Invisiline Retainers: Snack Deterrents

6 months ago I consulted an orthodontist about my crooked lower front teeth and problem bite. (I bite the insides of my cheek and lips fairly regularly while eating. My top front teeth no longer closed over my bottom teeth. One of my lower front teeth practically laid over the top of the adjacent tooth. For many years I had complained to my regular dentist that my teeth were getting more crooked. However that dentist was VERY CONSERVATIVE and didn't want to unnecessarily work on teeth which didn't have decay or root problems. Maybe he considered my desire to correct my teeth alignment 'vain' or cosmetic. Years earlier, he actually botched a root canal, which a more skilled endodontist discovered when he examined an adjacent tooth. So I endured progressively more crooked front teeth, which my dentist told me everyone gets with age and/or my teeth wouldn't get any worse. Then I realized I was letting another authority figure tell me what I needed, just as I had endured abuse from my mom for many years. So I DEMANDED a referral to a good orthodontic dentist.

Finally my denist did something right. He referred me to a GREAT orthodontist who described the pros and cons of regular braces and Invisiline retainers. After that discussion, we decided to use a series of Invisiline (plastic) retainers to gradually shift my lower teeth to the left and my upper teeth into proper alignment to correct my bite. The advantage of Invisiline retainers (over regular 'braces') is that I can remove those to eat, floss and brush my teeth. So with good dental care, the chance of decay from food stuck in the retainers (unlike braces) is VERY low. Also Invisiline retainers move the teeth in tiny increments, which don't cause as much pain, as usual braces.

The disadvantage is I have to remove the Invisiline retainers to eat and then floss and brush my teeth and the retainer before reinserting. I tried eating 'soft foods' between meals, because I believed soft foods wouldn't hurt the retainers. However ANYTHING I eat gets stuck, not only outside the retainers, but also inside the crevices of the retainer, which are almost impossible to clean by brushing. I usually need to remove small pieces of food with my fingernails.

So, when I'm really starved, but not ready to eat a meal, I need to eat or drink SOMETHING which won't get stuck in my retainers. Praise God for hazelnut milk!! (Most other nondairy milks have ingredients to which I have food allergies.) That milk gives me protein, fats and liquids to sustain me until I can prepare a meal. If I really need to bring my blood sugar up quickly, I drink apple or pear juice. (Orange juice doesn't work as well, because it gives me reflux.)

HOWEVER, I also tend to eat past satisfaction at meals, so that I don't need to eat for 4-6 hours, because I have to remove the retainers to eat anything, then brush, floss, brush retainers and reinsert. When I first got the lower retainer, I obsessively abstained from between meals snacks. Then I started just yanking out the retainer (just had lower for 6 months), shoving it into my pocket and shoving snacks (especially free fresh fruit samples at Whole Foods) into my mouth, not brushing after eating and reinserting the retainer. NOW that I have 2 retainers to remove and reinsert, I'm really hesitant to snack even if I'm physically hungry. As mentioned, the hazelnut milk and apple juice allow me to consume something to restore my blood sugar, if I'm really hungry.

My new upper retainer is VERY difficult to insert and remove. I have 5 attachments on 5 different upper teeth (little bumps where the retainer hooks onto my teeth). The dentist initially created 6 attachments, but the first one came off when I 'practiced' taking off the retainer. My orthodontist said "It must be a sign." We both laughed and went with just 5 attachments. Nevertheless retainer removal and reinsertion next to impossible and very painful for maybe a few days. The goal is to move my upper teeth into a better 'bite' formation so that they close over my bottom teeth. The first upper retainer initiates that 'movement' and is very uncomfortable at first. About an hour after I insert the retainer, I forget it's there, but it hurts at first.

With all that difficulty and discomfort I want to minimize the insertion/removal process and NOT eat between meals. So I rationalized overeating at both lunch and dinner today. I wanted to leave the table 'stuffed' so that I didn't have to eat anything for 4-6 hours. Hmmm ... I remember doing that when I first got my lower retainer, until I realized I was making myself more uncomfortable longer by overeating than I could with the retainer. Now I also know I can drink hazelnut milk and apple juice if I really get famished before the next meal. Sooo enough of that overeating silliness. I don't have to stuff myself to last until the next meal. After a few days of eating just enough, I really dislike being overly full.

However, I also hear another 'rationalization' voice at meals now that I'm at ideal weight. That self-talk says: "If you want to maintain your weight, you need to eat more than just enough. People who need to lose weight need to stop at 'satisfaction'. You don't want to lose any more weight. So you can eat until 'full'." That sounds logical ... Nevertheless, I trust that God created my body's hunger/fullness cues to tell me when I've had 'just enough' to eat. Those cues won't let me lose too much weight if I eat when hungry and stop when satisfied and comfortably full. I choose to trust God's creative wisdom over my doubting self-talk. Nevertheless, I sense another discussion topic emerging. So I'll stop here and start a new post on that topic.