MY SMILE DIRECT CLUB JOURNEY - MONTH 1, WEEK 1

Hey guys! So I decided to blog about my journey with my Smile Direct Club aligners. I've read tons of blogs and YouTube videos of other people's experiences with it, so I thought I'd put my two cents in and share my journey. At the bottom of this post I am going to include my "timeline" to show you an idea of the time frames of everything from ordering my impression kit to receiving my first set of aligners. Along with my daily entries I kept of each day during the first week. Hope you guys enjoy, and check back for more updates!

February 26, 2017: (Sunday night) Aligners went in perfectly fine, they felt a little snug, but zero pain.

February 27, 2017: (Week 1, Day 1) Had no problem getting them in and out, gums seemed to get progressively more sore through out the day. Was a little weird getting used to the eating situation, so this day I didn't really eat much. It's going to be weird not being able to drink coffee in the morning or snack through out the day.

February 28, 2017: (Week 1, Day 2) The bottom tray is EXTREMELY sore and uncomfortable and actually hurts. I woke up at 5am in so much pain that I had to take the bottom trays out until I woke up at 8am. I have tons of cuts and sores all through out my inner and outer bottom gum line. It hurts so bad! :( The cuts on my inner gum line go all the way back and it hurts to swallow. Also horrible canker sores on my tongue. I tried filing the aligners down a little but it didn't really work. I went to the store and bought some orajel that will hopefully subside the pain. The top is a little sore but not nearly as bad as the bottom. I read that there would be some discomfort and soreness with the gums but I didn't imagine it would be like this. I'm told it will heal up in a few days once my mouth gets used to the aligners, but the discomfort alone almost made me want to quit the first day.

March 1, 2017: (Week 1, Day 3) Last night I lined a little wax on the back edge of the bottom aligner that hangs and is rubbing and cutting up my tongue. That definitely helped me a lot and helped me to sleep more comfortably through the night. But the cut on my bottom front gum line is so bad that I literally have to take breaks through out the day and remove the bottom aligner. I don't see how this is going to heal if there is constantly something rubbing against it. I'm wondering if I can cut the aligner a little bit so it isn't always rubbing on the same spot, but I don't want to compromise the fit of the aligner. I also want to add that I've had absolutely no problem eating, my teeth themselves don't hurt even the slightest bit. I even ate corn on the cob for dinner tonite and have no problem at all!

March 2, 2017: (Week 1, Day 4) Woke up with a huge irritated cut on my lower from gum line and did not wear my lower tray to work today. It was just too painful. The cut seems to just be getting worse and I don't see how it will heal is the plastic is constantly rubbing on it, so I decided to give it a break for today. I hope that doesn't affect anything too much. I left the top trays in though. Other than that, everything was perfectly fine. I'm going to try and see if I can cut the front bottom aligner a little so hopefully it won't rub against that one spot anymore.

March 3, 2017: (Week 1, Day 5) So I figured out why the cut won't go away on my bottom front gum line. Since my bottom teeth are not aligned, there is a piece of plastic from the aligner that literally hangs a little off my gum line, where my lip is constantly rubbing it. And I don't think that will obviously get solved until my teeth straighten out and there isn't that space where a piece is hanging off from.

Sooo with that being said, last night I took a pair of tiny cuticle scissors and very slightly trimmed off a little of the plastic on the bottom and it helped A LOT. It didn't help the situation entirely because there's still some plastic hanging and rubbing on my lip, but it did help lessen the pain a lot. Also, on the inner part of the bottom aligner there is more plastic that literally just hangs there and has caused tons of cuts and sores underneath and on the sides of my tongue and it's making me absolutely miserable! :( So I also trimmed a little there but I was afraid to trim too much because I don't want to mess with my aligners too much because I'm not sure if I should even be doing this on my own?

As far as the pain today, it has definitely gotten better but it's still there. As far as eating, all week I've just taken them out when I first wake up, had breakfast, put them back in all day at work, and then took t hem out around 6-7pm to eat dinner and put them back in until the morning. I'm getting anxious to start my second trays this Sunday because I haven't felt any pain in my teeth, so I feel like my teeth haven't started moving yet. I know it's only the first week and I need to be patient but it's hard! Lol. I also hope that I get used to each new set of trays a lot quicker than this because the last 5 days have been brutal. And I don't know if I can handle that the first 5 days of each new tray.

March 4, 2017: (Week 1, Day 6) So today has pretty much been the same. My bottom front gum line is still cut up and I had to remove my bottom aligner for a few hours at work today because it was really bothering me. I also noticed earlier that my top aligner feels like it's starting to loosen up a little bit. I hope that just means that I'm ready for my next trays and not that I messed with anything when I trimmed them the other night.

XOXO,
Alix



Timeline of events before treatment

• January 1, 2017: ordered impressions kit

• January 10, 2017: received impressions kit

• January 11, 2017: mailed out impressions

• January 14, 2017: they received my impressions

• January 17, 2017: they e-mailed me to let me know they received my impressions and that it would take 3-5 business days to review them and get back to me.

• January 24, 2017: they e-mailed me to tell me that my impressions were not done correctly and that I would have to order another impression kit for $50 and redo them. So instead of doing that, I called and made an appointment to go into their office location in NYC for 1/30.

• January 30, 2017: went to their NYC office and had a digital scan done and teeth whitening session. (they even gave my boyfriend a free whitening session too!) I had an amazing experience there and the people were great. The woman there told me that I would get an e-mail in about 10 days telling me whether I was a candidate or not. And if I am, another 4 weeks after that to receive my first trays.

• January 31, 2017: received an e-mail saying I was approved and they are working on my treatment and I will receive an e-mail with my treatment plan in the next 7-10 days.

• February 1, 2017: received an e-mail of the plan for my treatment (super fast!) along with payment info. I was kind of bummed that I didn't get the 3D treatment plan that shows the process and each step of your treatment like I saw so many other people get. All I got was a before and after 2D picture (photo above) of my teeth. When I e-mailed and asked if I could see my 3D treatment plan I was told that I have a "new advanced treatment" and that my plan doesn't have this. Not quite sure what that means but ok.....

• February 3, 2017: Paid the initial $250 for my first set of aligners to be made and sent out.

• February 17, 2017: received an e-mail saying my aligners were shipped and would arrive on Tuesday February 21st! I was shocked at how fast that was! Literally 2 weeks!

• February 21, 2017: RECEIVED MY ALIGNERS!! Not going to start till Sunday because I work Tues-Sat and I want to start when I'm off from work and allow myself time to get used to them.