weights' the rock down the 'curling sheet'. Some are there to just hold the appliance in place, sort of the way John Shuster has been holding the USA Olympic Curling Team in last place, unable to pull a win in the first 3 games to get benched for the forth. And, with a 2-5 record, they are pretty much out of the semi-finals. But, I digress.

My attachment that keeps coming out is one that is there to keep the tray in place...my John Shuster, if you will. With all of the difficulty it has caused, I am kind of hoping the attachment gets benched soon.

I also am now up to Tray 3. The start of this tray has been interesting. This might be weird, but I can feel the movement of my teeth in my nasal cavity. Sure, everything up in there is connected, but it is just weird to feel this. I have hopes that maybe my Invisalign will fix my deviated septum, though I think this is just wishful thinking.

Pain Level - 4 (more of an ache, but I feel headaches coming on, too)
Dedication Level - 9
Irritation Level - 4 (just hoping this attachment stays on this time)

Invisalign - DAY 33

I can't believe it has only been 33 days...9% of a year...12% of the way through this process. I thought, being past 40 years old, that this would just fly by. I mean, the rest of my life is passing quickly though the hour glass, why isn't this?

The waiting from tray to tray seems to be an eternity. I feel like I have been in Tray #2 for at least a month. Waiting...waiting...waiting...

Now I know how Evan Lysacek felt after skating his Long Program in Figure Skating and into the Gold Medal position, just waiting for everyone else to skate, not knowing if he did enough to win. In the end, the waiting was well worth it as Evgeni Plushenko didn't have the goods this time. Of course, Lysacek only had to wait about 45 minutes, not 9 months.

But I'm sure it must have felt like 50 minutes. An hour, tops.

Only 240 days left...hopefully Dr. Azani won't extend the length of any future trays like he did with Tray #1...the way Nobunari Oda of Japan had to prolong his program because his skate laces came undone.

Trust me, the last thing Dr. Azani would want to see is me come 'undone'. Are you reading this, doc...I'm just saying...

Pain Level - 1 (I find it weird that the pain so random from day to day)
Dedication Level - 9
Irritation Level - 4

Invisalign - DAY 32

I was brushing my teeth today (the first time, not the eighth) and I am still noticing some 'pain' on my two back bottom teeth. Not a pain that Japanese Halfpipe Snowboarder Kazuhiro Kokubo felt when, after a solid run that could have put him above the eventual Gold Medal winner Shawn White, he did a faceplant on his last trick, the double cork. No, that physical and emotional pain is not what I am talking about.

It feels as if my teeth are a little loose but not to the touch. When my toothbrush pushes against them, they have that ache that runs through the nerves. I am going to see Dr. Azani in 4 days to get the attachment that fell off placed back on my molar. While he is back there, maybe he can take a look at the other teeth to make sure nothing strange is going on.

Also, my congrats go out to Lindsey Vonn (Gold) and Julia Mancuso (Silver) in the Alpine Downhill, Shawn White and Scott Lago (Bronze) in the Snowboard Halfpipe, and Shani Davis (Gold) and Chad Hedrick (Bronze) in Men's Speedskating (1000m) the for all of their medal wins today. It was a good day for the USA!!!

Pain Level - 4
Dedication Level - 9
Irritation Level - 4

Invisalign - DAY 31

I can see how people start to get lazy with putting their aligners in for 20-22 hours a day. It is weird to keep these plastic trays in your mouth when you feel they are doing absolutely nothing.

Sure, for the first couple of days your teeth hurt and you know the aligners are doing something (that reminds me of Carl...inside joke, I tell you later). But now, I just feel like I have these contraptions in my mouth that give me something to chew on all day. It is akin to chewing plastic gum with no flavor...and you can't even blow bubbles. Come on, now!!!

I have heard the teeth move the most for the first couple of days with the new aligners. Although I am only guessing here, since I am not an Orthodontist, I think it is the same concept as weighlifting (don't worry, I know I have to reference the WINTER Olympics...I'll get there) where you work a muscle hard at first then rest it, only to work it hard again. Any Orthodontists reading this can chime in. I don't have a problem being told I am completely wrong.

