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 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.