Smile Technology

Last year I was gifted Invisalign for my birthday from my wonderful husband.  Simply put, it is the latest technology in straightening teeth with the use of clear mouthpieces changed out around every 2 weeks or so.  I was so excited, a straight teeth smile.  The process began that day, they took castings of my mouth and I was told it would be about a month.  Almost 1 year and 3 castings later, I was able to pick-up the first set of mouthpieces and be on my way to a more aligned smile.

Because I am fairly lazy when it comes to oral hygeine, getting by with the minimum amount of effort to have a clean fresh mouth was my motto, I am in for a big habit changer.  I predict by the end of these 8 months, I will be several pounds lighter, have the cleanest and freshest mouth I've ever had in my entire life, and be very well hydrated.

I have been advised to wear my mouthpieces for 23 hours a day and to remove them EVERY time I eat or drink anything aside from cool water.  Then when I am done eating or drinking, I must floss and brush before I can put them back in.  The throbbing pain will gradually get better until I change mouthpieces and then it starts all over again.  The saying No Pain No Gain is being engrained in me.

I am one full day into wearing my Invisalign mouthpieces and cannot think about anything but wanting to take them out.  When the dentist first put them in yesterday morning, I thought this doesn't hurt so much, I can definitely do this for 8 months.  Lunch was a challenge, I forgot to ask how I was supposed to take them out.  Eating was awkward and I had to be done quick so that I could have time to eat a long dinner with my family.  Chewing with my least sensitive teeth, I got the hang of it.  Brushed, flossed and mouthpieces reinserted.  Piece of cake. But by about 3 PM, I was already popping ibuprofen for the pain.

Today I took more ibuprofen and then had an extreme Cardio Conditioning class for an hour.  I completely forgot about the pain in my mouth for that entire hour!  Lunch again was figuring out what teeth hurt less and chewing with those.  I figure I should opt for foods that require the least amount of chewing and crunching.  Planning meals for my family is going to be fun, while mine might just become apple sauce, soups and bananas.