Just want to share my happiness

Although I haven't finished my Invisalign treatment completely yet, it's almost there.  I'm on my 2nd to last tray of my 1st run of refinement.  I just want to share my happiness and satisfaction with the whole Invisalign treatment with all of you, who have been and will be reading my blog.

I came back from attending a good friend's wedding last weekend.  As I was looking through the wedding photos,  I also went to find a photo of myself almost 2 years ago, on my birthday, before the whole Invisalign treatment.   Comparing to my own smile now and 2 years ago, I can clearly see a difference, though much of my invisalign journey has focused on my bottom arch rather rather than my upper arch.

BEFORE

AFTER

I will never be able to smile less than this and be more lady like, but at least now my teeth are now aligned and will be perfectly aligned very, very soon. :)

My refinement trays are here!

Finally my refinement trays are here! The dentist has given me 6 sets for both upper and lower and he has kept a couple of more for my lower teeth til the next visit.

After removing all the attachments in the previous appointment, the dentist put another two attachments on my upper teeth. Unfortunately when I took out the upper tray for the first time (or probably the 2nd time), one of the attachments came out with the tray! Called up the dentist and was told not to worry but had to book a separate appointment in a few weeks time.

Comparing my last standard trays and the 6th refinement trays, to be honest, there isn't much visible teeth movement. Can you guess which ones are 'before' and which ones are 'after'? However, 1st set of refinement trays were pretty tight for the first hour, so I am assured that they are doing their magic. :)

The refinement trays appear to be shorter than the standard trays, i.e. the trays don't go up to my back teeth as much as my previous trays. And after closely scrutinising the trays for hours (literally!), I am actually starting to think the lower teeth on the old trays appear to be straighter! Is that POSSIBLE? Then I kept on bugging my husband for his opinion and he turned around said- didn't the dentist show me a clincheck?! What a good point- coz the dentist didn't! And the very next day I emailed the clinic and they confirmed that they did indeed have another clincheck to show me. Have asked them to email it through so I can share with all of you, so watch the space.

AND... here it is, my refinement clincheck:

Anyway, clincheck aside, after pondering for a good explanation of my new refinement trays looking less perfect than the old trays, I realised that the reason was actually quite simple... the new trays fit perfectly whereas the old trays have tiny gaps between the edges of my teeth and the trays themselves!

Last standard trays (L22):

New refinement trays (L01):

Oh I only need to wear the first set for 2 weeks and the rest of 5 sets for just 1 week per set! The dentist told me because the adjustments were very, very minor so that the 5 remaining sets only require 1 week.

Belated wishes, but hope everyone had a great xmas and new year celebration! Although I am not completely brace-free in 2010, it's getting there!

Invisalign- waiting for refinement trays

I know it's been quite a while... It's not because I don't want to update the blog and share my experience of the invisalign journey, in contrary, I have spent all this time thinking about what to write, honest!

I had my upper teeth completed back in July but still wasn't 100% happy with the result. After looking at your teeth everyday for the past half a year, it's a natural progression to become, unknowingly, an annoying perfectionist. Even my husband got fed up with me complaining about my teeth, which now happen to be straighter than his! :p

The dentist told me to let my upper teeth 'rest' a little so that I could decide what I wanted to do with them, since I had loads of time before the completion of my lower teeth; I wore my last tray as a retainer during nights and we observed my teeth's natural retention.

In late October, when I collected my last two trays for my bottom teeth, the dentist placed in a little adjustment for one of my upper teeth, which I really wanted to be pushed out a tiny-weeny bit. The first week of wearing my last upper tray was probably the most painful days of the whole invisalign experience so far. From my past experience, the pain normally faded away after the first 1 hour (sometimes even less than 10 mins!) but this time it lasted for 1 week. One whole week. However, don't get me wrong, it wasn't a constant pain - Thank Goodness - the pain only lasted half-an-hour every time I popped my trays back in after a meal. That particular tooth must have put up a fight and refused to move! After a week of 22 hours a day wearing my trays, that tooth lost the war to my determination!

The remaining 3 weeks were plane sailing as usual.

