Popped the 6th trays in- as title - strangely not tight at all. =_= A bit disappointing coz it's going to take another 2 weeks before I can get my hands on the 7th trays.. So far, things are alright- getting used to the life with Invisalign. I will definitely miss them when they're gone- one less thing to show off! :P
Went to a party the other day, full of dentists, so I took the opportunity to find out the DIFFERENCE between Clearstep and Invisalign! Originally, I thought it's just the price, coz Invisalign is more of an International brand whereas ClearStep seems to be just targeting the UK market, which makes Invisalign slightly dearer to ClearStep. A lot of dentists don't know the difference coz they either do Invisalign or ClearStep... I even ask my own dentist and he was like, ClearStep? Never heard of it. My dentist only does Invisalign. You heard it- he doesn't do teeth whitening, veneers, dental checkups- he just does Invisalign and that's all he does all year long! Talking about 'Specialising'..!
On the ClearStep website, it says:
How does ClearStep compare to Invisalign®?
ClearStep and Invisalign® are both part of the invisible orthodontics category, so there are similarities between the two products and they are used to treat similar types of cases. However, one of the key difference between the two systems is the appearance of the ClearStep aligner. ClearStep positioners are smooth and have no ridges, making them more hygienic and very easy to clean.
Anyway, apart from the price difference and the difference mentioned above, I was told that Invisalign uses slightly more advanced technology. You only need to take 1 impression at the beginning of the treatment process and Invisalign would do the rest- doing the ClinCheck & manufacturing the trays. Whereas ClearStep, so I was told, needs the dentists to take several impressions throughout the treatment period. However, there are 2 benefits of this:
- It's safe as dentists take several moulds and because the trays are manually made in labs, the dentists would make sure the trays fit 100% tightly on your teeth. (Although it's a lot of hassles, both for dentists & patients- I know I don't fancy having a mould stuck on my teeth for 10 minutes for multiple times)
- Apparently ClearStep can cope with more difficult cases than Invisalign. (I think this is arguable, coz I heard the success rate for Invisalign is higher than ClearStep!)
So... that's my little discovery of the week! :)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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Yay! Tray 6 for you! I kinda envy you not having any pressure or anything, because I got my fourth trays a couple days ago and it was very very painful. Almost like the first tray painful. I think maybe the IPR had something to do with it. Hmm... Clear Step never heard of it either. Very interesting concept. I definitely would not like to take impressions over and over again. I hated the one time I had to do it, because they made me do it like six times.
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ReplyDeleteI started Tray one on April 1st, 2009. First two days pretty tight, little painful. I'm exactly one week out and mine are not tight at all now. Will they let me change trays, if "I" think I'm ready? They haven't hurt at all since around day 4. I'm ready to switch. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteHi Pam, no, you have to wait for 2 weeks to change the trays- I think it gives some time for your teeth to be happy with their new positions! Plus maybe it's not so good for your teeth to keep on moving? :P
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