InvisiLuLu

I am still here...

2011-04-24T15:25:00.002-05:00

Lots of things got in the way of me posting on this blog but I am still here and still in braces. METAL braces. Invisalign ended and so I was put in metal torture instruments for 2 years. I now have a feeling my ortho is dumping me and I'm currently looking for a new one as my bite is pretty much screwed right now. I promise, promise pics very soon!

I've been lazy...

2009-03-02T12:05:00.002-05:00

I know, I know...I haven't updated in a looong time.

I finished my aligners at the beginning of the year but my wisdom teeth were still not joining my other teeth in the world on munching. After a visit with my dentist I discovered that the wisdom teeth are caving in and not moving vertically as they should.

At the moment I am on the last of a set of 4 aligners which was a mini refinement for some other teeth.

This week I will be going for a check up with the ortho. This will mean either another set of refinements or I will be set up with metal braces to get the wisdom teeth to move along. I'm not happy with this but at the moment there is nothing I can do about it but grit my teeth and play nicely.

Pics to follow when I can get around to it. Sorry I've been so absent but I am still in braces and still battling with my teeth!

5 more to go....

2008-07-12T11:35:00.015-05:00

I thought the last stages of my treatment would be easy but it's probably been the hardest of all. #78 aligner was complete agony. It pushed so hard on my front teeth that I couldn't take the aligners out for a day and when I did to try and clean my teeth it was so painful I just put up with a skanky top set until the pain faded.

#79 went in so easily but there is a lot of pressure on my wisdom teeth. There is still a gap large enough to fit my tongue in, so can they really close that gap in 5 aligners?? It is hard to see on the aligner, but I am concerned about whether they will meet or not.

As you can see from the side picture, the front gaps have closed, and the front teeth have been pushed back. The overjet has gone from 12mm to 5mm, and I'm hoping it will close even more. At aligner #50 the overjet was 10mm so there has been major movement up front!

My ortho still has not discovered the missing attachment and I've been making less visits which is very convenient. Instead of 6 weeks, I've been taking 12+ week vacations. That makes me happy.

Now I am getting close enough to be worried about refinements, retainers, and the whole new saga of dealing with a new set of teeth.

It's been a long time...

2007-12-09T09:46:00.001-05:00

Somehow blogging about my teeth became less and less important, but important things have been happening to my teeth. Now at #63 I can finally see a home stretch. That home stretch is still a long road, but it feels good. Having these aligners is now second nature to me. Sometimes I panic thinking I don't have them in, only to be reassured by a quick flick of the tounge.

I don't care who sees the gaps, I don't effing care. If someone sees gaps, and judges me on them, that is their friggin problem, not mine! There has been a lot of talk about how self conscious people get with having Invislaign and quite frankly they need to pull up their big girl pants and deal with it. C'mon, is that all you have to worry about? Sheesh. Get over yourselves!

An attachment fell off somewhere along the way between the last post and this one. It was the new big one. I have had 3 ortho visits since it parted ways, and my ortho still hasn't realized it has gone. Hah! He was reluctant to put it on in the first place, but to not even realize it has disappeared? It makes me wonder why he even bothers to get me to come in.

So, I think that is all I have to moan about for this exciting installment. The pictures speak for themselves really. I'm very excited about how clean and pearly my teeth are looking. That is without bleaching for over 2 years! My hygienist does a fantastic job.

See you around #70!

The Big Five O

2007-06-05T09:44:00.000-05:00

I've reached that magic number 50 of my aligners. From the front there is very little visual difference, but there are major things going on up back. Every two weeks I now look like a 2 year old. I get bright red cheeks, sore throat, stomp around all grouchy and impatient. (Mr InvisiLuLu confirms the latter is normal behaviour for me) You guessed it, I am teething. The wisdom teeth are very outraged about the moving around and have informed their county council they are not happy bunnies.

The pictures tell the story. Major movement since #1, and still major movement to happen. Laying #50 over #1 shows how much. My overjet (thanks Anne) is down to 10mm from 12mm. Still a long hike from where it should be, and according to my ortho those front gaps are gonna get bigger than ever. Fugly is only half of what I feel right now.

I passed my 2 year mark this May. I have no friggin clue what the exact date was.

50 down, 33 to go. See you around #60.

Half way there...

2007-03-01T12:18:00.000-05:00

Technically I am exactly half way through my treatment today. Of course, it is highly unlikely I am at halfway point, but all the same, it deserves a little celebration. So we have a pic of uppers new #4 old #42 with the night time lower retainer. As you can see it's not much worse than an ordinary aligner though a little more cloudy. I also have a new big ass retangular attachment. The side view pics are shocking! One with the aligner, one without. I am very self-conscious of my smile at the moment for obvious reasons. And eek! I'm glad my teeth are getting cleaned in a few weeks. They do get nasty around all those attachments.

2007-02-15T10:49:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-07T11:46:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-02-07T11:43:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-07T11:37:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-02-07T11:28:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-02-07T11:25:00.000-05:00

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

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

2007-02-07T11:20:00.000-05:00

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....

2007-02-07T11:16:00.000-05:00

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....

2007-02-07T11:05:00.001-05:00

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

2007-02-07T10:55:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-02-07T10:29:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-04T13:46:00.000-05:00

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...