So this is it! After going back to see my dentist Dr Suki last week she told me my teeth are all perfectly aligned and my treatment is complete! The day has come and perfect timing right before Valentines day!
At our appointment which lasted a little over 30mins, my dentist filed down the attachments which was easy and pain free. No pulling off or anything like that from what I had heard from other peoples blogs. Also no staining from where they had been, (again from what I had heard from a few other peoples blogs and was worried about!) I'm not saying this doesn't happen, but I drink a lot of tea/coffee and my teeth are totally perfect like the attachments were never there.
My fangs and front two teeth were also filed down as mentioned before which I have always wanted as the fangy ones always really bothered me. I got a little sensitivity on my front tooth with that, to which point the dentist decided to stop. I am soooo happy with them!
So here are some before and after comparison photos for you to see -
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Ta da! That's the Invisalign results within 7 months and 14 trays of treatment and a fabulous Dentist who listened to my concerns, addressed them and gave me the best teeth I could possibly have! I am a very happy lady and Invisalign patient!
Also notice how much whiter my teeth are in the comparison photos? I think that is purely from changing my brushing habits from twice a day to brushing after every meal, snack and tea/coffee.
So before leaving my dentist for the last time, she provided me with my final retainer which is suggested to be worn day and night for the first 6 months, night time only for 3 months and then occasionally every few months or so after that. It looks a little bigger than the normal aligners but actually fits so perfectly and without the attachments looks even less visible.
I have also been sent home with the Opalescence Tooth Whitening System at 16% which I am so excited to use! Its a tub of 4 syringes full of their whitening product to be placed onto my retainers at night. I used this for the first time last night and immediately felt a bubbling effect happening, which my dentist didn't warn me about but when I googled it realised its just the product working - not an allergic reaction or something scary that I was worried about- phew!
I will update with some more photos once my whitening treatment has finished to show you how that's going.
Thank you for reading and for following me on this amazing Invisalign journey to straight, white teeth :)
Alisha xx
Good to hear that your treatment was completed and was a success. With the use of invisalign in dental treatment, now people are becoming more comfortable with the idea of straightening their teeth. As now they don't have to walk around wearing the braces. It is indeed a revolution in the dental industry.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jeffrey :)
DeleteI am pretty much at the same stage as you, but my after Invisalign treatment is different.
ReplyDeleteI have a 2 piece wire type retainer that I have to wear at night, and I should wear my last Invisalign aligner tray for daytime wear. This will continue for another 3-4 weeks. Then I go back to the ortho for checkup. But the advice is that I should be able to stop daytime wear and only wear the retainers at night ....forever, otherwise the teeth will start to return to their original position.
After reading much about this online, yours is the first blog where I seen different advice.
Last night was my first night with the retainers - and they were very uncomfortable. I felt like I my mouth was full of plastic and that I had no space to comfortably relax my tongue. I'm hoping that it's just a case of getting used to the feeling - but I am very interested in the alternative retainers that you have been given. My ortho didn't mention that there are alternative retainers, but I can imagine why he'd want to use the wire type - the plastic ones will not last a lifetime, whereas these wire ones probably will. If you go with the plastic ones, you'll be incurring greater costs as you will have to replace them more often.... maybe 4 times a year? Maybe you should check with your ortho on this matter.
Hi JJ, thanks for your reply. I think there are two types of retainers that can be used which are fixed and removable retainers. Here is a link that might help you http://orthodontistinsight.com/retainers/will-i-require-a-retainer-after-invisalign-treatment/
DeleteI've never heard of the wire ones, but everybodys treatment and requirements must be different. I hope you are finding the wire retainers more comfortable now?
My dentist told me that I will need to wear my retainers day and night for 6 months at first, then 3 months just at night and then only a few times a year if anything so I don't think a retainer that will last forever is necessary for me.
Either way I hope that info helps you and maybe the plastic removable retainer like mine might be an option for you if you speak to your ortho?
Good luck
Hey! Congrats on finishing your Invisalign!! I think our Invisalign treatment time and number of trays are about the same :) I do have a few more trays than you did. I just started mine 4 days ago. If you have any advice for me I would love to hear it! I also have a blog I just started to document my own Invisalign journey. Check it out! http://pretty-hurts.com/
ReplyDeleteHooray! But don't call it "leaving my dentist for the last time", as you could bring all efforts to naught if you stopped doing at least your semi-annual check-ups. As they say -- doing it is easy, maintaining it is hard. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteRandy Farmer @ HoustonSmileDocs.com
Only seven months?! That's some amazing improvement! My mom has one tooth that pokes out a little, kind of like in your before pictures. She's been debating over getting invisalign just to get that fixed. I think I'll show her your blog as some encouragement. Thanks for sharing! http://drdavidrush.com
ReplyDeleteI recently went to the dentist after not going for five years. One thing that I can tell you is to make sure that you floss if nothing else. Flossing once a day actually saved my teeth and prevented any gum disease. The dentist said had i only brushed that my mouth would need several thousand dollars work to fix everything.
ReplyDeleteByron Kennedy @ A+ Family Dentistry
Thanks for sharing your experience Alisha, it seems to have worked out quite well for you especially looking at the last two pictures showing how the alignment has changed so much in just a 7 month period. It should help others who are considering it make up their minds. Thanks for sharing this. http://www.kidschoicedental.com/
ReplyDeleteya it is really created a good difference in me which is very well exciting and i got many more things about dental issues which was cleared now.
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Congratulation in your journey.. I'm trying Invisalign too..
ReplyDeleteI just started Invisalign two weeks ago my mouth started to bleed after the first day.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely great post here. It has a lot of key elements that truly makes it work.
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Thank you, my friend. I’m glad you enjoyed Read this blog!
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