lemon tree

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...

For as long as I can remember, my lower lip has always seemed a bit thicker than my top lip. It's a subtle difference but something I noted in my side profile. And while I often noted how my misbehaving incisor poking out from between closed lips contributed to my lopsided "no teeth" smile, I didn't realize how much my overbite contributed to my formerly protruding lower lip.

Funny how oblivious I was despite all of the pictures I've been taking of my teeth in the past year....

I used to wonder where all of those formerly avid invisalign posters/bloggers went after they disappeared off the face internet. Now I think I know. After the majority of the correction has occurred, it's not nearly exciting to track to progress from one refinement tray to the next. It feels like quite a slow process at times until I remember that I've already gotten through 6 trays. I picked up trays 7-10 earlier this afternoon and am going to take a look to see what sort of differences I can spot...

The photos below were taken a few days ago before I switched over to tray 5. For the most part, I've noticed a bit of tightness at the beginning of each tray but not much beyond that. No visible changes yet but there's still quite a ways to go yet. The one thing I have noticed is that my teeth are staining a bit around my attachments. I'll have to make more of an effort to get to keep them clean and maybe book an early cleaning appointment. It makes me a bit concerned about when I get attachments...

I don't want to be presumptuous but please don't congratulate me yet, there is no bun in this oven as far as I know.

I have been thinking a lot lately about what it might be like to have to be expecting and undergoing invisalign treatment at the same time though. A year ago when I started this journey, I was hoping to be finished with my trays by now or at the very least by the time we go away in February. Given that I'm only on my 4/23U, 4/13L 1st refinement, it will be a while yet...