Well, be important quietly

[gwyn]

First off, thanks to ianmcin for this link to the new season of Venture Bros. trailer. It's so awesome, and I think I may have to change my LJ header to be "Be important quietly."

Second, I got my new teefs yesterday. Or rather, my aligners. It was a bad day all around (I went to the wrong office, since they have two, and then everyone seemed to make an unpleasant face or lecture me about it, and it wasn't like I could explain to them how insanely tired and worn out I was from a con or anything), and when they informed me about something called IPR, where they shave down some of your teeth so that they will be better able to position more correctly as the aligners do their job, I just about cried. NO one mentioned this to me before. I have extremely sensitive parts of my teeth to match my insanely sensitive skin, and these are of course the parts that will get filed. And as far as I know, they don't use anesthetic when doing IPR because everyone insists it doesn't hurt, but even when he was filing the attachments (more on that later) yesterday, I could feel that nerve sensitivity rocketing through me and I jumped more than a few times (which he seemed to ignore).

My initial consultation was with the female ortho (they are a married team), but both times I've been since I've had the male ortho. And he's not exactly friendly seeming or giving me a vibe that he's remotely interested in who I am as a patient, the way the female one was. In fact, the consultation was remarkably nice, everyone involved seemed concerned and interested in my issues and finding ways to smooth them over, but since they now have my money, everyone's been brusque and unfriendly and just a bit too businesslike for something that produces so many emotions in people. And I don't know if it was because I was late yesterday or what, but I left feeling really depressed. (I'm sure a large part of it was the assistant, Greta, whose Nazi-esque demeanor was right in line with her German accent and sour disposition.)

The attachments are these little "buttons" they put on some teeth so that the aligners have something to grip and move the teeth around. I had no idea these things would be so freaking deep -- they are raggedy and like little fingers on your teeth, instead of the more pimply type shape I expected. And when I've managed to get these aligners off and eat, they hang far enough over the edge of the molars that I've chewed holes in my cheek and it really fucking hurts. And that's after I get the freaking aligners off, which... jesu christo, they are hard to get out. It took me nearly 20 minutes to get the top aligner off the first time, and I was looking all over the house for something strong enough that I could pull them off. I even considered buying a crochet hook for them. mackiemesser had warned me about this but I think until you really experience it, you can't understand. My gums are all gouged up from my fingernails and my nails are all ragged and split. There's a tool you can buy on Amazon I guess called an outie, and despite the name, i think I may need one. Supposedly it gets easier, but... I guess this is also why people lose weight.

I discovered a forum for Invisalign people and it's proving helpful. A lot of people with similar issues, though I haven't found any posts about tripping the gag reflex like mine are (it's the sharp edges sitting at the side of my tongue, which is always what triggers the reflex). I guess there's still a lot of wait and see. Going up to the store this afternoon for hydrogen peroxide for cleaning them (I don't understand why someone would use those denture cleaners with all those toxic chemicals!) a little extra because boy do they make me salivate. There's something about the plastic in my mouth that's turning me into a drooling Newfie (the dog, not the people from the province) or something and I think that will produce a lot of odor as I go along. The last thing I want on top of weirdly coated looking teeth and a lisp is scary bad breath. (Oh, and the weirdest thing of all? It feels like there is something alien on my teeth that I HAVE TO GET IT OFF RIGHT NOW OMG and I really shouldn't. It's like... claustrophobia, but with teeth. I can't even begin to explain it. But it's making me quite mad.)

Anyways, I still have a post to do about the con and the vids and such, but I'm busy focusing on my two years of misery ahead, so I don't want to interrupt my self-absorption. ;-)

Comments

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

Sending tons of sympathy your way.
Dentists ... *shudders*

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Marathon Man had it right -- there really is no comparable torture.

[viverra-libro.livejournal.com]

If the aligner is too sharp, just take a very fine-grained nail file and file the sharp edge. There is no need to suffer with it!

My "bumps" were like dimples. There is no reason that yours should be enormous or ragged -- they should buff and file them!!!!!

If you're worried about mouth odor, see if you can get tri-oral, which is a 2-part mouthwash that promises to get rid of bad breath all day if you use it 1x/day -- and it does!! It's available from QVC, but I'm sure you can get it other places.

So sorry for all your appointment annoyance -- that's happened to me, too, and I got the same kind of response (although it was to an asthma doctor, not a dentist). Some days I just want to smack those people.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I probably didn't explain that right -- it's the sharp line of the edge on the inside of my bottom aligners that I can feel, rather than a sharp piece sticking out. It sometimes is really just intense and starts a gag session that I can't seem to stop. Everyone says I'll get used to them, but right now that seems very far away. Mackiemesser did tell me about the filing, and I'm stocked up on emery boards for future aligners. ;-)

The bumps are... when I look in the mirror with the aligners on, they seem fine, and not at all far up on the tooth. But when I take the aligners off, and chew, they catch on each other (the top and bottom ones) and it's just awful. They filed the ashesive and stuff off of them, but they still feel really rough and unpleasant and they're definitely giving me eating trouble. Of course, the doctors are on vacation. Grrr.

