Sunday, August 28, 2016

Day 852 of my Invisalign Journey (28 Month Update)

I've been a terrible person and haven't posted in quite some time.  I was talking to my little boy and realized I've been doing these braces for a little over 2 years now.  This should be my last set of trays as me and the ortho think we are probably as close as we are going to get.  I'm on tray 2 of 14 for this final round (I think I've been through 4 total since this journey began).

The last two rounds (this one and the 16 trays prior) are really fine adjustments to get my bite more aligned, so all of the changes are too subtle to document.  It's funny to go back and see the journey that first few months and see the things that have changed since then for me.  For instance, the trays no longer bite my cheeks or gums, it was more technique and learning to change the way my mouth moved.  Also the awkwardness of pulling them out in public has completely gone away, but I think some of that is due to losing all sense of modesty when you have a 5 year old...

So out of the past I pulled up my Tray 1 picture.   Not very good photo, but you can see some of the alignment issues.


You can see the alignment difference, even if I still take a horrible mugshot!!

But I'm happier than I ever have been with my smile.  I can't believe how much of an attitude and confidence adjustment getting my teeth realigned has done for me.

If anyone is on the fence about it, the process is far less traumatic than wire braces, and they can fix some pretty severe rotation issues. 

That lower canine to the right on the first shot was almost a full 60-90 degrees turned and the Ortho wasn't sure at first if we could get that puppy back to proper alignment.  It's not 100%, but it's so much better that I can barely tell the difference.


Anyway I'm grateful I've been on this journey, but I am even more grateful it is almost coming to its conclusion.  Originally it was supposed to be 56 weeks and I'm now going on 122 weeks with at least another 20 to go before we start talking about retainers and post Invisalign care. 

Hopefully this isn't the last post, but if life carries me away again, don't be surprised and just keep smiling!