Like many in the world
I was born with misaligned teeth. Not by a great deal and not really at the front, apart from protruding canines at the top.
As a teenager, braces were discussed but at that time, aspartame came on the market and we soon discovered that triggered fits in me. No aspartame, no fits: I also measure my proteins and ensure I don’t have too much phenylalanine from any sources – as this is the protein aspartame is metabolised as and while I’m not PKU, too much phenylalanine is not great for me.
Anyway, that put pay to the conversation about braces. Fits and braces don’t mix.
Of course, the fangs were awkward once they came in fully and in my mid-twenties, I finally gave in and had them ground down which meant the permanent holes I had in my lip finally had a chance to heal…
Boring!
Sorry, just giving the background to where I am today: day 2 of my Invisalign™ journey.
Now, the clear aligners are removal so any issues with lows causing fits can be aleviated. The trade-off is the time. Fixed aligners (you know, the old metal fixed braces) would take a year or so to straighten my top and bottom teeth.
The removable aligners are a bit slower. The process involves wearing the first set of aligners for two weeks, at least 22 hours a day. The more I can wear them, the faster the journey.
Then that set will be swapped for a second set and so on until the last set is worn. 40 sets in total, so that’s at least 80 weeks or 18 months to you and me.
The aligners are largely invisible – they fix onto pegs on key teeth which allow them to do their magic.
However, any food or drink I have can end up sitting in them and being prone to infection, that means everything I have that isn’t water requires me to remove the aligners (top and bottom) each and every time.
My smile may end up straighter, but in the meantime, my teeth have been brushed so many times in the past 30 hours. I am flossing twice a day too.
Of course, that should become easier as the process is performed, the idea is to create some space to allow me to keep my teeth cleaner too.
Wow – what’s it like
Early days to be honest. It’s definitely doing something. The early days of each set are likely to feel quite alien and uncomfortable. It’s day 2.
I’m already better at getting them on and off for food and drink. I may end up slimmer too, as the cleaning after eating is a bit of faff: light snacks are really not worth the effort, so they can disappear.
Same with tea and coffee, wine, in fact, I’m a new fan of water 🙂
Posted: April 8th, 2022 under 42.