Last Friday was my first visit to the dentist since starting Invisalign. I already knew I was in for some IPR as she had forewarned me. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous about it because of the blogs I've read that detail the procedure and awful sounds associated with it but for me, it ended up being pretty underwhelming. I did of course check with my dentist first to see how wide or noticeable the gaps would be and much to my surprise she pulled out a handy cheat sheet made by Invisalign that showed a diagram of my teeth and where to do the IPR. I thought it was pretty ingenious. There were arrows pointing at which gaps to make wider with the exact measurement in millimeters. Seeing this brought me back to my first visit when I got the attachments. I wondered about this process for the weeks leading up to it and just like the IPR, it's so easy to do because Invisalign provides practically all the tools. They'd included a separate set of trays which were much thinner than the ones I wear, which my dentist used specifically for the attachments. All she did was fill the attachment sections of the trays with bonding and then stuck them on my teeth for a few minutes until the bond set. Viola! So after having gone through these two steps already, I feel it's no wonder that getting an Invisalign license is so easy these days.
Anyway, that was just a side note. So after the IPR, she put my 3rd trays in which again felt tight but not painful. I asked her about my habit of clenching my jaws in my sleep and she said it should be a problem because it's only affecting the teeth that won't actually move during this process anyway. She said I'd come back in another 2 weeks in case there is more IPR needed and then after that she'll send me home with more trays so I won't have to go as often anymore. Oh and as far as the new gaps go, they really aren't that noticeable, thank goodness. The only way I can tell is when I floss. Which reminds me of a thought I had earlier while flossing after lunch. I reminded myself of the IPR and that since I floss my teeth like a million times a day, I should be noticing the gaps closing in at some point but, I don't think anything has happened so far.
I asked my boyfriend this past weekend if my teeth look any different from day 1 and surprisingly he said yes. He said the top front already looks wider. I dunno......I think he's imagining things. ;) Although, I have to say, the one on the top to the right of front right tooth, does look a little straighter.
