Annoying.

I'm happy to report I have had little pain since the first two days of starting my treatment.  I did have some jaw joint pain this weekend up until yesterday but that seems to have dissipated today--thank goodness.  But, they are still annoying!! I have come to realize how many things you still give up for these braces.  Example--gum.  Even though there are no "forbidden" foods with invisalign, I still don't want to take my braces off to chew gum.  It's just not worth the time and effort to take them off especially since I am only allowed to have them off 22 hours a day.  I was extremely conscientious about leaving them in last week, but as they have gotten more annoying, I've become more lax about putting them back in after lunch/dinner/etc.  SO, let's hope that doesn't affect my treatment...I'm guessing I at least have them in for about 21/21.5 hours--not too bad.  My grandparents did spend a lot of money on them though, but it just seems like they are pointless for 10 out of the 14 days I have these particular aligners on my teeth.  All the moving happens in two days then the aligners just sort of sit on them worthlessly.  BUT, I'm not the dentist so there probably is a reason they make you wait two weeks to change to a new set of aligners.  T-minus 14 months and 23 days. 

No pain!!!

So, it's been 6 full days since I started my invisalign, and I am happy to report that I have no pain.  They are still kind of annoying; it feels like I have a whitening strip on my teeth that I've left on for waaayy too long.  ANYWAY, I've noticed a phenomenon I like to call "snackompensation."  When I had my braces on the first couple of days, it was really painful to take them off.  So, instead of snacking mid-morning and mid-afternoon, I would eat all of those snacks at one time during lunch and dinner.  It's definitely not the best for my metabolism (small meals=faster metabolism), but it's the best I can do with the braces.  It is really easy to pop them on and off now, so I am trying to incorporate more snacks during the day.  It's still a pain to brush my teeth everytime I eat though...  At least it's all worth it!  Right?

I've been trying to reveal a tiny secret a day, but I think I'm going to run out waayy before my invisalign treatment is over.  I guess I can reveal this--I've been so self-conscious about my smile for so long that I am almost afraid to finally perfect it.  I am scared it might not make a noticeable difference in my smile especially since so many people didn't notice I even needed braces in the first place.  I think it will make a big difference, at least for me and my self-confidence, so I guess that's all that really matters. :-)

FRIDAY! And PAIN-FREE....well...mostly...

HAPPY FRIDAY!!! It's my third day with invisalign, and I am happy to report that I am mostly pain-free!!  I got a little too cocky this morning and took them out to brush my teeth and again a little later to eat breakfast, so my most crooked tooth did start to hurt a little.  But, it's nothing compared to the first and second days!! 

I've been getting a lot of surprised looks when I tell people I have invisalign on (no, not because they are invisible) but because most people couldn't tell that my teeth were crooked in the first place.  It's shocking to me because for so many years I was extremely self-conscious about my teeth.  I worked in a camp this summer with teenagers (who were brutally honest), and most of them noticed I needed braces.  I wonder if it's an age thing or perhaps a discretion thing?  Either way, I know that I needed them not only for cosmetic reasons but because my bite was so off that I was getting more cavities. 

There are little ways to tell that I do need braces in my pictures where I'm actually smiling, if you can manage to find them.  The 'fang' look on top is one symptom of an overbite and overall my smile isn't as wide as it should be.  You can't really see my bottom teeth, but they are super crooked.  I promised pictures earlier; I will try to post them at least this weekend (before my teeth get any straighter hehe). 

I also promised that this blog would be a little more exciting than just me whining about the pain of invisalign (my coworker asked me if I wanted some cheese with that whine the other day--clever).  Anyway, so I guess this is a good time to explain why I never got braces as a child.  When my dad divorced my mom, it was a huge change in finances, and so she couldn't afford my braces when I needed them in high school.  BUT, there's another reason.  This is really hard for me to put on this blog, but I actually didn't stop sucking my thumb until high school.  Yeah, that's right, I sucked my thumb all through middle school and didn't stop until my freshman year of high school.  SO, when everyone else had their cool, colorful braces on I was still secretly sucking my thumb at night.  I'm paying for that all now.  Lesson learned. 

Cheating on my oral health?

Day two, and my teeth are still very sore.  So, I've decided to "cheat" and use a straw to drink protein shakes and sodas with the retainers in.  Oh well!  It's too much of a hassle to take them off and put them back on three or four times a day; I'll just brush after lunch and dinner.  I mean, people have been "cheating" with metal braces for years: my mom told me that when she had her metal braces she would still eat hard candy although it was a 'forbidden' food.  It doesn't make it right but at least I have cheating company. :-P 

Speaking of cheating, I also wanted to use this blog to explain how much stress/anxiety/fear I've had from NOT having braces as a child.  My infamous "kissy" face is the perfect example.  When I got to college, facebook became a daily ritual, and people were taking pictures during every mundane event imaginable (not that people don't still take tons of pictures for facebook).  I was completely mortified by my smile because of my overbite, so I decided to compensate for it by doing a "kissy" face.  The kissy face worked twofold: I hid my imperfect smile and still looked somewhat acceptable.  Friends of course poked fun at it, but I was too self-conscious to explain why I did it.  And so, the mystery of my kissy face is explained! :-)

Got my Invisalign today!!!

I got my first set of invisalign retainers bright and early today at 7:30am.  The appointment was quick and painless...but the retainers are not.  When my orthodontist first put them on, it felt like my teeth were going to fall out, but he reassured me he hasn't had a patient lose their teeth from invisalign yet.  hah--dentist jokes.  Anyway, the retainers started to feel more comfortable, and I was relieved that it seemed to be a pain-free process until I tried to take them out to have my mid-morning snack.  I literally thought I was pulling my teeth out along with my retainers, and I had excruciating pain after I managed to rip them out of my mouth.  My bottom teeth are extremely crooked which makes getting the retainers out much more difficult.  A little later I endured the pain again so I could drink my lunch (soup out of a cup).  I'm a huge baby when it comes to my mouth...just in case this makes you not want invisalign.  I'll post some pictures later of my teeth now...and will keep uploading new pictures.  T-minus 14 months, 30 days and counting. :-)