Look, I only want to do this once. I will keep my tasteless aligners in for the 20 to 22 hours (that sounds cool, "20 to 22 hours"). I don't want to put all of this time in, get to the end and know that I did a "Method Grab" like Lindsey Jacobellis at the Torino Olympics in 2006 and screw this up. I do not want to take the chance of coming back hoping for a different result only to have "contact with the gate" and not get closer to the Gold Medal my second time out (see, I told you I would get there).

BTW, Carl is a programmer that would write code and, whether the data was correct or not, as long as it "did something" he was happy. Carl was a very happy man.

Pain Level - 0
Dedication Level - 9
Irritation Level - 6 (they should flavor to the aligners - it would be great to be chewing on chocolate 22 hours of the day)

Invisalign - DAY 30

I don't know if my teeth are getting whiter or my liver has failed. I am hoping for the prior.

You are told when you get Invisalign that you can not eat with them in. Also, you are only allowed to drink water. You can have soda, tea, coffee, beer...whatever you want...but you will have to take your aligners out while you do, and you will have to brush your teeth when you are finished.

Because of this, I have been brushing my teeth, on average, about 8 times a day:

1. After my shower in the morning
2. After my morning coffee
3. After lunch
4. After a mid day snack (or frappaccino)
5. After my snack in the car on the way home (Wisps)
6. After dinner
7. After Fo-Yo (Menchie's)
8. After my late night snack before bed

I am not sure, but I don't think excessive brushing leads to your liver shutting down, so I am assuming that my teeth are becoming whiter from the gobs of Crest Whitening Toothpaste I slather inside my mouth.

I put my face up against the television the other day and noticed from my reflection that they are whiter than the slush that Seth Wescott had to snowboard through to win his Gold Medal in Snowboard Cross.

I better not lose my enamal or end up with blue teeth, 'cause then I am going to pissed, like the Russian Pairs Figure Skaters who failed to stand on the podium after dominating that sport for the last 12 years. Yeah, I would be that pissed, and the last thing you want is a pissed Russian to deal with.

Pain Level - 0
Dedication Level - 9.5
Irritation Level - 5 (constantly removing and inserting my aligners)

Invisalign - DAY 28

So, I started to notice that my gum line started to hurt on the bottom in the back on both sides of my jaw. I thought this was kind of weird. I only found out what the problem was when I went to take my trays out for an afternoon snack.

I stuck my thumbs in the back to pop the trays off and it was exactly where the pain was coming from. I don't remember scratching these areas with either of my fingernails. I think it is because this is the same area I have used since beginning of this process.

Since the attachments could be in precarious locations, you will find an area on the aligners where it is the easiest to remove them from your teeth. Sort of the way USA Gold Medalist Hannah Kearney used the same line in the Women's Moguls that she knew would get her the best result in the Vancouver Olympics.

However, sometimes that line doesn't work and you have difficulties like Canada's Kristi Richards, who felt the pain and crashed before finishing. A different line might have helped her out and allowed her to get to the end.

Yes, I am going to have to look for other ways to get these aligners out, but maybe return to the one that worked the best at a later date.

Pain Level - 4
Dedication Level - 8 (had to take them out longer today for a Callback)
Irritation Level - 4 (and on Valentine's Day to boot)

Invisalign - DAY 26

In honor of the first day of the 2010 Olympic games in Vancouver Cananda, and every blog until the closing ceremony, I will try to pay homage to the games while still staying true to reason for this blog.

Today, there are many people getting ready for a journey of a lifetime. One that, they hope, will change their lives for the better (pretty good so far, huh?). Some will fail, yes. But it is a true 'fail'? They put the work in, the dedication, and had the drive to see this to the end.

My goal throughout this process is not to have the best outcome, but to do my best to make sure that, any outcome, I have given my best and the end result will make me proud...proud to know that I have given it my all and that is all I can give.

Alright, today was a little lapse. I was playing on the Internet, got distracted and forgot to put my aligners back in after lunch. Whoops. Okay, so it was only an extra hour, but I can make that up easily. I think of today as my Cross Country Skiing competition...I was doing great until that bunny jumped in front of me and I just had to pet it for a while...but time is a-wasting and now I have to get back on the trail and finish this race.

I don't know about you, but I think these next couple of entries are going to be fun...or maybe just for me.

