Invisalign Update

Well I've still got my aligners in :-(

Turns out - on your last day of treatment, your dentist may decide to make you carry on for a few more weeks while whitening happens. 

So on Wednesday I start my whitening with sort of a home kit, that takes FOUR WEEKS. For TWO of those I'll be wearing my aligners 22 hours a day, the other two I will start to just wear them at night. 

I have to say I was a bit disappointed, but it's just to let the teeth settle into position for a little longer. Apparently it isn't unusual. 

D-Day

Later today I go back to my dentist for the final time to have my invisalign removed and my teeth whitened. 

That's if we're both happy with the results of the last 28 weeks... 

Wish me luck!!!

Invisalign Attachments Removed - Week 25/26

On Saturday 21st July it was back to the dentist to have my attachments removed. 

Teeth can still move using the invisalign aligners without the attachments but they are the things that really anchor the clear brace into place. 

Here's the last shot: 

The attachments are literally filed down... I had six and it took a couple of minutes. 

There was a lot of discolouring on them, so my dentist removed that for me...

And here's the result: 

So, now just three weeks to go. My final aligner (14) doesn't have any groves for the attachments so we won't get too much movement. 

I'm thinking about whether or not I'm happy with my invisalign, and the only thing I'm thinking of seeing if we can revise is... the second teeth in the top jaw (either side of my front two teeth) don't slot in nicely to the front teeth.

I'm might look at seeing if some shaving and another couple of aligners could perfect that. Let me know your thoughts!

So - three weeks to go - Saturday 11th August is final appointment day! Wish me luck! 

One Month To Go...

So here it is then... the penultimate package of invisalign clear brace aligners being opened. 


These are the last invisalign clear braces that I will wear with my attachments, and only for one week. 

The attachments are being taken off for the final aligner - which ultimately will become my retainer that I will wear every night. 


I've worn Aligner 13 for one night as I blog, and although they weren't as tight as some of the others when I first put them on, my front two teeth particularly ache a bit this morning. 


So, with FOUR weeks of full time aligner-wear left here's where we are: 

Aligner 13 in... 

Aligner 13 out... 

In my initial chats with my dentist, we thought we wouldn't be able to get that centre vertical line exactly straight between my front two teeth in both jaws - actually it's looking pretty good. 

The discolouring is down to drinking TEA in my early days of invisalign (with aligners out) but the tanin clings to the attachments so I'd try and go on to Pure Green Tea - which I have now. 

The staining will come off - it's just a case of going to see the hygienist - but as I've said before I'm waiting for the whitening stage for that. 

My next update will be with pictures of my trip to the Dentist on Saturday when I have my attachments removed. 

Aligner 12 - I can see the finish invisalign

Well, the saying is I can see the finish line - but I've adapted it slightly. 

SIX weeks to go now. 

I put Aligner 12 in on Saturday 30th June and for the first time in ages, the tightness of them lasted for more than a day. It lasted two days and two nights. I felt like every time I ate my teeth were going to snap. 

Luckily, they're settled now and I kind of like a bit of pain because then I know my invisalign teeth are moving. 

Here's the latest snap - taken at the end of Aligner 11, and the start of Aligner 12: 

We've not done a comparison for ages either so let's do Week 1 and Week 23...

Doesn't even look like the same mouth does it? That's because when you have invisalign teeth treatment, your lips change shape because the angle of the teeth in you mouth changes.

You can see my front teeth have been pushed back and inwards - that's why my lips are flatter now and thinner. 

I've been told Aligner 14 (my last one) will be worn without attachments for two weeks, and then that becomes my permanent retainer that I will religiously wear at night to keep my teeth straight and protect my investment in invisalign teeth. 

So, realistically I'm almost at the end and thinking what it'll be like to go back to brushing my teeth twice a day. 

I don't think I can. I've also worked out that I've kept Wriggley's Extra going during my treatment... 

28 weeks - 3 packets of chewing gum a week.... £28.00! (I've got a cheap supplier!)

I only use the chewing gum for after meals/drinks if I can immediately get to the loo to brush my teeth. It's a handy tool, but don't chew it with your braces in. It just won't work. Trust me. 

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! :-) 

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.