Apologies for the short absence… I went into the surgery last week, to see Derek and to see how my Invisalign treatment was going. I sat in the immaculately clean waiting room and picked up “Esquire” magazine. I then instantly realised I was probably a third as cool as I thought I was and I cannot afford a £1000 briefcase. The waiting room is like a small WH Smith with every conceivable magazine worth reading.

I progressed upstairs and stared at Derek’s ”Belmont” lamp. It doesn’t matter how many times I read the name on the lamp, I then read it another 25 times. I felt like Tom Hanks and his ”Wilson” ball.

Derek continued on with some more “intercontinental filing” or something that sounds like that… I am getting used to this now, but it can be quite uncomfortable in the tight areas between the teeth. After this visit the filing stops for a while, so i need not revisit for a month now. Quite sad really, the practice is a lovely place to just gather your thoughts and realise how cool you could be… (re: Esquire magazine).

On leaving, Derek hands me my two new sets of aligners, like the dental Santa Claus of Ipswich. Gleefully I accept them and carry them away like my two newborn babies downstairs. Secretly I feel that Derek likes the power he has over us Invisalign patients, we crave our next set of aligners to progress this wonderful and exciting treatment!

I have a little bit of soreness as usual with the new set, usually on the teeth that are doing the most “work”.Invisalign top tip: when removing the trays, i find that alternating the removal side stops the trays from warping. Too much removal in the same place has stretched the plastic and can lead to some small amount of play.

I am off to Portugal for a week, will update soon, any questions, please forward to me via the practice.

Best Regards Mike