#exposuresurgery

I’m a little slow to getting around to posting my tray change since my week has been a little wonky getting back into a work schedule. But anyway...

Tray 8 was fine. I don’t remember it so there must have not been any crazy days. 

Tray 9 was a little tight but overall no pain with tray 9.

Susan’s hook is a good 2mm away from the tray. She seems to be slowing down slightly but earlier today I felt some discomfort behind my front teeth so maybe she’s moving again. I can definitely feel more of Susan through the hole in my palate. I don’t know the exact place of where they placed the hook on Susan so I’m not entirely sure her orientation at the moment.

Ever since I’ve gotten the larger rubber band for my bite I have been waking up to me clinching my jaw. I don’t know why I’m doing it. Maybe it’s because I can’t close my mouth all the way since there’s a ledge behind my front teeth. I usually wake up with my front teeth slightly sore for biting down so hard. At least now instead of closing behind the ledge, my bite is closing on the ledge. 

I’ve already noticed my midline is getting a lot better. Now when I bite down without my trays, everything is lining up properly. Woo! The change in my bite is also allowing me to speak better with the trays. I haven’t noticed any irritating sounds since I’ve gotten the large rubber band. The larger rubber band is called a Genie and the smaller one is a Dragon. I’ll probably start referring to them as their names from now on.

Tray 5 was probably the worst tray I’ve had after the 1st tray. But I can finally start to see some difference with Ethel. 

I just put Tray 6 in and just like I expected it’s not as bad as Tray 5. There is slight pressure on my front teeth. It’s even pressure this time instead of just one side. I’m expecting that I’ll be a little sore tomorrow since the left side of my teeth haven’t been moved yet. There is also some slight pressure on my right side premolars. One of them needs to be rotated so I’m assuming that is happening. 

There is a weird pressure on the roof of my mouth right behind my front teeth. I think the tray is too long right there and is pressing into my palate. Nothing a good file can’t handle... I just filed it away. So much better. I’m starting to notice more pressure on my right side of my mouth. 

Slight weirdness on Susan however. Feeling the pull on Susan and on Ethel. That should be a bag of fun tomorrow.

The bracket that is attached to Susan seems to be kicked up a little. As in the bracket use to be flat and now it’s sort of pitched like the tooth has shifted positions. My orthodontists told me she was going to pull Susan back before she moved her over. She’s doing this to avoid hitting my snaggle tooth, I’m calling her Ethel. I think Susan has finally shifted to go backwards. The bracket is starting to dig into the gum surrounding her. Also the bump that was behind my front teeth is smaller. I feel like all this happened within the past couple of hours. One moment it feels normal, the next moment it feels shifted.

Before when I would press behind my front teeth I could feel pressure on the canine and now there is no significant feeling but there’s still feeling behind Susan. My next ortho appointment is 2 weeks from now. I’m getting excited to see how many trays I’ll get and what my teeth will look like at the end of the pack. 

I’m starting to finally notice the difference with Ethel. She is finally looking more inline and when I say more I mean she looks less like “she got completely lost on the way down” to “she was slightly confused and still ended up off base but she could have been worse off”. I’m assuming my next tray will be somewhat of a maintenance tray and not as strong as this last tray but who knows.  

Ahhh, my front teeth are so sensitive. So, after a night of the new trays I’ve discovered the upper tray is moving what feels like only the right side of my teeth. Brushing my teeth this morning was comical. I need to get a straight tooth brush for days like today when my cross brush is too intense for my teeth. I’ve also noticed that my trays start to become matte and scratched toward the end of the week. I may get some plain toothpaste without little scrubbies in it so it doesn’t scratch the plastic. 

This past tray has been a little uncomfortable but for a reason of course! Susan has finally peeked through the hole in my palate and I can see a portion of the tooth! Exciting! I first thought it was a piece of food but after blasting the hole with some salt water, I realized it was Susan. Everybody say “Hey, Susaaaan.”

Tray 5 feels very tight on my front gap so hopefully I’ll start to see the gap close up soon. The top tray is the most uncomfortable right now but it’s nothing crazy. 