[batwrangler.livejournal.com]

Eeep!

*hugs*

[klia.livejournal.com]

Ack to everything! I know how you feel with the gag/claustrophobia thing, because my TMJ splint does the same thing at times. It also makes my tongue ache because it can't rest naturally. And I just found out yesterday that my whole TMJ problem (caused by my orthodontics) is likely not going to go away, ever, even wearing this splint all day and night except when I'm eating, and additional orthodontics to raise my bite higher may be the only way to deal with it. Except I have no idea where I'd get the money to pay for it, so I'm kind of resigned to living with another chronic pain problem. Just... ugh.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Oh man. Did you get a second opinion? That whole "no hope" thing just sends me into a tizzy when doctors do that and I hope that you can maybe find someone who'll consider something else.

[klia.livejournal.com]

I know, I've been trying to stop myself going into a tailspin over this, but it's such a specialized problem, very few dentists even deal with it. The only other guy recommended to me wanted $400 just for the initial consultation (no treatments), so I have to keep looking. Feh.

[sdwolfpup.livejournal.com]

Ack. This is not making me hopeful about my (someday when I can afford them) future braces. I hope that you find excellent ways to work around the annoying parts and the the two years is not nearly as bad as you fear!

On the other hand, I drool all the time right now, so I have lots of empathy with you on that. Heh.

[imkalena.livejournal.com]

Jeez. It sounds like this Invisalign is every bit as uncomfortable as regular braces with brackets and wires. At least for regular brackets, you can put wax on them.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

You know, I hate to influence you on that so negatively. I mean, it might be that you're one of the people who sails cleanly through the whole experience. OTOH, if I didn't have such horrible memories of the metal braces, I would have saved myself probably a lot of money and trouble by having the brackets instead. The nice thing about these is that you can take them off, and brush and floss normally. But there are definitely downsides, just as there are with metal. It seems to be very different for different people.

[mackiemesser.livejournal.com]

I had the little dimple things to hold my aligners; what you're describing sounds almost like the little hook they put on when I had to use a rubber band to shift just the one tooth.

That's neither here nor there. The important thing is that you're paying them a truckload of money and that means that they should do it right. If you can, I would make an appointment to have them fix the button/dimple things so that they aren't hurting you. Because it shouldn't be like that. I can't even imagine how the aligners would be fitting properly on something that protruding. (I didn't get buttons on my molars, either, the canines were as far back as they went. Maybe ask why so far back?)

The first couple of weeks are the hardest. The aligners will feel really intrusive for a while, and it takes a little while to find the trick of taking them off (I couldn't do it at all when they had me try the first time after putting them in). The technique I developed was (for the bottom) to slide my thumb along the outside of my teeth about midway to the back, use the edge of my nail to get just under the edge of the aligner and push up--it would actually make a popping noise when it released. Same thing with the tops, only using the forefinger. I don't know if that's a helpful description, but it could be something to try until you get the hook-thingie.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I was telling someone above that I probably didn't explain it right, but the edges aren't ragged, just... really prominent and I'm hyper aware of them right now, and the feel of them against the sides of my tongue is making me gag. And the buttons... you know, they look fine in the mirror when the aligners are on, but when I chew with them off, they are like pinching the skin in between them because of overlap and it's like biting the inside of my cheek over and over again. It's awful. But of course, the doctors are on vacation now. Conveeeenient.

I think one of my problems is my small mouth -- no bicuspids to speak of and I'm missing a couple of other teeth as well. So the bumps are on molars probably because of that, though one is on a tooth right behind my fang on bottom, and another on top. the Nazi assistant insisted that I had to take them off from the back teeth only, but when I read the Invisalign booklet last night, they said to start on one side back teeth and work your way around front, which has helped quite a bit. It's still really hard and gets the gagging going, but still much easier. ANd I ordered some Outies tonight. ;-)

Probably because they're so expensive, my big fear is breaking them. I can tell it's going to be a long 18 months.

[mackiemesser.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't worry about breaking them: they're pretty sturdy, and since you'll likely be changing them out every six weeks or so, you'd have to work at breaking them (I clench my teeth when I sleep and it took me a couple of months of wearing the same aligner to crack it).

The inside of your mouth will adapt and toughen up. It just sucks waiting for it to happen, though.

You got a booklet? Well, damn, I never got a booklet. I feel cheated now! ;)

It does take a while to get used to them; I didn't think I was going to be able to stand it at first, and then it got to the point where I didn't even notice them. But, yeah, it's a challenge at the beginning.

[lordshiva.livejournal.com]

"Be important quietly."

I want that one too.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Isn't it awesome???

[fishsanwitt]

I agree with whoever said that you should go back and have them *fix* the raggedy edges.

I've had wires poking into my cheek and I *always* went back to the orthodontist to have them snipped. Plus, I had wax that I could put on, but I realized that Invisiligns are different.

I hope the alien feeling goes away soon.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

Of course the doctors are on vacation for a while now. It never fails.

[fishsanwitt]

::pets you::

[rainkatt.livejournal.com]

MUCH sympathy for the dental stuff.