One Year!

I just realized today that it's been about a year since I started my OrthoClear treatment. My ortho told me that the process would take about a year, but I haven't finished yet.

In fact, I'm not even close to finished. While my teeth are vastly improved from what they were in the beginning, they are still not aligned correctly to the point where I feel that they would be considered 'straight'. I guess my ortho feels the same, because he's not venturing to guess when I'll be done.

While I prefer the invisible aligners over braces, I still haven't become used to the fact that I can't really snack. I like to sip coffee or tea all morning, and I've had to curtail that habit. I am very active physically, which requires that I eat regularly during the day. I used to eat five small meals a day. Now I eat three large meals a day, but I still find myself getting grumpy due to hunger between meals. I suppose that I could still snack like I used to, as long as I brushed after each snack. But who wants to brush/floss five times a day?! I can barely tolerate the brush/floss routine three times daily.

My dentist is thrilled with my teeth, though. I went in for my semi-annual cleaning, and she was very happy about how clean my teeth are. That's always a nice thing. :) I had to have two small fillings, though. It's difficult to say whether the cavities were due to the aligners or the natural form of my teeth (I have deep crevases in my molars that are tough to keep clean).

Still, I wish I knew when I'd be finished with the treatment. I don't think I could tolerate another year of this!