So, tray two, week two. Having started fresh with a new tray I remembered some of the more problematic aspects of having a new tray. First and foremost for me was the sensation of having an unfamiliar and large plastic object in my mouth makes my gag reflex kick in. This lasted only a few hours on the first day of trays one and two. But never pleasant. The second was that the sharp edge of the trays rub against the sides of your tongue and make it sore. Your tongue gets over it in a matter of a few days but it makes eating anything vaguely acidic something of a challenge for those days. I've read that some people like to file the sides down with a nail file but it's not something that I want to do so I've chosen to suck it up, however uncomfortable.
This last week, I've been to see a friend in Rome. This posed way more problems for me than I thought it would. Firstly, my friend is living a bit of a studenty existance at the moment, so grabs food on the run, such as a slice of pizza rather than doing the sitdown thing. This and the inevitable Italian gelato meant that I found myself doing the unthinkable: eating with the trays in. It's really not very pleasant or satisfying, but when you find yourself sat on the Spanish steps with an ice cream, it was easier to just do it and find a place to brush my teeth and clean the aligners as soon after as possible. The only thing you're supposed to consume with the aligners in is clear water. I certainly don't drink coffee or red wine with them in as they could stain, but I have resorted to white wine drinking with the aligners in. I've also been told that trapping sugar or anything near your teeth with the aligners in increases the risk of tooth decay. I hold my hands up here. I'm not a good example to follow but I guess everybody has to find a way to fit the aligners around their own lifestyle. If it's any consolation the receptionist at the dentist where I got these fitted wears them and admits drinking coffee in them!
Anyway, I wanted to post an update picture here and show you what my teeth look like with the aligners in and you can see this above. This one's come out quite blurry but I sometimes feel they look better! In any case I hope you'll agree that the gap made by the dentist between my two front teeth is stating to close.
Halfway through tray two
