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Tabby’s Invisalign Journey – Part 3
I’m back to give you another Invisalign update! Now this feels crazy to say but I’ve finished my first set of 20 aligners! It’s incredible to see how much my teeth have changed over the past 20 weeks; I can not only tell the difference in my smile but also in cleaning my teeth and the amount my food trapping has reduced. I have noticed using interdental brushes and floss to be much easier and quicker because of the positioning of my teeth now being straighter.
During my treatment, there have been 2 teeth that have been stubborn and have been flagged a couple of times whilst I have been scanning using the Dental Monitoring app. I spoke to Dr Derek about these and he recommended that I go for a ‘Refinement Stage’ where these teeth would be focused on to get them into their final position. I was happy to go ahead with this even though it meant having a few more aligners for a little bit longer. Therefore, I booked in to see Gabi to have an intra-oral scan completed and for her to take some photos to send off for my account with Invisalign. Dr Derek will then discuss with one of the team members from Invisalign my case and will be able to decide on how long my refinement may take and see what can be achieved. So, I am currently in my last aligner and will discuss with Dr Derek soon about what the next stages are and have my new aligners fitted.
How have I been maintaining clean aligners when I’m wearing them 22 hours a day?
I have been using a ‘Zima Pod’ to keep my aligners fresh and clean during this process. This is a cleaning device which uses ultrasonic frequencies to clean the aligners. The Zima Pod actually advertises to clean multiple intra-oral appliances, such as mouthguards, nightguards and even some dentures! It has been useful in giving the aligners a full clean alongside what I do daily with a soft brush and soapy water. I will continue to use my Pod once I have my ‘Vivera Retainers’ fitted at the end of my treatment and have already got other members of my family to try out the Zima Pod with their own nightguards and retainers!
Hopefully, I will have my refinement aligners fitted soon and these will complete my Invisalign treatment and I’ll be able to inform you with my end results the next time I write an update for you all!
Tabby’s Invisalign Journey – Part 2
Hi everyone!
I am back to update you all on how my Invisalign journey is going and any tips/tricks I have picked up along the way.
I am currently in my 12th aligner (over halfway there!) of my treatment plan and I have started to pick up on noticeable changes with my tooth movements and how things feel when I brush my tongue against my teeth.
It has also been very interesting to see how little of my friends and family noticed my Invisalign aligners when I talk. I often find that only when I was removing my aligners to eat/drink that people notice I was going through the Invisalign process!
During my treatment, I have been using ‘Dental Monitoring’ to help aid my Invisalign journey. This is an app which requires you to scan your teeth (using your own phone) and then by using digital AI it flags anything important to me, as a patient, and also allows Dr Derek to monitor my progress remotely. This means instead of having to book an appointment with Dr Derek, I am able to rely on Dental Monitoring to do the tracking for me and reduce my time in the dental chair. Obviously, this isn’t so much of a bother for me because I am at the practice Monday-Friday anyway, but I’ve realised how valuable this would be if I was working elsewhere and didn’t have the time available to be able to have regular visits to review my Invisalign progress.
A trick I have been doing during my Invisalign process is keeping a large Tepe in my Invisalign travel box, I use the Tepe as a brush so that I can quickly clean my aligners after removing them to ensure there isn’t any bacteria harbouring in these when I’m not wearing them. This helps to reduce staining on the aligners too and avoid any unpleasant tastes/smells.
My next blog post will be coming up around the end of my treatment plan. However, even though I say ‘end of my treatment plan’, I may go through a ‘refinement’ process if I want to make slight changes to my end result. This initial refinement is something that is complimentary to all Invisalign cases here at the practice. The refinement process is another set of aligners but is usually on a much smaller treatment plan as only small adjustments are needed. Only once I finish my current set of aligners will I be able to judge if I want to go through a refinement stage.
As always, I will keep you all up to date with my progress and I am always at the practice to answer any questions you may have.
Tabitha