Pain Level - 2 (slight headache and jaw ache)
Dedication Level - 9 (in Silver right now, but hoping for a Gold by the end of the day)
Irritation Level - 0

Helpful Hint: make sure you have a backup of everything you are using to clean your aligners. A small bathroom case could hold everything you need. FYI - Polident kills 99.9% of germs, which comes in handy for those days when your aligners shoot out of your mouth quickly in the public restroom.

Invisalign - DAY 24

So, I have been back on track with the 'time allotted' regarding the aligners off my teeth. YAY, me.

Since putting in Tray #2, I have noticed that my two front teeth on top are sore, but only when I take my trays off to eat. I guess this means they are working. Can I get another yay?

YAY!!

Also, since putting in the new aligners, the left side of my tongue is a little sore. I have looked at it and it doesn't have any scratches on it. I am not sure if maybe the edges of the new aligners are 'irritating' the side of my tongue. It is only sore when they are in, so I think this is the issue. It is not bothersome enough to tell the dentist.

A close friend starts their 13th Tray of 13 this week. I am jealous for two reasons:

1. She is on her last tray
2. She only had 13 trays

We love ya, Marybeth, but this just is not fair.

Pain Level - 1
Dedication Level - 10 (Yay, again)
Irritation Level - 4 (for the scraping of my tongue)

Invisalign - DAY 22 - Start of Tray #2

I have been a bad boy.

I recently took a trip to Ohio to visit my Grandmother on her 92nd birthday. No, that is not why I am a bad boy. The reason I am a bad boy is that I fell out of my routine with Invisalign.

Thinking about how much time I was visiting family and eating and talking and visiting and talking and eating and eating and eating, I started to add up the time I was without my aligners and it is not good. It is amazing how I am using this blog as a reminder to myself to keep my aligners in. I should have taken my wife's laptop with me so I could have blogged while away and not been in this predicament.

Thinking back about the three days I was either traveling in a plane or on the dirty slush-covered roads, or within the snow-blanketed homes of my family partaking in Donatos Pizza and Donuts and Coca Cola and Cookies and Birthday Cake and French Fries and Hamburgers, I was probably without my aligners on day one for about 6 hours, day two for about 7 hours, and day three for another 6 hours.

Sorry, honey, if you are reading this. My bad. But, we were told there would be days like this.

That said, my wife and I just started on Tray #2 last night. I don't want to say I was in pain, but the fit was definitely tighter than when I put on Tray #1 with the attachments. These aligners were pretty snug, but I think I got used to them within the half hour...or so I thought.

This morning, I awoke and removed the aligners for their daily bath in CVS Brand Polident. Once out, my front bottom teeth had a dull ache to them. So did all of my canine teeth. I did have my new aligners in for about 10 hours overnight, but maybe I should have taken them out during the evening hours at least once to give my teeth a rest from this self-induced torture.

I am now suffering with a very bad headache, probably from the new movement of the teeth into their future positions. I am hoping my teeth find their new location soon as I am running out of Advil.

I have been diligent with my aligners today and, hopefully, will continue to be as diligent as I was before my relapse. I feel like an alcoholic who fell off the wagon, although I'm not sure that is a good analagy since I am not an alcoholic. I am possibly feeling the same guilt, at least I would guess. Maybe I should look for a sponsor.

Pain Level - 7 (for both the dull ache in my teeth and my head)
Dedication Level - 1 (for the lapse)
Irritation Level - 4 (the headache, I'm sure, is the reason everything is irritating me)

Here are my teeth at the end of Tray #1:

Invisalign - DAY 17

Well, good news, I guess. I called the DDS today regarding my attachment and it's decision to become a pizza topping. I asked Dr. Azani if there was anything to worry about and he informed me that there wasn't. It was an attachment that was on a molar in the back that is not moving my teeth that much, I assume.

He told me to go to my second tray, but before I start my third tray (in three weeks) to stop on by and he will add it again. Happy days. I just hope they can make it stay this time.

I am getting to be a pro at taking out my aligners now. It used to be too much of a hassle, now it's alright. I do notice that I want to leave them in more, though. It is because the attachments are not soft. They have a course feel to them and some come to a point that rub the inside of your cheek pretty fierce (I never thought I would use that word in a sentence).

