I'm Here - Here I Am

I mean, I'm REALLY here meaning I'm done!

Which also means I'm officially in RETAINMENT forever more -
wearing my new Invisalign brand $80@ Retainers even.

I've been advised to wear them full time round the clock until I can no longer feel my teeth shifting when out for an extended period - meaning that the retainers don't feel really tight when I put them back in. I'm going to definitely wear them for a month; maybe even 3 months full time as much as possible before I feel I can switch just to 12 hour overnight use only. It's no biggie & since only one tooth in my uppers & 3 or 4 in my lowers were moved only slightly during these last 4 tray sets of my Refinement series, the others have all actually been retained for 4 months already (when I finished my initial set).





Here they are in comparison to my last set of my Refinement that I had been wearing for 3 weeks exactly now - they are in fact made from the mold of this very last set minus the attachment holder place. Invisalign makes them out of a thicker gauge plastic that will supposedly last for up to 2 years, depending on it's use & wear.




I can definitely tell the plastic is thicker - mostly by the way they felt upon insertion & also just by inspecting them closeup next to my last tray set. There was slight pressure & a feeling of definite snugness to these new ones.
Which is good - likely the last tray set had already loosened up somewhat. You can't see it from this pic, but they are exactly the same as my last set (angle of the camera lens actually makes them appear a bit different, but they're definitely the same).

These Retainers are also harder to remove - it took me a few tries & I REALLY had to tug hard to get a strong enough grip on them to make them budge. That never happened during my entire initial phase or refinement series - I could always get them off quite easily even with the attachments. I'm sure they'll get somewhat easier each time as the other trays did - even if not to the same degree. Am feeling a bit of pressure & sensitivity if I touch my uppers & lowers together right now after having them in for about an hour. I'm sure that will pass quickly as my teeth get used to them. They are quite comfortable with no rough edges, as always has been the case for me. They've made no difference in my ability to speak clearly. No lisping at all.









I've one favour to ask:

If there's spinach in my teeth, will ya let me know?