smile786

so i'm on my 13th trays. yay... my bottoms are finally aligned...i'm sure there may be more straightening to go but it looks a lot lot more aligned now than before. i've been waiting for the bottoms to get aligned forever...if you see my teeth before this seemed AGES away. i started treatment on april 30th and its not october 15th and my bottoms are almost done. i was looking at my next couple trays and the packages have stars next to the tray number (ie. 14L* 15L* 16L*, 15U*) does ANYONE know what that means???

here are some pix of my progress...


when i first had my ortho consultation, my orthodontist, who at the time told me that even though invisalign would work for me he had more control with braces and that with braces my lowers would not be complete for about a year and half and the uppers would take about 10 months to a year. with invisalign, my bottoms will be complete in 16 trays, 32 weeks, roughly 8 months and my uppers will be complete in 17 trays, 34 weeks. i'm delightfully surprised and pleased at how much quicker invisalign has been compared to the rough estimated treatment time i was given if i got traditional braces.

i am so happy with my decision to go with invisalign. when i first went for my consultation i was willing to consider braces but i never really wanted them. in fact, i probably wouldn't have gotten them even though straighter teeth make a big difference in confidence but the process to get there with traditional braces is not so great. i can honestly say, NO ONE knows about my treatment, not my family, not my friends. i dont know why i didn't shared this news with them. maybe because my entire family has nice teeth except me, no one has even thought of braces. my brother has an overbite, but nothing major because he doesn't have crooked teeth. most of my friends had braces when they were in middle school/teenage so its old news to them. so my decision to get braces was entirely for me. invisalign REALLY helped because no one can see the aligners. i think the first couple weeks are the biggest transition, afterward, it just gets easier. sure, social gatherings can be a pain but unless you are out all day, its not too bad.

as for the difference it's made in my life... i smile more confidently. i dont feel conscious about my teeth...although i still dont always smile with my teeth...i do occasionally when i'm with teeth grinners and i'm not the only one in pictures with the closed mouth smile. i love it . only 4u/3l to go...=D!!

ps. i now see all this staining on my teeth...i cannot wait for my cleaning and to get the attachments off so i can get whitening done!!