http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/ Adult Teeth Braces Forums Discussing Dental Braces, Invisalign, Ibraces, Teeth Whitening, TMJ, and More! en Fri, 12 Mar 2010 23:32:43 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/ http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/gap/955-invisalign-vegas-style.html Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:13:08 GMT Hey friends, I have let a few months go by without a post once again. Time really seems to be going by fast. I have made it successfully to tray... Hey friends,

I have let a few months go by without a post once again. Time really seems to be going by fast. I have made it successfully to tray set 17 of 32. That brings me to just over the half way point of my initial treatment.

My Invisalign experience has been moving along nicely without too much to report. I've had my second round of IPR and just today had a routine dental check up.

I was really looking fwd to the dental checkup just to confirm my daily cleaning routines are working. I am happy to report I have no cavities, and the dentist is very pleased with the state of my gums and teeth.

The edges of my attachments do tend to stain after a few months of coffee/tea drinking, but the dental checkup leaves them looking like new. Good news to anyone who has noticed the attacmnets showing a little staining around the edges. I always request the ultrasonic descaler. It does a great job and much less painful.

I returned this week from a vacation in Las Vegas. It was the first real vacation experience I've had with Invisalign so far, and it was definitely a challenge!!

The day we left was the first day of my 17th set of trays, which made things a little bit more tricky. In Vegas, I find I'm always consuming something...whether it's food or cheap booze.

I found that the easiest way to enjoy everything Vegas has to offer and still maintain some discipline was to carry around the Colgate wisps and keep swishing my mouth with water regularly. Each time we stopped by the hotel, I would do a complete cleaning session. I think it worked out well. I wasn't living 100% by the official rules, but I tried to minimize the bad behaviour as much as possible.

I just couldn't bring myself to pry out my aligners while sitting at a poker table with 9 other people staring me down. I had a few drinks, then risned. The funny thing is, I really did feel guilt every time I did it too.

I have a few recent progress pics. These were taken after tray set 15. The lower gap is still closing. I think it's moving a little slower now than it was during the first 10 trays, and the upper lateral incisors are still progressing well.
Enjoy!

Upper Arch Before


Upper Arch Tray 15


Gap Before


Gap Tray 15


I really hope my gums don't receed too much around those central incisors. We'll see... ]]> gap http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/gap/955-invisalign-vegas-style.html http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/carrie/954-my-first-adjustment.html Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:57:38 GMT I was actually late for my follow up appointment after having my braces put on due to a family situation, gotta love 14 year olds. I lost a... I was actually late for my follow up appointment after having my braces put on due to a family situation, gotta love 14 year olds.

I lost a bracket in the very back while at my Mom's House 100 miles away on a weekend. I decided to cut the wire back and ended up cutting it too far so with the wire stabbing into my cheek I decided to remove the wire and got in to see my ortho the next day as my rescheduled appointment wasn't until several days later.

My ortho put the bracket back and tightened my wire, he also added a new bracket to the front but did not connect it to the wire just yet. I decided to go with the "greenest green" they had for St. Paddy's Day. I went ahead and took 2 Advil when I got home and I'm proud to say I've had no discomfort.

I'm able to tell that my teeth are slowly moving. Occasionally I'll look into the mirror thinking I'm seeing coarsed black pepper between them only to realize I actually have a gap in a place that is normally crowded. My teeth are a bit loose and tender. I've switche to Sensyodine (sp) Toothpaste and it's helped quite a bit with the discomfort of frequent brushing.

I'm still not sure when the front bracket will be connected to the wire or when my bottom metal brackets will be put on but I return in a month. :braces:

I added another picture to my gallery in case you're interested. ]]> Carrie http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/carrie/954-my-first-adjustment.html http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/lemon-tree/953-refinement-tray-8-pictures-more.html Sat, 06 Mar 2010 04:28:25 GMT Hello! Sorry I've been so lax about updating as of late.

I don't have any good excuses really aside from being on vacation and getting sick over the past week. Teethwise, it's been business as usual for the most part. I went to see my dentist just before my trip as I noticed some issues with my teeth and gums. She was really impressed (again!) with how much my teeth have changed since the first time I saw her but mentioned that I seemed to be having some trouble reaching my back teeth and below my bottom attachments (which were turning a bit yellow - yuck!) as she could tell from the build up. She checked my gum pockets and said there's been some pronounced improvement there as well. I guess I've come a long way from where I started.

