My Invisalign Journey Continued

My Invisalign Journey Continued

13 Dec 2024

Hi all

Here I am back in sunny Sale this September and here’s an update of how my teeth have been, whilst like many of you, I’ve been on holiday! It’s great to be back in a routine and I can’t believe it – I am on set 29 of a series of my 35 Invisalign aligners!! Woohoo!!

Holiday Mode

Sometimes when you are in holiday mode, you can slack off with some things as you sit back and have a cocktail and your routine changes from the early starts of the school run or the commute to work and I am glad to say that honestly, having Invisalign® in didn’t affect my holiday self!! Phew!

I started off well when we were on the ‘plane as I’d remembered to bring my Invisalign® container! To be honest I lost my last one so had to ask the nice ladies at Sale Dental Spa for a new one! I have got a good excuse though as I moved house recently and it is somewhere safe, I’m just not sure where yet?!?

It was definitely worth it after my escapade at the Indian restaurant where the lovely waiters whisked away my bright orange napkin holding an early set of aligners, it was literally right in front of me while I was talking and looking the other way!

I learnt from that though and always make sure that I bring a big evening bag now which a) includes all the make up I need (it gets more each week I can tell you!), my phone (what did I do in my life before I had a phone to message friends “I’ll be late” and they to me, AND take pictures of my food and friends?????) and thirdly and most importantly at the moment, my trusty Invisalign® container.

Invisalign® Container

It’s so handy because now waiters aren’t tempted to whisk them away and they are also great at protecting the aligners themselves (if they are loose in your bag they could bend and get out of shape) and it’s also more hygienic of course which is why I always wrapped them in a tissue/napkin before!

Cleaning my Aligners

I’ve also found that I am extra vigilant when cleaning the aligners and the best way I’ve found of doing this is when I add a tablet of RetainerBrite into an empty, wide jam jar, then top up with some cold water so it then fizzes over the plastic, and leave them for about 15 minutes while I am having my breakfast and then rush back upstairs to brush my teeth, give my aligners a quick once over scrub with a clean toothbrush and then I am good to go, feeling all minty and fresh which gives me that extra smile confidence when I am not always feeling it in the morning!!

Above is a picture of the beautiful sunset at night and of an evening I then did the same cleaning routine before I went to bed; take out the aligners and pop them into a wide glass, then do my daily routine of cleaning off my makeup and brushing my teeth, to be honest I probably spend longer of an evening brushing my teeth, as I then have time to check up and really look in the mirror at how my teeth are changing. While I was working on my tan I felt like I was really getting somewhere as my teeth looked whiter and straighter – which is a dream smile to me!

Drinking on Holiday

I must admit that I did do a few of the “not recommended” things while on holiday. I had a couple of curries (yes we had Indian food in the Balaerics!) so made sure that I kept the braces out for that evening and also that I cleaned my teeth for an extra long time so that I didn’t get a yellow or orange residue on my clear aligners resulting in a yellow or orange sunset smile – so not a good look!!

To be honest I also had a few cocktails but again I made sure I brushed my teeth for an extra long time afterwards as I tried a blue one, a green one, a pink one….! Recently I have got into the habit of using straws for my drinks anyway but wanted to be on the safe side.

If you do use a straw, it takes the drink to the back of your throat and hopefully misses your front row of teeth. Other than cocktails, I drink vodka or gin, so now I drink vodka or gin and tonic, again to be on the safe side and am told these drinks are lower in calories too so it helps the face and body which is all good!

Brace Buddies

I usually have a little chat to my 14 year old daughter too about how she is doing with her braces, as she started having Combination braces with Dr Aisha two weeks ago.

She has the opposite problem to me as her teeth were a little over-crowded and had set at angles to each other as she grew. You can’t tell from the front but when she lifts her head you can see her uppers and see they did need straightening especially on her upper set.

In turn I give her an update on my teeth and this past couple of weeks I have really noticed a drastic improvement in my teeth and the gap that had developed on my left side which left me feeling a bit “smile conscious” has decreased a lot and the right side of my mouth has really been pulled back and in.

I think the tipping point for me was when a friend said I looked like Janet Street-Porter! ha ha I wouldn’t mind her go-getting attitude though! lol

Results so Far
It truly is amazing and definitely gives me a little boost every time I look in the mirror (and smile!!)

As you can see, the gap on the right side has closed (I could fit a lolly stick through it to start) and the tooth next to it has now rotated so it now shows the full tooth (not 3 quarters of it as previously).

To be honest I would be happy to finish now as it really has been a big improvement. However, I only have 6 more sets of aligners to go and absolutely cannot wait to see the finished results!!

Keep reading to catch up and find out what the final results will be…

TTFN

Joanna

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