A few months ago my dentist asked me if I was having any problems. My usual, "Everything's fine", was not the answer. The dentist took a look at my x-ray's and said,"of course you're not fine, you must be having a great deal of discomfort." The problem? My teeth are moving forward and that has pushed my jaw out of alignment and crowded all my bottom teeth. Ouch. Apparently your teeth moving forward is something that happens as you age. Yay.
The solution to my painful problem?
Braces.
Yay, again.
I was hoping the orthodontist would have some super-secret, high tech solution so that braces wouldn't be necessary. No such luck.
I did have a choice to make; traditional bracket-type braces (metal or clear) or invisible braces.
I'm 37 years old, what do you think I chose?
Invisalign braces are a series of clear aligners that you wear for 2 weeks 22 hours a day. After 2 weeks you switch to another set of aligners and slowly your teeth get straightened. They really are invisible, it's kind of miraculous. The first couple of days of each aligner are a bit uncomfortable, and having something in your mouth is really strange, but I'm told that over time you get used to it. I'm pretty sure that no matter what it's better than a grown-up walking around with a mouth full of metal.
By The Numbers
30 aligners X 2 weeks = 60 weeks
60 weeks X 7 days = 420 days
22 hours a day X 420 days = 9240 hours
(36 hours down, only 9204 to go)
AT least you had the choice. I would have gone with the invisible ones too! Good luck counting down those hours.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice! Isn't it wonderful that we live in such a miraculous day and age. Who would have guessed, invisible braces?
ReplyDeleteOuch! Hope you get used to them soon!
ReplyDelete