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. 

Aligner 9 - (Only 5 more to go!)

So it's official - I'm starting to love my teeth :-) 

It's week 17 and the results are awesome. If my teeth were like this to begin with, I don't think I'd have had invisalign, so that gives you an idea how happy I am... and there's still 10 weeks to go! 

The best thing about invisalign is that you can't really tell they're in, and my teeth look good with them in. I've had so many comments which is amazing. 

One of the photos below is me this morning with them in, one is with them OUT... i'm sure you can see which is which, but in reality they are invisible braces!

The tooth with the attachment on, on the pic below in the upper jaw is now touching the front tooth! that's huge movement from day 1!

There are FIVE more aligners to go... and at this rate, we're on track to finish the whole thing on 11th August 2012. (Just in time for the Olympics!) 

On June 9th, in a couple of weeks, I've got to have some shaving in the dark areas on the lower jaw. I think, this will enable those teeth to slot in together in a near perfect set. I'll update you on how I get on with that. 

Any questions about invisalign, my dentist EuroDentalCare in Birmingham, or any other issues, please get in touch. I'm on twitter too @therealstaceyf. 

Aligner 8 - Week 15 and 16

For the first time in 15 weeks, I'm really starting to love how my teeth look and people are beginning to notice them. 

No problems, today is the 6th May (reposted due to tech issues) and they just feel a little bit tight which they do on the first two days. Other than that... PERFECT. 

Here's a photo: 

You can see how much straighter the bottom set are now and the top FOUR are almost touching! AMAZING! 

Thanks invisalign!

Aligner 7 - reposted due to technical issues!

Aligner 7 - THE HALFWAY POINT. 

Wearing Aligner 7 between the 21st April and 5th May. 

No problems with this one - and I guess the best thing to do is compare to Week 1 and see how far we've come:

Week 1                                           Week 13 

The key things notice are the bottom teeth are straightening up ALOT. (more than these images show.) 

The front two teeth are also closer together as well as the surrounding teeth in the upper jaw. 

Aligner 6 - Ouch!

When I put aligner six in on the 7th April, this is what my teeth looked like. 

Today, coming to the end of that two weeks, I can hardly open my mouth. I've got sores on the left and right cheek and a small ulcer :-( 


I'm told this is because I'm not washing my hands enough when taking my aligners in and out. 


So I've bought some Corsodyl mouthwash to use just once a day over the next few days to try and get rid of the bacteria and swelling. 


A lesson for all: 


WASH YOUR HANDS BEFORE TAKING YOUR ALIGNERS OUT AND PUTTING THEM BACK IN. 


Lecture over. Tomorrow, officially halfway - Aligner 7 will be going in.