Yesterday it snowed. I mean really snowed. It's a big deal for me cos it's the first time I've ever seen such snow in one day. Here are pics of the car from yesterday lunchtime, to late afternoon, yesterday evening, this morning after it had drifted and then trying to dig out.

Comparisons

I have now cut my aligners down to 83 instead of 85. OK, it's not a huge difference but every little helps, and I was seriously concerned that the whole time they didn't fit would put me back another 6 months. I am also going to be getting another attachment on an incisor(11) at my next ortho visit.

I think the lower pic is interesting. It compares the old "what would have been" #39 to my new #39. Annoyingly Invisalign have numbered my aligners back to #1 again so it may get confusing for the numerically challenged like me.

Invisalign wanted my teeth to have a beautiful arch of incisors followed by effing huge gaps. As you can see my mouth was having none of it and the incisors have gone off on their own path. The back molars are still doing a sterling job and close to meeting. Mommy is so proud of you all.

Woo-hoo they fit!

I think the fit of my shiny new upper aligners need a post all to themselves. You can hardly see them. It's such a relief to be able to smile again.

My mid-term compared to start

The upper pic is where my teeth should be around now according to Invisalign. And some silly pics of how many aligners I have collected. I think I'll auction them on Ebay when I've finished.

#38 Something happens...

So it's official - I really do have a trailer trash smile. For anyone who wants to know whether you can get gaps when you have Invisalign. Erm...yes, you can. As usual, they fit beautifully on the back, but horrendous on the front. I send these pics to my ortho and he finally agrees to go for a new set of impressions. Now this has two advantages. 1. I get properly fitted aligners. 2. I get to go on retainer time and can have them out for longer over the holidays. Now that is a crying shame...

#32...

I know...they don't fit...

#30....but it won't fit properly...

Now at #30 we're starting to get some ugly gaps nearer the front. The back molars are being so obedient but the incisors are stubborn and just won't budge. It's getting tedious, I'm hating how my aligners are looking, and I've resorted to the closed mouth sarcastic smile.

Uh oh....

So this is where things start to go wrong for the uppers. Well, they started to go wrong around #25, but this was getting serious. As you can see, after 2 weeks of wear, nothing much has happened to get these babies to fit. I don't think they will ever fit. I am assured they will though, and told to wear them for a few more weeks...

#26 Lowers have finished treatment....

Near on a year after starting, I have now finished the lower treatment. Don't they look priddy? There may be refinements once the uppers have finished, but in the meantime I get to wear a retainer at night. Aren't I the lucky one?

#20 Trailer teef

40 weeks. Now I'm getting some very attractive gaps in my upper premolars. Luckily most of them can't be seen whem I smile but I'm finding it very hard to eat any solid foods. Everything gets caught in the gaps and my teeth don't align anywhere. The molars meeting my wisdom teeth are doing an amazing job. Look how far those poor buggers have traveled.

I don't really have much to say about my lowers. The sinking wisdom tooth floating out there on its own has managed to straighten itself out a bit, but there's nowt much more they can do with it. My party trick is that I can flick the aligner off with my tongue. Not everyone is amused but this...

(The cat really wanted to get involved in all this aligner malarky)

#10 Looking good...

20 weeks later and there is already a huge amount of movement. In the uppers, you can see gaps starting to form between molars and premolars. The gap where my molars were pulled is definitely showing a space reduction. My incisors are moving around and looking crooked.

The lowers have less of a noticible difference though the teeth are looking a little straighter and perkier.

In the beginning...May 2005

So this is my mouth. A huuge overbite, no back bite, and missing molars. I lost a lower molar(31) several years ago and didn't have the means to replace it. This caused my wisdom tooth to slip forward and try and fill the space. Invisalign predict I need a whopping 85 uppers and 26 lowers.

In May 2005, I had two upper molars(2,15) removed the same time I got my first aligners. Seeping blood from open wounds and aligners stuck steadfast, my breath was kicking like Jackie Chan. I had a lot to learn about these devils. I was also awarded 8 scratchy attachments on #4, 5, 12, 13, 21, 22, 27, 28. I think I may have been a bit grouchy that day...