Day 1 of my 11 month journey!

Met with my orthodontist yesterday to collect my first trays, yay!  Well, when I say 'trays' I was actually only given one tray for my bottom teeth as they require more work to straighten up than the top!  Was a surprisingly quick appointment, all done in about 5-10 mins.  I was shown how to put the aligner in and how to take it out (which I've realised can be quite tricky), told how to clean, asked a few questions and away I went..!  I've to go back in three weeks time to get my attachments (four on bottom, a few more than expected) and a few more trays.  

I'd like to say that they are invisible but this tray doesn't seem to fit so snugly at the moment and the attachment markings are quite visible without having the actual attachments.  However, I am sure that things will settle down soon and invisibleness will prevail!

Estimated Timeframe

Bottom teeth:  22 trays (44 weeks/11 months)

Top teeth:  14 trays (28 weeks - introduced at week 16)

Before I get into how I'm finding it so far, here's a couple of questions I asked and the answers I got: 

Cleaning

I've learnt quickly that different orthodontists seem to give different instructions when it comes to cleaning.  Mine has simply told me to rinse with cold water and never clean them with anything else!  He also said that I didn't need to brush my teeth after eating before putting the aligners back in and all I really needed to do was rinse my mouth whenever I got the chance.  However, because it just feels better, I have been brushing my teeth prior to putting my aligners back in anyway.  

Drinks

No hot drinks whatsoever which, considering I drink about 8 cups of green tea a day, I was pretty gutted about.  I asked why, and it's basically because hot drink can maim the aligner. Cold water only.  Everything else can either stain or get trapped between the aligner and tooth causing tooth decay. 

24 Hours In

I'm glad I waited until late evening to post as if this was earlier, I'd be struggling to come up with too many positives.  Although I slept fine last night, I would be lying if I said I didn't struggle a bit today - main issue (apart from trying to get used to a chunk of plastic in my mouth!), was the front (and back) of my tongue constantly scraping up against the edges of the aligner and generally feeling a little redundant in my mouth! The tightness takes a bit of getting used to but is a lot easier to cope with in comparison.  I've tried to keep them in as much as possible and have done well so far, only taking them out to eat and drink.  I want to get used to them sooner rather than later!!    

So what's changed between now and earlier I hear you ask?  Thanks to Google, I've discovered....orthodontic wax!!  YAY!!  Whoop!  Straight after work, I popped to Boots and got some of their 'expert orthodontic wax' which cost only £3.05!  Got home, put some on the scratchiest bits, and suddenly the world is a better place! One word for it - magic!  

I had tried to file the aligner down with a nail file last night and again today, but it didn't work so well and I'm not sure when too much is too much on the filing front.  

So, day 1 coming to a close and so far, though it hasn't been easy, I'm confident it will get easier!

Tune in next time...  

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