Invisalign Braces Journey Part 5

Invisalign Braces Journey Part 5

21 Sep 2024

Continuing on from my journey, I have noticed a few changes to my teeth, my weight, my skin and my general health!

As you may know, when you receive your Invisalign® braces for the first time, you pop in the aligners (they look the same as the trays you use for teeth whitening), and these are made to fit your mouth and the stage that your teeth are in as they start their journey to move back to where the ideal position will be at the end of your journey.

Invisalign® Braces and Eating

As you know from my previous blogs, you need to take out your aligners (and put them safely in your Invisalign® box!) while you are eating your meal either at home or when you are out and about, or you face the possible consequences of them disappearing (well they are like they say in the brochure “near invisible”!)

So basically, from a person who had three set meals per day, as well as grazing throughout the day, which took the form of breakfast at 7.30 am, mid-morning snack at 10.30 am, lunch at 12.30 pm, afternoon snack at 3.30 pm, dinner at 6 pm then some nibbles later on in the night I have had to adjust my eating habits otherwise I would be constantly taking out the aligners, brushing my teeth, cleaning the aligners and replacing them with just a short gap before eating and doing the same routine again!

The aligners also need to be in around 20-22 hours per day, so this routine would reduce my chances of the treatment working properly.

It was time to change my eating habits!

New Routine

My new routine is now breakfast, washed down with 2 cups of coffee at 7.30 am, while I place my aligners in a glass of water with the Retainer Brite cleaning tablets for 15 minutes, then rinse them with water and place them back in my mouth, clean and fresh and ready for the day ahead! At 10.30 am, I now have a mug of warm or cold water (depending on the weather!) and no snacks! I have lunch at 1 pm (after taking out my retainers and placing them in my Invisalign® container pod) which is a lot bigger now as I get hungry so usually have a bowl of hot hearty soup and some Organic Crispbreads. They come in a variety of flavours, but I am working my way through the pack of Spelt and Muesli variety – I’m not particularly into organic foods, but I tried these once, and they were really crisp and tasty, and the seeds are quite sweet which suits my “sweet tooth”! I always make sure I have a tea cake, cake or bar of chocolate washed down with a big mug of tea, as it’s a bit of a guilty pleasure!!

Next, I brush my teeth really well, making sure I work my way around the temporary “buttons” placed on my teeth which hold the plastic aligners in the correct position. I rinse my aligners and then pop them back in.

There’s no snack at 3 pm now; I just rinse my mouth and have a bottle of sparkling water (which has no added sugar) to ensure the aligners are kept clean and clear so my teeth still look white.

Later on in the evening, I start cooking dinner, and if it’s Thursday onwards I mix myself a vodka and tonic or gin and tonic – well it is the start of the weekend!! I take out the aligners, put them in a glass of cold water, and enjoy my well-earned dinner!

I used to eat some truffles, chocolates or crisps in the evening with a drink but to be honest I’m out of that (bad habit) too as I don’t want to take the braces out again, clean my teeth and replace them. I would rather sit back, run my teeth over the aligners and be glad that I am improving my teeth and looking after myself!

Clearer Skin

As a by-product, I’ve noticed over the past 10 weeks that my skin has become clearer!

I used to get a few spots and had some pink patches as my skin is quite sensitive, but lately, my skin is clearer, more even and has fewer dry patches. I can only put it down to my new healthy lifestyle!

Slimmer Body

I’m not saying that everyone will have the same results, but for me and my new regime, people are also saying, “Have I lost weight?”

Obviously, I wouldn’t suggest Invisalign® Braces are an aid to weight loss, but I have definitely noticed a shift in my weight as I haven’t got a bloated stomach from the regular biscuit or cake snacks I used to eat and on top of this, my skirts fit better around the waist, with a bit of give!

Smiling More

I’ve always loved to improve myself, be it in my mind or body, so I’ve noticed that I am smiling more as I am happy with the knowledge that my teeth are becoming straighter and my teeth are getting less gappy by the day! Who’d have thought that my Invisalign® teeth straightening journey would result in me being healthier in my mind, skin, body, and teeth!?!

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