Sunday 17 June 2012

Aligner 11 is in

We're now on to Aligner 11/14 on my invisalign teeth journey. 

When I put the new aligners in yesterday, they snapped into position. I think there's alot of moving to be done with this set of invisalign aligners. 

If you're thinking of getting invisalign teeth clear braces, you need to remember that they have to be in for a MINIMUM of 22 hours a day. That means taking them out for meals and all drinks except for water. 

When you put in a new set of aligners they are clear and very clean, over the two weeks that the invisalign are in, you notice discolouration - but by the time it gets too bad, it's time to change them anyway. 

You can buy fluids to clean them with from invisalign, but I use toothpaste and my electric brush and that seems fine. 

So here's the latest picture Week 20:




I hate taking photos of my invisalign teeth looking this discoloured. But as I said last week, there's no point wasting money on the Hygienist and whitening now, when I've got about 8 weeks to go. 


Since last weeks photo you can see more straightening of the bottom middle teeth. I think Aligner 11 is going to completely straighten them. Watch for more updates in two weeks. 


Also, in the upper jaw, on the left, 2nd tooth is rotating round a bit more. I think this is the one that may need some extra help towards the end of the treatment but it is slowly coming into line. 


Key Dates coming up. 


Invisalign teeth Aligner 12 goes in on the 30th June 2012... 


Invisalign teeth Aligner 13 goes in on the 14th July... 


Invisalign attachments removed from teeth on 21st July 2012. 


And Invisalign teeth Aligner 14 goes in on the 28th July. 


Official finish date before refinements: Saturday 11th August... 8 weeks and counting! I'm going to book a hair appointment too for the big reveal of my invisalign teeth! :-) 

Saturday 9 June 2012

Aligner 10... 9th June 2012 - SHAVING!

I've been wearing Aligner 10 for exactly a week now and today I had to go to the dentist for some shaving as part of my invisalign teeth programme. 


Here's where we are at with 9 weeks left to go... 






Today I went back to Euro Dental Care in Harborne for a check up and also for some shaving to prepare for invisalign teeth aligner 11, which is going to perfect the teeth in my lower jaw. 


To do that, I needed 0.4mm to be shaved off one of my teeth.


It doesn't hurt. You can just feel the vibrations from the drill and it took less than 1 minute. 


Here's what it looks like now: 



You can also see from this picture how bad the discolouration is. This is because the teeth have moved, and the dark brown areas weren't seen before because the teeth were overlapped. The good news is - this is easily sorted by the hygienist. 



I've decided to wait until the end of my treatment (9 weeks time) to have this sorted because, with only a few weeks to go, there probably isn't much point in the extra expense (as I'm going to have to have it done again at the end of the treatment before whitening anyway.) 


I've also cut out normal tea and coffee now, so that should help with discolouration in the future. It is difficult to give up though!


Operation Invisalign Teeth is now only 2 months from completion. My next appointment with Invisalign is in 7 weeks time on 21st July 2012. 


At this appointment, we'll prepare for the final aligner and that means removing the attachments (the things that look like cottage cheese attacked to six of my teeth!) 


Exciting! 


Any questions - please message me or comment and I'll give you any help I can.