So here is the result:

Before (last tray- U14)

After (last tray U14 with adjustment)

I hope you guys can "spot the difference" and my 1 week of pain was worth it!

Standing here in late November, I am 99% happy with my upper teeth. Still 1% left until I'm fully content but hopefully this is due early next year. YES - I finally got my impressions taken and the dentist is going to get more trays, probably just 1 more tray, to close the tinniest gaps on earth - on my upper, and a few more for my lower teeth.

I did have these expectations as throughout the 2nd half of my treatment, the lower trays were never as snugly wrapped around my teeth as before. And by the end of the last tray, I knew I had to get refinements as my lower teeth were still not perfectly aligned. However, I am still amazed how much my bottom teeth have improved. Indeed, I have come a long way.

Before L1 = Lin aka Sid The Sloth (Ice Age 1)

After L22 - Lin aka Sid The Sloth (Ice Age 2)

After L? - Lin aka Seth The Sloth (Ice Age 3)

... coming soon to a theatre near you (watch this space!!!)

The one thing that I am most pleased about from this orthodontic journey is the gap between my upper and lower which has now been greatly reduced:

Before Invisalign

After Invisalign (U14, L22)

Probably looking at early January next year to receive my refinement trays because of the Christmas rush... Although I am kind of sad that I can't start the year 2010 with a perfect smile, in a strange way, I am kind of glad- I do feel a bit lost (oceanic flight 815) and NAKED without them in my mouth - that's the invisalign trays, not my clothes.

N.B. The dentist has told me not to wear my last trays during the day, only wear them when I go to bed, as they're not designed to be worn more than 1-2 months. I guess they are nocturnal aligners. ;-)

A quick update- L19

Went back to the dentist a week ago to collect L19 & L20 (out of a total of L22). Have to go back again next month to sort out the refinements on my upper teeth. The tiny gaps on my upper teeth are beginning to annoy me as food gets stuck there far too easily! =.= Thankfully, the dentist reassured me that the gaps WILL be closed after the refinements, so all is okay! Phew.

I spoke to another girl who's getting her invisalign done at another dental practice in London. She says that she doesn't get to see the dentist often and that after the attachments are put on, she only needs to go back to her dentist after 14 weeks! I don't know whether that's a good thing or not... I mean, I know it's a headache to travel up to see the dentist just for a 10 mins appointment, especially for me as I don't live in central london and it takes about 1hr each way! However, at the same time, it's reassuring for the dentist to check on my progress and knowing that everything is on track. I wonder maybe all dentists should give their patients 2 options (1 to come in to see the dentist every 6-8 weeks and one other option for 12-14 weeks). But then, if the option was given to me, I am not sure which one I'd choose! LOL

Anyway, for me, in another 3 weeks time, I'll be back in London to receive my final 2 sets + refinement for my upper teeth- very exciting indeed!

Upper Teeth- ALL DONE

I can't believe my invisalign journey for the upper teeth has gone so smoothly and quickly. Without much pain, time just flew and everything is suddenly ALL over! It might sound a bit strange, but I am beginning to miss my attachments... =o=

Went to the dentist on Tuesday and he showed me how my teeth had changed since the beginning of January. It's always a slight shock when I see how bad my teeth were before the invisalign treatment! Probably because I have been checking out my teeth EVERYDAY and the movement has been in a slow progression so I don't realise how much they have changed.

He's pleased with the result and showed me how my teeth are now perfectly aligned. He asked me whether I was happy with the result and whether I had any concerns. To be honest, I wasn't 100% happy... coz i thought my teeth were not like PERFECTLY aligned. The dentist then removed the attachments for my upper teeth for me to have a better look in the mirror. It took probably 30 seconds to 1 minute to remove each attachment so it was quite an easy + quick job. Anyway, after the attachments were removed, my teeth did look slightly better, but I still expressed my concerns. The dentist said that I should take my time to look at my teeth and see how I feel in the next 1.5 months and then decide what I'd like to have my tooth/teeth to move then he'll make the adjustments until I'm 100% satisfied. :D

A lot of people express their opinions about how the dentist rushes them through the appointment, but he has always explained everything in details and if there were certain things that I didn't understand, he would try his best to make me understand! I think perhaps you just need to prepare questions- the more you ask, the more you understand!

