Cleaning Travel Kit

I continue to wait for my aligners... they should be in any day now. I'm trying not to think about it and enjoy the last few days of freedom I have. Once the aligners come in I unavoidably have to change my day to day habits... water will become my main fluid intake and brushing and flossing 3 to 4 times a day an annoying routine. What a pain! It shall be worth it, right? Yes, it will :)

I did go to Target a few days ago to get my cleaning kit ready and decided to write about it.

I've read countless blogs and articles on how to keep the invisalign aligners clean. Many of the articles recommended setting up a little invisalign travel kit. From what I gathered in my research the kit should contain the following:

1. Soft Bristle Toothbrush (2)
2. Cleaning Solution
3. Small Portable Container with lid
4. Toothpaste
5. Floss or Floss Picks
6. Makeup Bag or Ziplock Bag
7. Small Bottle of Water (optional)

Two Soft Bristle Toothbrush

You will use one toothbrush to clean the aligners and one to brush your teeth.

 

Cleaning Solution

I found a lot of controversy on what is the best cleaning method. Recommendation vary from using mouth wash, denture cleaning tablets, hydrogen peroxide or even vinegar. I decided to go with the mouth wash. I chose the Listerine Whitening Mouth Rinse. I will be mixing equal parts of mouth wash and water. I also remember reading never to use colored mouth wash because it may stain the aligners. I don't want to have aligners that make my teeth look blue or green... lol

 

Small Portable Container

This will be used to soak your aligners in the cleaning solution

Toothpaste and Floss

To be used conventionally for oral hygiene

 

 

Makeup Bag or Ziplock Bag

To store everything in

 

I've mapped out my daily routine, I'll wake up take the aligners off soak them in the cleaning solution for 15-20 minutes. Scrub aligners with toothbrush. Brush and Floss teeth. Insert aligner go to work. I get my lunch at 11:30am, so I'll do the same thing... take off aligners, soak, brush aligner, brush and floss teeth and pop them back in. I get a break at 3pm and if I decide to snack I'll repeat the routine. I'll be out of work by 5pm. I'll eat dinner around 7ish and repeat cleaning routine. This schedule should meet the recommended 22hr wear time for invisalign. Wish me LUCK!!

Impressions Pt. 2

I received a call at 11:30 am on 3/7/13 and I was super excited when I saw the dental office name on my phone screen. I thought my trays are in and they need me to go and pick them up. No such luck, my dentist needed me to come in and re-do the impressions/moldings. The first set of moldings had missing impressions of teeth and I was asked to come in and try it again. I took off an hour early from work and headed to the dentist office. I was dropped off by my husband, Henry dropped me off around 4:35. There was absolutely no wait time at all. I was seated right away, and the dentist and assistants went to work immediately. I remember the first set of impressions done was not the most pleasant experience but this one was a bit more unbearable. My dentist had decided to use the largest impression tray they had. It was very wide, so wide they decided to try and trim the edges to help it fit better. I was told that my mouth was very narrow, but was long. The large tray they used in the first set of impressions missed my back molars. My dentist used a dispensing gun to add the impression mix to the tray. They started doing the upper teeth impressions first. This wasn't so bad, they just had to keep adding mixing medium to the tray to try and get a stubborn back molar that didn't want to cooperate. The bottom impression was a nightmare, the tray was really wide and was adding a lot of pressure to my jaw and cheeks. I decided to bear through it and kept thinking "it'll be worth it". Afterwards they needed to take a bite impression so they used the gun dispenser directly on my teeth and asked me to bite down. All the extra mixing medium seeped through and I could feel it forming at the bottom of my mouth. This was very unpleasant. I was very glad when we finished. This took about an hour and half. The dentist told me that they just needed to send these new impressions to invisalign and my trays should be in and ready in 2 weeks. This put a huge 'crocked' smile on my face. The journey continues...

This is what the impression trays look like

 

Lets get started

Hello BLOGGERS!! My name is Ana and I'm 27yrs old. I've decided to write down my experience with invisalign. I guess to start off I'll tell you a little about invisalign "clear" braces... they are a series of customized trays designed to straightened out teeth as an alternative to the traditional wire braces. You can learn more by going to the invisalign website.

Back to my journey... I wanted to get my teeth straightened because I have a lot of crowding which not only made me self conscience when I smiled but also could lead to periodontal disease if I wasn't diligent with my brushing and flossing. When I was younger my parents didn't think it was necessary for me to get braces and as a teenager I dreaded the idea of having wire braces.

On 2/16/13 I had my invisalign consultation where I had a chance to look at an invisalign tray. The trays are very flexible and clear. It seems kind of unreal that these little trays could change someone's teeth placement. My dentist and I discussed pricing($4500) and made an appointment to get my pictures and molds/impressions done.

On 2/18/13 I went in and the dentist took impressions of my teeth and a series of pictures. The impressions, pictures and my x-rays are sent to invisalign where they will work with my dentist to map out my teeth movement. Once my clinic check is approved by my dentist the aligners are created. This will take approximately 4-6 weeks. I will then get a series of trays that I must switch out every two weeks so they can gradually shift my teeth into place. I'm really excited and can't wait to get started. I'm a bit nervous at the same time because through my research I've heard a lot of mention of "pressure" being  almost unbearable the first day or two with every new tray, but as they say "no pain, no gain". I'm also a bit nervous about having a lisp, but feel this will be a small price to pay for what I'll gain. My treatment is estimated to take 12-18 months and I'll be taking you with me through this marvelous journey. I'll be ending my blog with a series of pictures of my teeth before treatment, which I found helpful when doing my own research. Thanks for taking the time to read  :)

 

Front Close Bite View

 

 

Front Open View

 

 

Right Side View

 

 

Left Side View