The Invisalign journey of a woman of a certain age!

So, in my last blog I talked about the emotional journey I took to get to the point of seeking help to get my teeth straightened. This blog covers the beginning of the process and how it felt for me. I hope you find it interesting and if you are considering treatment like this, I can only encourage you to bite the bullet and go for it; I know I am early in the treatment but so far it has been a really positive experience!

The Process – Teeth straightening with Invisalign

I was completely fascinated with just how hi-tech the process is now. The X-ray they take is a 360 degree scan of your mouth and is very clear. Apparently I have very long roots to my teeth, which X-rayis considered good as they’re deep into my jawbone and as they are manipulated around, the new bone will grow nicely and I won’t lose too much of the root.

The next stage was to have impressions made of my teeth to send off to the lab and back would come a clever bit of animation called a Clincheck which would show just where and how my teeth will move. The impressions, alongside the Clincheck would be used to make the special plastic trays that should be worn for 22 hours out of 24 for as long as needed.

The Clincheck came back really quickly and Helen worked her magic, adjusting it until she got my teeth aligning beautifully.

Clincheck

I was asked to approve the Clincheck so that Helen would know I was happy with the outcome and the order was then placed. An appointment was made for two weeks on, when I would be fitted with the first trays. Lisa, Senior Nurse at the practice has nearly finished her Invisalign treatment and is a font of knowledge on how to manage everyday living and she has already given me some really practical tips, which over the course of the next year, I will be sharing.

The First Invisalign Trays

3 days ago, I was fitted with my first plastic trays; wow did they feel odd! I am a sensitive soul and anything in the mouth was always going to throw me. The first problem I had was they felt a bit ‘scratchy’ at the edges – as soon as I said this, the solution was given-some trays can feel this way and if they do you simply get hold of an emery board and shave a bit off carefully. That worked.

The next thing I noticed was that I developed a mouth ulcer – a drop of Bonjela has soothed those now and they disappeared the next day. My teeth are already moving into their next posImpressions for alignersition, and whilst not actually feeling overly loose I can tell they are doing what they should do. The good thing is that they are not painful. They feel slightly bruised but in a dull sort of way. The retainers are very well fitting and getting them in and out is a challenge, but I am fast getting used to it and my teeth have never been so well cleaned after every meal!

I have downloaded the Invisalign App which has lots of useful information and allows you to track your progress with selfies of your smile, which as it changes so slowly, will be a good thing to do.

Cleaning the trays are easy – warm water and a toothbrush seem to be doing the trick nicely and the fizzy tablets that I have been given to soak them in bring them back up sparkling!

I haven’t had to stick to soft food as much as I thought I might but my Rivita crackers are out for now; far too hard whilst the front teeth are being shifted! I whip the trays out to eat and then replace them afterwards. As I don’t drink tea and coffee they don’t seem to be staining or complaining too much about my berry teas, so I haven’t removed them for drinking which means I can keep them in for the required time with little problem.

Next blog will be when I switch over to my next set of trays in a week and half. It’s all very exciting!

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