The title of this blog post may have come as a bit of a surprise, right? Scrolling through a blog that covers mostly beauty and fashion… and yet here we are at correcting my teeth with Invisalign. My lifestyle blog is really meant to cover anything that fits in the realm of my life, and this new experience is definitely something that is going to be a big change over the next year.
What’s wrong with my teeth? Well, not a whole lot. But that isn’t to say that some correction can’t fix some issues that I have on a daily basis. Food gets stuck in my teeth regularly and I know that I’m not the only one. No one has perfect teeth. With some close examination, there can be some movement in order to make my teeth and smile look a lot better. I never had braces growing up and am thankful for that, but am so happy there is something like Invisalign around to still help make some adjustments.
Invisalign with Dental Arts at Front
Thanks to the amazing team at Dental Arts at Front in Toronto, I have been given the opportunity to share my journey with all of you! There are a lot of people that have always considered Invisalign, but maybe never took the next step to learn more. Dr. Jeremy Kurtz specializes in Invisalign and I felt a lot less nervous about going into this. I went to my first appointment with minimum knowledge about Invisalign but left with a lot! Want to know a little more about the whole process? Let’s jump into those details now.
Consultation: I walked into their office on Front Street, very friendly people and very modern looking. I was looked after right away to see what they were able to do for me. As they examined my teeth and I prayed that I didn’t have any matcha stuck in my teeth still, they said some professional terms that I did not understand. Dr. Kurtz brought it down to my level afterwards and explained how shifting my teeth in certain ways will close a lot of gaps that I have between my teeth.
Information: As stated, I didn’t know too much about how Invisalign worked but was definitely willing to learn. Dr. Kurtz showed me high-tech examples of cases similar to my teeth. It is always great to witness how the teeth movement over time can straighten them out. It is always great to see an example to know what the process is going to look like from start to finish. Something I didn’t know about the whole process is that there are little attachments put on a few of your teeth to give something to your trays to hold on to.
Creation: How they get the structure of your teeth is on a whole different level of technology. When creating teeth moulds, it’s usually done the same way for dental check-ups and teeth whitening trays. You insert some sort of gel or foam into a tray and hold it in your mouth for a length of time. This is something I have never been on board with. Luckily, Dental Arts at Front uses an x-ray machine that circles around your head in order to capture this information. It feels like a space-like machine as it circles you, but it’s over before you know it.
Invisalign Time Schedule
My journey with Invisalign is going to take about ten months, on good behaviour that is. As long as my teeth cooperate and I stay adamant about following the program correctly, everything will run smoothly. After 10 months, I’ll still have a retainer of sorts to make sure that my teeth don’t shift back, but not with the same commitment as the daily wear of the Invisalign trays.
Twenty-two hours a day? Yes, you read that correctly. They highly recommend that you keep your Invisalign trays in your mouth for at least this time in order for it to work. As it goes unnoticed in your day-to-day life, it is really easy to get through the day with wearing it. A lot of those hours are happening while you sleep as well. You only ever really take it out if you are eating. You are able to drink with Invisalign in, all with some proper cleansing of course. We don’t want them to get all filthy from the amount of coffee I drink. Whenever I do take it out, I keep it in my handy case to keep them protected and clean.
Invisalign and a Wedding
One of my main worries was that I’ll still be using my Invisalign on my wedding day. I am more determined than ever to follow the rules and keeping the trays in my mouth for at least 22 hours a day in order to make sure I finish on time. There’s nothing quite like a guarantee that my smile will look even better in my photos!
Circling back to the attachments, this brought up a question when it comes time for photos. Invisalign is nearly invisible, but the attachments are still on your teeth as well. I do not want close-up photos of my smile and see the attachments. I was assured that they can be removed when needed to work around certain dates. Huge sigh of relief there! It is a bit of a drive for me to get to Toronto for an appointment to do this. It may seem out of the way, but I always love a few hours in the city. This just gives me more opportunities to enjoy time exploring a city I love.
My Invisalign Experience So Far
Now that I have had my Invisalign for a few weeks, I feel comfortable giving thoughts from my own experience. I will be honest, coming from someone that has never had anything like this before, it was an adjustment, to say the least.
If you have gone through the process of braces before, you could be used to the tightening feelings when you first start using the trays. As I had never felt this before, the first couple days was not a walk in the park. The tight feeling was causing headaches for the first day or so. My speech was not at its best, as I struggled to sound out certain sounds. It felt like permanent Crest white strips on my teeth or gum stuck behind my teeth all day. I didn’t know where to put my tongue for the first few days when I went to sleep. It was weird. I expressed these feelings with people that saw me on a daily basis.
There is good news! As I switched to my second set of trays, giving time for the tight feeling to settle in, I can honestly say that the experience has changed completely. I almost forget that I have the trays in my mouth and my speech is 95% back to normal now as well! Once in a while, I have a tendency to want to bite or gnaw on something. That urge is decreasing by the day.
While helping shift my teeth, my snacking tendency has also decreased. This is due to my laziness to remove the trays when I want to grab a snack. I have been doing my best to stick to having the trays in for at least 22 hours a day, but there has a been a day or two that I had it out for a longer period due to different circumstances. I clean them on a daily basis, usually while I eat my breakfast or dinner. That way they have a good amount of time to soak in the Polident Retainer solution while I eat.
Early next month I will be heading back in for an appointment to get my Invisalign attachments on. I can’t wait to take you on this journey with me! You can definitely stay up to date by following my Instagram as I will post updates from time to time. Feel free to comment below or send me a message on Instagram if you have any questions.
