Aligner 25 of 28 - Attachments are off 

Aligner 25 of 28 - Attachments are off 

Aligner 25 of 28 - Attachments are off 

Well, I've made it to aligner 25 of 28. The last 3 aligners of treatment, 26 -28 are I'm told "spacers" which apparently close remaining spaces between teeth after all movement has taken place. I'm not 100% happy with my results - I feel as though my front teeth still protrude slightly, and the two teeth beside my front teeth need to rotate more to sit flush with my front teeth (rather than slightly behind as the do right now). With that being said, my dentist agreed and during my last visit, he took my attachments off and took new measurements (same gooey molds as we did right at the start) in order to do case refinements.Case refinements aren't that unusual, although I did  hope that I would be one of the lucky ones that wouldn't need them. Still, I would prefer to get the best possible results from the Invisalign product, so happy to go through the process of refinements. There's a 4 week wait for the refinement aligners to arrive - I will continue wearing aligner 25 until then. At this stage, i have no idea how many refinement aligners I will require (my dentist said it can range from 5-14), but will keep you posted on my progress!

Pre-treatment

Aligner 22 of 28...... almost there!

Aligner 22

Aligner 22

Aligner 20 already!

Apologies for the long break between posts, the past 3 months have flown!!

I have started a new job, moved house and managed to reach aligner 20. For any of you worried about the length of time invisalign takes, don't. It honestly goes so quickly, you'll be done before you know it. I have posted some photos below so you can see the progress so far. I'm just over 2/3 of the way through treatment and as you can see there has been a lot of movement already. I am so happy with the results so far, especially when looking at these photos. Still a little way to go, but the end is in sight.

I've had no problems with the aligners in the past few months and everything is moving as it should. I have been very diligent with wearing them each fortnight, aside from the occasional wedding or event where the 22 hours a day is near impossible, I have managed to stick to it.

I am taking a trip to Bali for a friends wedding in a couple of weeks. I am anticipating that this trip will bring the biggest challenge of my Invisalign adventure so far. I am more than used to brushing my teeth anywhere I can find a public bathroom, but cleaning my teeth and aligners avoiding the tap water may take some practice. I will let you know how I go.

Well, until next time, I hope I am providing some insight into the Invisalign product!

Aligner 20

Pre-treatment

Aligner 20 of 28

Pre-treatment

Aligner 20 of 28

Pre-treatment

Aligner 20 of 28

Aligner 11

Week 14, aligner 7 of 28

Aligner 7

Wow, where does the time go..... it's hard to believe 2011 is almost upon us. Apologies for not posting here for a little while.

Update on where I'm at.....I'm currently half way through aligner 7 of 28. I have noticed some subtle movement in the top teeth, but nothing too major. I mentioned in my last update that my dentist had filed a small gap between my two front teeth in order to create more room for my crowded teeth. This filing was done prior to aligner 3. I am disappointed that this was done so early, as this gap is still yet to close. I am very self conscious of it. One of the main reasons i chose Invisalign was because they were removable. My job requires that I am in front of clients a fair bit, and for these meetings, I would have preferred (and intended) to remove my Invisalign, however, I feel that the "gap" is more noticeable than the actual aligners. Something to consider if you intend on using Invisalign. It's an easy fix, just make sure your dentist does any necessary filing right before the teeth are due to move, something I incorrectly "assumed" my dentist would do. My next appointment with my dentist is in a months time, so i will discuss this with him then, and find out when the gap is likely to close.

I seem to have settled into a routine with the aligners now. The first couple of days there is discomfort as the teeth are moving, then back to normal. The biggest issue I have had over the last month or so, is eating out at at functions or parties. Since we've just been through the Christmas period, there have been more functions than usual, and found myself needing to take my aligners out more than the recommended 2 hours per day. 

I have been very diligent though and added "double time". I'm not sure if that is standard invisalign practice, however my dentist has advised for whatever time you do not wear your aligner beyond the 2 hours per day you need to double that, and continue wearing it for that amount of time before changing to the next one. I managed to only add 48 hours, which wasn't too bad.

The only other complaint I have at this stage is keeping the aligners clean. I have the "invisalign crystals" but they don't seem to work as well as I would have hoped. I find that I need to spend a good 5 minutes scrubbing them with a tooth brush morning and night, particularly in the second week of wear. I guess I would prefer that they are sparkling clean, as I have heard a lot of reports of increased cavities while using invisalgn, and prefer not to go down that road.

OK, so I think that just about updates you all on where I am at today. I have posted photos of my teeth today with and without my aligners in.

Apologies if this post is somewhat negative, however, I would prefer to blog on my honest experience with this product.

Feel free to contact me with any questions as always.