I've been wearing Trays 1 of 20 for both upper and bottom for about 24 hours now, and so far, I have no major complaints! Yay, I'm optimistic that this will continue, but I'm also trying to be on the lookout for any tongue irritation or gum sores.
I saw my ortho at 9:00 yesterday morning, and he took me through inserting and removing the trays. When he first popped them into my mouth, my first thought was, "Wow! They fit amazingly well. I immediately and instinctively ran my tongue along the upper teeth (inside) and was truly amazed at how smooth the aligners felt. I can BARELY distinguish the inside edge of the aligner up there. It feels as though it seamlessly ends exactly where my teeth meet gumline.
I'm not sure if it's the way my tongue moves, but I can detect a little bit more of an edge along the inside bottom. Nothing bothers me, though. It doesn't feel to be pinching or pushing on my gums at all, so that's great.
I took the aligners out for two meals yesterday (lunch and dinner), so they were out of my mouth for about an hour total. I feel mild discomfort (more so on the bottom), and it's really only uncomfortable when removing the trays (because of the added pressure). Taking them out is a cinch (my ortho warned it will be more challenging after buttons are added), and I can put them back in without a mirror. Easy!
They are SNUG, and I can definitely feel them working. After putting them back in, it's VERY noticeable for about 5 minutes, then you just dismiss the feeling. I've only popped 3 Advils the entire time, and that was mainly because I was feeling anxious and getting a slight headache doing work stuff.
A sidenote, about 3 hours after my ortho appointment yesterday morning, I saw my dad for the first time in a while. I didn't say anything to him at first, and he did not notice anything with my teeth, but he gave me a "look" about my speech. I explained, and he was dumbfounded (good!). He was thrilled and said my teeth look great. I think the 2 hours we spent (with me talking a ton!) was great for getting me adjusted to any speech obstacles. It's been very minimal, though.
At this point, I'm a happy camper. Brushing and flossing right after eating is the biggest adjustment. I'm keeping an eye on the inside of my lower lip, because if there is any soreness, it's there, from rubbing against the bottom of the lower aligner. Any rough spots can be gently filed though, or you can use dental wax. This has not been necessary for me. :)
My ortho did give me some "chewies" which are silicone rolls (they look like cotton rolls) to chew on for the first couple of days of a new set of trays. Chewing on them helps to "push" the aligners snugly onto the teeth. When I used those yesterday, they helped to noticeably close the tiny extra space at the top of aligner (in other words, they pushed the aligners down fully onto the teeth). You may be able to see a little of the space in the above picture of me wearing the trays.
So...we'll see how day 2 goes. Thanks for reading!
