gap

Hello friends,

Once again, I have managed to let 10 weeks slide away without a blog post. Today, I find myself enjoying aligner set number 11, which also marks 1/3 of my pre-refinement stage complete!

Over the past 10 weeks, I have definitely noticed that the gap in my lower arch continues to close up with no signs of the teeth tipping. The two incisors are coming together nicely and remaining vertical. In the pics below, you can observe the gap reduction that has taken place over the course of 10 trays.

Gap Before invisalign


Gap Progress at Tray 11


As far as my upper arch is concerned, one tooth in particular has moved quite a bit. It's the lateral incisor that was stuck in behind one of the central incisors. My upper arch is being widened, and that is making room for the lateral incisor to advance out to where it should be. I apologize for the stained teeth, as those pics were taken right before my routine cleaning.

Upper Arch before Invisalign


Upper Arch Progress at Tray 11


I mentioned in my last post that I was concerned with some staining between some teeth that was revealed by the movement. I am happy to report that a quick visit to my dentist for a cleaning took care of that little problem. The hygienist used the ultrasonic descaler.....WAY better than the old fashioned manual method, which used to just about leave me requiring a blood transfusion.

Now that I am 11 trays into my treatment, I can conclude that wearing the aligners for the recommended 22 hours/day is very achievable. It requires 2 things:

#1 Daily routine
#2 Discipline

So far, the only challenges I find myself faced with are impromptu free lunches (which I would never dare miss!) and dining out. These are both things that complicate my routine.

Usually, what I end up doing is shortening the other windows of time that I have without the aligners in my mouth. If I know I'm heading out for dinner, I will likely skip my morning 30 minute break. That will leave me with 1 .5 hours for the dinner.

So far so good. I've only experienced "the shakes" on one occasion due to skipping a morning snack break The lunch was well worth it.

Discipline is key. Resisting the temptations of snacks offered throughout the day and fresh baked goods from my wife in the evening after my daily 2 hours have been used can be painful. (And when it comes to refusing the baked goods, I mean 'painful')

Well, to close things off, here is my Invisalign daily routine (..and subsequently my weight-loss program)

6:00AM - 6:15 Aligners out, breakfast.

10:00AM- 10:30 Aligners out, much needed coffee.

1:00PM - 1:15 Aligners out, lunch

6:00PM - 7:00 Dinner

My office is located in the operating room of a hospital, and I am lucky enough to have a very clean sink about 5 feet from my desk. It really helps at lunch for the quick floss/brush/rinse job.

Thanks for reading! See you in 10 weeks