Refinement Two

This photo shows the bobbles needed for my second refinement. I  havent got a photo with the tray in place but will add one later. 

Photos

These were taken at the end of my original treatment in August 2013. Although they're not perfect, I feel much more confident than I did before. 

Update

As a few of you have commented and I haven't updated past set 3, I thought I'd do a quick update. I'm doing this on the train so may have to add photos later. 

So 16 months after starting my invisalign journey, I am still undergoing treatment. While the original trays did level out my teeth, it's caused the front two to be uneven. In September 2013, I began my first set of refinements however after three months, little had changed. 

I returned to my dentist in January and had new impressions taken for my second set of refinements. The clincheck came back with me needing 6 additional bobbles attached to my front teeth in order to get them moving. These definitely make the brace more noticeable but I'm so close to getting the teeth I wanted that I don't really mind. 

I'm currently6 weeks into this refinement and to be honest can't see much movement. I'm due to finish treatment in May so I will keep you all updated. 

I'll add some photos in my next post. 

Invisalign Week Three - U 2/14 & L 2/9

I'm three weeks into my Invisalign treatment and have got so used to wearing them I sometimes have to check I've got them in! The first 24 hours of switching to my second set of trays was uncomfortable but I soon got used to them and they quickly began to loosen up.

My speech is completely back to normal and I don't feel self-conscious wearing them at all. I return to uni next week which I was initially dreading however I really don't feel embarrassed anymore.

I can't see any change yet which I guess is normal. My husband got braces a week after me (Six Month Smiles) and after 2 weeks there is a noticeable change in his teeth but it's a different system so I guess that's to be expected.

My dentist gave me one box of Retainer Brite to clean my trays once a week however I hate the thought of having any kind of bacteria on them for long periods of time so I have invested in a six month supply so that I can soak them every morning. For UK readers, I bought them from OrthoStore for £4.75 per box of 30.

Invisalign Week One - U 1/14 & L 1/9

I'm 4 days into my Invisalign treatment and have to say the teething problems (no pun intended!) seem to be slowly improving. They are a lot more invisible than I expected too (see below - excuse my dry lips - another side effect of the treatment!). Unless someone was sitting right next to me, I doubt anyone would notice they were in.

Day 1

I went to my dentist first thing to have my 4 buttons put on and get my first set of aligners. Initially the dentist  put them in for me and they did not feel how I expected at all. The tightness wasn't as bad as I thought but my gums really hurt, especially at the back of my bottom trays where I have some loose gum next to my wisdom teeth. I then practised taking them in and out myself which seemed fairly easy - I'm lucky I hardly have any buttons as they definitely make removing them harder.

I felt pretty miserable for the rest of the day and did cry when I first took them out at home. I really wondered what I'd let myself in for! My general feelings were:

• I'm going to be sick - I kept feeling like I was going to gag and needed to drink constantly
• My mouth was full of saliva.
• Speech was really difficult and I had an obvious lisp.
• My gums and tongue were really painful.

I ended up going to bed at 8.30pm because I just felt so miserable!

Day 2 -4

As the days have passed things have got slowly better. Speech is still difficult, especially towards the end of the day, but my lisp is slowly going. I can get them in and out very quickly - I even took them out in public earlier which I didn't think I'd want to do. I'm getting used to drinking a lot of water and not snacking during the day which should be good for my waistline as well as my teeth! My gum pain has pretty much gone. The bottom of my tongue scratches my bottom trays when I speak but even that seems a little better today.

The big test will be at the weekend when I work at my part-time job for the first time. The job involves speaking to people all day and my co-workers don't know I'm getting Invisalign so I will be feeling rather apprehensive about going in.

Initial Consultation and Clin Check

After making the decision to do something about my teeth, I contacted some local dental practices that did Invisalign. I chose the practice I did because they were up front about the price and have several years experience of doing the treatment.

After the dentist checked my teeth were suitable for Invisalign, I went for a record taking appointment which involved them taking several impressions of my teeth as well as taking some photos. This information was sent to Invisalign in America and two weeks later I returned to see my 3D Clin Check. I was really happy with the result I could achieve with Invisalign and the length of my treatment - only 28 weeks + any refinement needed.

Before Invisalign treatment

After years of hating my wonky teeth, I decided get Invisalign so that I can hopefully smile with confidence. This photo blog will map my progress over the next 32 weeks.

So let's begin with my teeth now. After years of sucking my thumb, some of my top teeth overlap whilst some of my bottom are pushed inwards. The overlapping causes shadows and there is a noticeable gap where my thumb once went. It actually didn't bother me throughout my teens but in my early twenties I saw a photo of me at an angle that really highlighted my bad teeth and since then I've disliked showing my teeth. At 27 I decided now was the time to get them sorted.