At my visit with the dentist last November, they had this cool new camera that they used in my mouth to create a video imaging of my teeth. They then showed it to me and noted that my bite was off and it was causing me to bite down on my fillings. There was one filling that I could definitely see was not doing well but I have no complaints about my teeth except for cold and vibration sensitivity that I have had for at least 15-20 years.
I recall a Manhattan dentist telling me 20 years ago that my bite was “off” and that if I didn’t correct it with a jaw-breaking type of surgery I would get TMJ. While I had noted that the space between my two front teeth had increased a bit over the past 20 years no other dentist had talked about my bite.
Consequently, I was initially leery of the recommendation for an Invisilign and replacement of 7 fillings with porcelain implants. The pictures clearly showed one bad filling and others that didn’t look great. While I really didn’t like the gap between my teeth I never would have done the Invisalign for cosmetics alone. With little idea of what Invisalign would entail I agreed. I was shown computer images of how the bone around the teeth would gradually move and the process would take 5 months. I was asked to pick out the color for something that would be applied to my teeth. I was told I would need to wear them 22 hours every day and that I couldn’t drink anything besides water with them in. I would need to brush my teeth after I ate or drank anything that wasn’t water. I would not be able to chew gum.
The first week is a “practice mold”. It isn’t designed to move the bone, but to give you a chance to get comfortable wearing the retainers and getting them in and out. When I went back after my first week, some “spikes” of a some sort of compound was applied to several teeth. These spikes would help move the teeth/bone to the correct position gradually.
The first 4 months I took all of the instructions very seriously. I always had them in at least 22 hours a day but gradually I started drinking some soda with them in and when not convenient to brush, I would just put the retainers back in.
I changed the retainer every Wednesday for 18 weeks. The gap is closed; my bite is different/improved. I did not really have pain or even discomfort but I hate eating with the spikes on my teeth.
The spikes were supposed to come off tomorrow and I was REALLY looking forward to it. I would be able to chew gum again when I work out. I got a call this morning that the dentist has had a family emergency and would not be in the office tomorrow and they were not sure when he would be back. So I will be with my week 18 retainers and spikes on my teeth for a while longer. When the spikes come off, I will get measured for the retainers that I will use at night to keep the teeth where they should be.
I truly hope the dentist’s family emergency resolves quickly and that all is well. Getting the spikes off of my teeth is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things but I was so looking forward to it. Gum chewing will just have to wait.
Tamara Unleashed 