I am taking a small vacation so I will see how dedicated I become out of the normalcy of everyday life. Wish me luck.

Pain Level - 3 (occational head and tooth ache)
Dedication Level - 10 (for now)
Irritation Level - 5 (the tiny sores on my cheeks from the attachments)

Invisalign - DAY 16

So, I think we have figured out how to get these aligners off our teeth with the attachments (I was calling them buttons, but I guess that is not what the industry calls them). If you are having issues taking them off and you don't want to use an crochet needle, it is pretty simple:

1. Pull the top front of the aligner off of any molars that do not have any attachements on them. Do this only on one side of your mouth.
2. Push on the back side of the aligner with your thumb as you pull down on the front of the aligner with your fingernail.
3. Go around and do this for every area that has an attachment. Do not try to take your aligner off from both sides at the same time.

Obviously, practice makes perfect, but both my wife and I have mastered this in just two days. I just don't want anyone to get as frustrated as I did and start to get discouraged about doing Invisalign.

One bad thing; I was eating pizza tonight with my wife and thought I hit a burnt piece of crust as it was very crunchy. After finishing, I ran my tounge across my attachments and realized one was missing. It was the same one that the Ortho had a difficult time putting on initially. I am truly bummed that it has only been two days and I am already having difficulties with the attachments attaching.

I will be calling the office tomorrow, and hopefully they will be able to add it back on soon.

Pain Level - 3 (certain teeth have a dull pain)
Dedication Level - 10
Irritation Level - 8.5 (losing the attachment bummed me out)

Invisalign - DAY 15

Today was the day...this was supposed to be the day where we moved from Tray One to Tray Two. Unfortunately, that was not to be.

We went to our appointment to get our "buttons" put on our teeth. These are dots that protrude from certain predetermined teeth. The teeth that are chosen are selected by the Orthodontist and Invisalign that will maximize the movement of the teeth into the correct position. I had 10 buttons, my wife had 12. I asked the technician who was applying them if that was average and she said that is about right.

I was truly worried that with 10 buttons in obvious areas on my teeth I would be limited to acting roles, at least for a while. I mean, how many Shakespeare characters had Invialign buttons on their teeth. The technician said she was done and said I could rinse over by the sink. When I got to the sink, I looked in the mirror and smiled...and I couldn't see them. I was completely surprised. I rinsed and went back to the dentist's chair.

I guess one of the buttons did not adhere to my tooth so she had to try again...and again...and again. The tech decided it would be best to ask the Orthodontist to try and make it stay. Finally, all 10 were on. The Ortho informed us that we would need to stay in Tray One for one more week. We were bummed but we plan on doing what the doctor says. We left the office and were on our way.

The buttons add a weird sensation in your mouth, like you have food stuck on your teeth that doesn't go away. My wife and I decided that if it felt like we had food on our teeth, why not take advantage of it and have lunch. After lunch, we brushed out teeth and in went our trays that we had been using for the last 2 weeks. One more week, that is all. Then we could move to Tray Two.

Dinner time came and we knew it was time to take out trays out. We were told they would be difficult, but that is an understatement. I took my bottom aligner out fine, which is funny since that is the one with 6 buttons on it. When it came to taking off my top aligner, that was a chore. I think I cracked two fingernails when it hit me how much I was in trouble. 10 minutes later, I found a section of the aligner that doesn't snug that tight to my teeth and angled it just right to finally get it off. Whew!!!

I have read that people had problems at first and I did not believe them. Now, I am worried about going to Tray Two. Hopefully the aligners will start to stretch and this will get easier. I know that, right now, if I wanted to eat anything I would have second thoughts. Is it really worth it to take out the aligners? No, not at all. This might be a long week.

Here are photos where you can see 5-6 of the buttons they added to my teeth:



Pain Level - 4
Dedication Level - 10+ (I just don't want to take my aligners out anymore)
Irritation Level - 0.5 ( I am stoked that my teeth are moving...YAY!!)

Helpful Hint: When you go to your Orthodontist, ask to see your ClinCheck. This is a short 5-10 second film that shows the progression from what your teeth currently look like to what the final product 'should' look like. It might not be exact, but it is a great motivator to keep your aligners in for the alloted time.