I’ve been in Austin, TX since Tuesday so I’m a little slow to getting around to updates. It’s been 2 years since I’ve flown so getting back on a plane was interesting. I normally take Dramamine so I get a little drowsy and mellowed out. I didn’t take Dramamine on this flight and during take off I started sweating. The only time I get really weirded out when flying is take off. I don’t know what it is but that just makes me nervous. Once we take off, I’m good. The plane was making a loud clacking noise during take off so I was even more not cool with it. But anyway... 

Tray 2 was a breeze compared to Tray 1. I put in Tray 3 on Tuesday night and I can definitely feel more pressure being put on my snaggle tooth. I took 2 Advil before I went to bed. They don’t hurt too bad. This morning they were a little sore but other than that I feel great. Taking them out before I eat is becoming more just whatever. I can put them in and hook my canine without a mirror now. Pretty impressive y’all. 

I do notice that by the end of the day my teeth feel like they have a matte finish on them. My travel brush doesn’t do a great job of getting all of it off. I tend to scratch some of it off with my nail before I brush. Gross, but matte teeth feel more disgusting. 

I’ve begun to eat more on both sides of my mouth rather then just one. Eating is becoming more efficient and less cumbersome. It’s weird using my front teeth for things cause the hook tends to also make contact with the food. It’s like I’m afraid one day I’m going to pop off the hook and I’ll have to pay $900+ again for a surgery to get it reattached. The struggle. 

Took about a day for my teeth to feel comfortable after tray #2. They are of course still a little sensitive but not nearly as bad as it was for tray #1. 

I’ve noticed when I first put in a new set of trays, my canine is difficult to hook but the more the week passes and my teeth begin to hold their new positions, the pontic is further away from my gums and makes hooking the canine super easy. So easy, I can hook it with one hand. I still have the aid of the little band applicator. But, I mean, one hand is pretty awesome from having to use two applicators and my finger. 

Eating is back up to normal. I’ve learned to avoid the hook when eating. It involves chewing majority of the time on one side but hey, whatever works. 

The gym this week was by far less exhausting than last week. The only problem is I’m hungry all the time. My trays are out for longer than 2 hours a day. More like 4 hours a day. I’m eating about every 3 hours. Hopefully that subsides soon. 

I leave for Austin, TX on Tuesday so I’ll be able to test how well I am on the go with the trays/get more accustomed to being on the go with the trays. I’ve switched over to my old purse which holds a bunch of stuff so I can keep all my teeth things in there. Now to decide if I want to check my bags or carry on. Euh, I always have so much stuff when I travel I might as well check my bag and not worry about shoving my duffle into an overhead bin on a small plane. I did get Delta Comfort+ seats, though. I hate flying on a jumper plane with my knees to my chin. The upgraded seats come with complimentary alcohol, wifi, more leg room and something else, I can’t remember. The leg room and wi-fi is worth it. I always drink apple juice and eat a cookie and pretzels on Delta. I’m going to have to switch it up and get a sparkling water and elegantly gnaw on a cookie and pretzels so I don’t break off my attachments. Maybe I’ll bring some cantaloupe instead. Mmm, speaking off, I’m going eat some now. Retainers on of course. 

Just got off the phone with my surgeon about the exposed root. He basically made me a nervous wreck. I asked if the hole was going to fill in with gum and his reply was “Just because it’s suppose to doesn’t mean it will. You’re situation isn’t ideal. Bone never grew around your incisor because the baby tooth was so close.” Which lead me to ask if there a risk that I lose the incisor. He replied “There’s always a risk since the situation isn’t ideal. (Referring to my entire impacted canine situation.) The hope is that moving the incisor away from the site will create more bone growth.” I understand that he most likely is trying to not make promises in case I’m a crazy and I sue for something. He told me I should consult with my orthodontist about the root. I called to make an appointment with Dr. Huber but the office is closed for lunch. I’m worried that the tooth doesn’t have enough support for me to be tugging on it when I take the Invisalign off and on. I don’t want to one day be pulling on it and my incisor pops out with it. There’s no pain on the surgery site and there is a little bit of white starting to form around some of the gum walls (in the hole). I’m hoping this is new gum growth and the socket will start to close. 

The surgeon told me the only thing I can do is just keep it clean with salt water rinses and keep an eye on it to check for infection or root decay.