Invisalign Journey #11
I am on the downhill side of my Invisalign journey with Dr. Gallagher and Dr. Kuhn. I am beyond halfway through… but have a bit to go. I think I am on liner #14 – I never actually remember until I go to the ‘next’ one.
My teeth feel quite different.
When I started on this journey, I thought a lot about how my teeth/smile would look different, and how I was on this road to healthier oral status, but I did not think much about how my teeth would feel. After I take my aligners out of my mouth, I must give my mouth a minute to ‘be without aligners’ before I eat anything, especially if biting is required. I am not experiencing any pain; it is just that it feels different than it has for most of my life. When Dr. Gallagher talked to me about Invisalign years ago I really thought that my teeth were pretty straight, and my bite was fairly good. Truth is, whatever the status of my teeth, including my bite and smile, there was certainly room for improvement. Over halfway into this adventure I am seeing it and feeling it. Brushing my teeth is not vastly different, but flossing certainly is. It is so much easier, and it feels more effective. In a restaurant I typically go to the restroom after eating to check for that random piece of lettuce stuck between my teeth. This has stopped happening. When I run my tongue over my top teeth there is definitely more connectedness and smoothness. WOW!!! So, Invisalign is working. My teeth are moving, my bite is changing, and my smile…
I am not unhappy, I am happy.
But remember that asymmetry I have mentioned? Prior to Invisalign my upper central incisors inverted in slightly creating a shadow/darkening in photographs when I smiled. Destroying this inversion (and the shadow) is my goal. I have also shared that the bottoms of my top teeth are not even – they are ‘ridgey.’ My Invisalign dentist has assured me that my upper teeth can be filed after Invisalign so that I have smoothness on the front, and on the bottom. I cannot have anything filed now because my aligners have been designed to fit over this ‘ridgey situation,’ so I must be patient (which I am not particularly good at being).
I do believe that there have been positive movement to alleviate my inverted teeth, but now the inversion is asymmetrical. Only slightly, but asymmetrical none the less. I know that physics is part of this entire process and that ALL of my teeth will be straighter and better aligned and that the movement of each little tooth effects the movement(s) of all of the other teeth; but this asymmetry is bothering me just a bit. Dr G and Dr K have assured me that it is all a process and that when I have completed all my trays, I will have the smile that I am hoping for.
For now, I will celebrate…
the significantly increased function of my overall oral structure. I will feel how I am eating more efficiently – without getting lettuce stuck where it is not supposed to be.
Louise C.
