Invisalign Diary II
I am now on my 6th set of Invisalign Clear Aligners. Although each week the new aligners have felt tight, I cannot see any real change. I have looked at my “Clin Check” i.e. the 3d file of my teeth as they move through each stage. From this, it is clear why I cannot see any change. It seems like most of the obvious alignment will occur in the last 10 aligners. So, 24 sets of aligners before I will really see very much.
The reason for this is that most of the changes at the moment will set the scene for alignment. If my front teeth were aligning now, they would just move forward because of a lack of space. So bite opening and gradual tooth up-righting are taking place. The other thing that I have noticed is that some of my lower incisors have started to feel tighter, something that I can now ask my patients to look out for. If we get this feedback from our patients it can help to examine whether any further inter-proximal reduction is needed. This is trimming between the teeth to create space and can help the aligners to track properly.
I have also noticed more pressure on my front tooth which sticks out. The feeling is of torque being applied with the aim of uprighting the root. I am not sure if this will happen but it is interesting to feel this specific pressure being applied to specific teeth.
The other thing that I notice is that when the aligners are fitted, they can be pushed in to the extent that they appear to be fully seated. I can, however, bite against parts of the appliance to drive the appliance into place a tiny bit further. This is not visible to the eye, but the pressure increase is tangible and can, at times, feel very tight. This is a good reason for using chewies. A rubbery material that can be used in between the teeth, when the aligners are in place. To enable the aligners to bite that little bit further into position and straighten the teeth more efficiently.
I am very used to the feel of them now and don’t mind them. I do look forward to removing them for meals and have gotten used to just eating at meal times, with no snacks. Although my Ironman training means I do need some extra meal times at the moment. I am concerned that I want to avoid any dietary acid, particularly while the aligners are in place.
Flossing and brushing after meals is now routine but I do like to brush them on awakening in the mornings, as well as cleaning the aligners. The aligners do seem to gather a fine layer of plaque during the night. I don’t like the idea of leaving this on for any longer than I can avoid.
No one really notices that I have them in, except my wife. She often says “Taking your Teeth out again?”, when I remove them and place them in the container.
