View RSS Feed

Jamie

Tray #2 and an international adventure

Rate this Entry
2 Comments
by
Jamie
, 07-28-2010 at 03:31 PM (237 Views)
I just returned from a business trip to Germany, during which I had to start trays 2/15. My concerns leading up to this trip ranged from "what happens if I break/lose all of my trays and I can't get to my dentist?" to "do I really have to brush my teeth multiple times in an airplane bathroom?"

Turns out that it wasn't so bad. I did delay my new trays by one day, because I knew I would have them out a little longer than I should due to a big party on my scheduled day to switch the trays out.

Things that went well:
- It IS possible to brush your teeth in a bathroom airplane, though it takes some juggling.
- New trays were a breeze and hurt less than my initial trays (took some advice from others in the forums and put them in before bed, along with some aspirin).

Things that could have gone better:
- I estimate that I only wore my trays for about 20 hours/day, since I was trying to be discreet around my coworkers. It's tough to do the right thing when you're lingering at a beer garden! Since I wore the trays an extra day, I think I made up for most of the lost time.
- There were a few times when I put the trays in without brushing my teeth, then snuck off to a restroom an hour or two later to brush. Not ideal, but I thought it was better to have an hour or two of dirty teeth than an additional hour or two without my aligners.

I think my biggest lesson learned is to just relax! It's never going to go perfectly, but I did my best and don't anticipate being in such a tricky situation before the end of my treatment.
Categories
Progress

Comments

  1. Sunny's Avatar
    Fantastic that you've shared what did work well and what wasn't so easy.

    I think you're totally right when you write that the biggest lesson learned is to just relax! We always advise patients who're going on holiday, to wear there current aligner longer, as that way it won't matter if the miss a few hours here and there. We also recommend not changing to new aligners if there's only a couple of days till they're due back.

    Here's to everything continuing to go well for you!
  2. Phantom Muse's Avatar
    Sounds like things are going well!

    I have been on a plane fairly regularly since getting Invisalign, and you are right! There is a proper "position" to assume in the bathroom to make certain that the aligners don't go flying around and that everything stays clean! I do travel with a collapsible plastic cup to put the trays in while brushing and find that helps to keep it all organized and clean. Can't stand dirty washrooms...