Anyway, so here is my before and after photos. I thought I'd use some 'real life' photos to demonstrate how my teeth have transformed instead of looking just the teeth photos. You can click on the photos to see larger versions. Just put them up in medium size so they won't put people off from reading this blog too much. :)

BEFORE

AFTER

Probably a bit difficult to see? I tried my best to select the photos with similar angles...
Well, if you can't see the difference, here are the teeth photos!!

BEFORE

AFTER

I know there are some stains at the back of my teeth... I'm getting my teeth whitened in December when my bottom teeth finish with the invisalign treatment!! :D Oh, and I'd like to thank everyone for the support over the past months.. and because of the number of people that I have managed to refer to the clinic that I go to, I am getting the whitening for free!

At the moment, I am wearing my 15th set of bottom tray for 22+ hours a day and my 14th set (last tray) for my upper teeth only when I go to sleep! The dentist told me NOT to wear my 14th set tray for my upper teeth any other time as he would like to analyse my teeth's 'natural movement' in order to decide what retainers would suit me the best. Additionally, the trays are not made for wearing more than 4/5 weeks, so I guess I have to be extra careful when I clean them.

And leave a message to let me know how you think about my teeth!! :D

More filing!!

Went to the dentist yesterday and he did more filing on my upper teeth... The difference this time was that he used a thin strip of sandpaper to file my teeth! He said it was the only way to get into those tight spaces and shape + reduce the obstructions... Personally I think it's not as painless as the previous procedure (dremel tool with a sandpaper disc attachment). As you can imagine, sandpaper isn't as friendly with gums as dental floss, so when I got home and brushed my teeth, gum bled. (Well not exactly, just the spit was pinky but when I checked my gum, it wasn't bleeding...)

Although the gap between my front two teeth has closed, I still have a few very tiny gaps (newly created) + 1 big gap (was there before the filing this time round) between my upper teeth. Tiny gaps can't really be captured on camera, but here is the big gap:

The dentist told me that if the gaps don't close in my upper teeth after my last set (14th), I'd get an additional 1 or 2 trays. It's comforting to hear, especially when I only have 3 trays left for my upper arch and I'm a bit scared that my teeth won't be perfect by then! (Although the dentist has been right so far and said I've made good progress.) So fingers crossed!!

I didn't feel much when the dentist put in the 12th set. I mentioned it to my dentist and he said that I was used to the 'pain'. However, by the time I went to bed that night ... my teeth did feel pretty sore! I guess my teeth have moved a lot since the appointment. :)

Invisalign Tray 11: A Progress Update

I haven't been updating this blog for a LONG time... Everything is going pretty well so far- I'm on my 2nd week of 11th set and due for my invisalign appointment next Tuesday to get my next three sets of trays. Can't wait!! AND- that'll be the END of the invisalign treatment for my upper teeth! (14th will be the last set) Lower teeth will have a few more sets to go (22nd will be the last set).

Anyway, initially I thought that Invisalign was going to SLIM me down because I'd cut out my snacking habit. BUT I've actually gained weight.. I guess I've been scared of not being able to eat my daily allowance of chocolates that I'd just stuff myself with sweets after meals instead. So, in terms of calorie intake I haven't been able to reduce any but having 3 big meals instead of having 3 small meals with snacks in between has proved to have a detrimental impact on my bathroom scale! (Yes, just blame it on Invisalign! Nothing to do with me!! :P )

When I first had my teeth filed, I was a bit concerned about my gap created between my front teeth:


But now, to my relief, the gap has gone:


As you can probably notice, not just the gap is gone, my teeth are definitely more aligned and less flared out? :D

Lets look at something that's even more obvious:
Before: Lower teeth are so wonky!


















After: Much better- more aligned... but of course still room for improvement! But my lower teeth are now straighter than my husband's! Yoohoo!! :)