In retrospect, it might have been better to have my teeth professionally after I got back from my teeth but hopefully it doesn't make too huge of a difference and I tried to be as diligent as I could while I was away. We were in Miami for a few days before our cruise (funnily enough, we were there for superbowl weekend and didn't even know it until after we booked our cruise - silly Canadians, we are) and enjoyed some really good food. This meant of course that we went to quite a few restaurants and I ended up brushing my teeth wherever I could as soon as I could. Most of the time, it wasn't a huge deal, since we ate at off peak times (empty bathrooms!) and our hotel was close to a number of eateries so sometimes I just waited until we returned. There were a couple of times (ie. Sat. before the superbowl) though when I had to just whip out the electric toothbrush in front a bathroom full of women primping and preening. I find if you don't look all embarrassed about it, nobody really seems to care but I still get the odd sideways glance (if I don't have a toothbrush in my mouth, I just look directly at them and smile warmly).

Surprisingly enough, once we went on our cruise (7 days through the Carribean with NCL), it was a lot easier to either get to our cabin or a semi-empty bathroom in between meals. Trying to keep my trays in for a decent amount of time was another matter. Between all of that food (everywhere, all the time!) and getting to various events, I have to admit, sometimes I slipped my trays in after a quick, discrete swishing and other times, I just kept them out for a bit. I thought the port stops would be more difficult to manage but we went on a lot of Cruise organized excursions and while they charged an arm and a leg, they did include lunches at nice venues with clean bathrooms. With all of that negligent tray wearing going on I ended up wearing tray 7 for a few extra days to make up.

We spent a couple more days in Miami (24C and they described it as cold!) before coming home to snow, -10C (mild by our standards), and all of the excitement around the Olympics (Vancouver's a pretty long way from where we live but it was still easy to get excited being part of the host nation). Since then I've been down with a bit of a cold but hopefully I'm getting through the tail end of it.

One thing I've noticed as of late is that I'm not quite as motivated to stop everything and put them in after meals anymore. I guess I'll just have find a way to keep myself on track - perhaps, thoughts of yet another long refinement set??

Pictures from the end of tray 8: here ]]> lemon tree http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/lemon-tree/953-refinement-tray-8-pictures-more.html http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/liccledevil83/952-set-5-having-problems.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:29:17 GMT I'm having problems,I put my new set of trays in on Monday night and my bottom ones are cutting my tongue to pieces, I've filed it down don't really know if its worked because my tongue is so painful anyway. I tried putting my last trays back in and that still hurt so until my tongue heals I think everything is going to hurt :-(
I've had my bottoms out most of the day and am hoping my tongue will heal so I can wear them again, going to put them back in to go to bed. I know its bad to have them out that long, but don't know what else to do, every time I speak it feels like its cutting into my tongue more.
First problems I've had so far :-( Hoping my tongue heals soon and I can get on with wearing them as normal. ]]> liccledevil83 http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/liccledevil83/952-set-5-having-problems.html http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/babyface77/951-shaving-down-my-teeth.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:52:59 GMT Hi there, my two front teeth are longer than I would like them to be I did have braces when I was 13 thank god because the length of my two front... Hi there, my two front teeth are longer than I would like them to be I did have braces when I was 13 thank god because the length of my two front teeth and the big gap between them looked awefull. I need to know if the dentist or orthodontist is able to actually shave down the length of the two. Can anyone help me? ]]> Babyface77 http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/babyface77/951-shaving-down-my-teeth.html http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/phoenix461/950-feeling-pressure-adjustment.html Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:00:45 GMT I am not in pain to the point where I need medication, I am definitely feeling the pressure from this latest adjustment. At least this is my excuse... I am not in pain to the point where I need medication, I am definitely feeling the pressure from this latest adjustment. At least this is my excuse for eating soft / comfort food. :braces:

The rubber band going across the front teeth feels weird but I am sure I will get used to that soon enough. Thankfully, I am only wearing it at nights. ]]> Phoenix461 http://www.bracesreview.com/forums/blogs/phoenix461/950-feeling-pressure-adjustment.html