Updated pics!

Lots of updated pics of my OrthoClear treatment are here! This shot is with aligner set #18 in.




And for those who want to know if the aligners fit completely around your teeth, here are how my current aligners are fitting. You can see some space at the bottoms of my upper aligners, as well as on the bottom ones. It's not very noticable, especially when you're talking.

This is the first shot of my teeth before I began treatment. Can we say "Snaggletooth"?

This shot is after five months of treatment. A big improvement!





This is the latest pic, 12 months into treatment. There's not much change in the front teeth, but my molars are in the process of moving outwards. My smile is looking more square than it used to. My overbite is greatly reduced as well!


Here's a sequence of comparisons of my aligners between my first set and set #19 (which I don't have in yet). Click on the image to enlarge it!


The most dramatic improvement has been with the reduction of crowding on my lower teeth. While my teeth aren't completely straight on the bottom yet, they are much better than one year ago!

This shot is of both aligners stacked so you can see how my overbite (and overall bite!) has been improved.


Here's a comparison shot of my top aligners. I still have straightening to do, but I hope I'm close to being finished with my treatment!

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!

My OrthoClear Progress

My OrthoClear Progress

For those who were wondering how my whole OrthoClear progress is going, I've finally got photos!

On the top left is what my teeth looked like before I started treatment. The top teeth were beginning to crowd, especially pushing my canine teeth outwards. My lower teeth were very crowded and uneven. You can see the spaces on the bottom.

This is what my teeth looked like after five months using OrthoClear (my treatment is supposed to last a little over 12 months total). Can you see my buttons? I don't have the aligners on in this shot. You can see that my front teeth are a bit more in line with each other on the top. On the bottom, you can't see any more gaps! Overall, my lower arch has been widened quite a bit (the uppers as well, but not as much), and my teeth are finally starting to fit properly in my mouth!

Here are what my teeth look like after nine months of treatment. The gap in the lower left tooth area is smaller, and the top teeth are more in line with each other. What you can't see is the major improvement in my overbite. My profile has changed; it used to protrude out, making my already small chin look even smaller. Now my profile is starting to look almost normal! I still have the small chin, though. :)


And here's what they look like when I have my aligners in. Barely noticable, huh?





And here are some shots of the aligners on their own:

Voluntary torture

Voluntary torture

If you're ever thinking of getting your teeth straightened, consider that you're subjecting yourself to voluntary torture.

My dentist/orthodontist recommended that I get braces a few months ago. I do admit that my teeth used to be straight, and now they're overlapping in some areas, crowding in others. It was getting very difficult to clean some of my front teeth because of how they've shifted around. Okay, so I figured that I should get the whole teeth-straightening thing done.

Lucky for me, technology is such that I have the option of using invisible aligners as opposed to traditional braces. I heard all the great things about them: they're virtually invisible (so no one knows you've got them on), they're easier to keep your teeth clean, and you can eat anything you want because you take the trays out when you eat. My orthodontist was very excited about a new line of aligners called OrthoClear, so that's what I chose for my treatment.

I'll only need about a year to completely straighten my teeth. And they provide you with a 3D digital movie showing how your teeth move into place from start to finish. Very cool stuff! I didn't know my teeth could get so straight!

What they don't tell you is the PAIN involved with the treatment! Everyone's all 'puppies and rainbows' when they tell you about how the process works. Yeah, RIGHT.

Trays must be replaced with a new 'stage' every three weeks. When you put the first tray in, it feels very snug, but not painful. You think, "Hey, this isn't so bad!". A few hours later, your teeth ache to the point that you don't even want to eat a piece of jello. It feels like your jaw got trampled by a herd of wildebeest.

The bad news is that this pain lasts for 2-3 days at the beginning of each new tray. The pain is worse when I take the trays out to eat. I have approx. 20 trays to go. I take a mix of Tylenol and Valium and take the day off of work when beginning new trays. No point dealing with people when it hurts to talk.

The good news is that: 1) You don't want to bother with eating much when starting new trays, so it's a great way to lose weight! 2) The pain does go away after 2-3 days, and then it's just a matter of wearing the trays for about 3 weeks. They do get comfortable once the teeth have moved into place. 3) You must brush and floss after each time you eat. So you're forced to have incredible dental hygiene. I brush and floss thoroughly 3 times a day now, and even with my (still) crooked teeth, they're REALLY white!