I find it hard to smile or laugh, reason being .. I hate my teeth. My teeth always make me feel so insecure and uncomfortable that I always have to cover my mouth whenever I laugh ): It sucks when I frequently have to try to avoid having the "showing teeth" smile for closeup pics as it's so horrible. That's why I usually smile like this :) instead of :D Many people find it weird I KNOWWW. It's very easy to snap an unglam picture of me when my teeth is showing, trust me, you can ask my friends. Bucks bunny crooked tooth girl.
So finally my parents decided to end my torture and increase my confidence level by allowing me to straighten my teeth. Hence in all my recent posts, I dare to smile like :D although my teeth aren't fully straighten now but I feel confident to smile. I am not really interested in normal braces because I feel that I will not look good in them, so i opt for Invisalign.
So what is invisalign?
It simply stands for Invisible Aligners
Invisalign® takes a modern approach to straightening teeth, using a custom-made series of aligners created only for you. These aligner trays are made of smooth, comfortable and virtually invisible plastic that you wear over your teeth. Wearing the aligners will gradually and gently shift your teeth into place, based on the exact movements your orthodontist plans out for you. There are no metal brackets to attach and no wires to tighten. You just pop in a new set of aligners approximately every two weeks, until your treatment is completed. You’ll achieve a great smile with little interference in your daily life. The best part about the whole process is that most people won't even know you're straightening your teeth.
Many of my friends still don't realise that I'm wearing invisalign even though I'm wearing it for like more than half a year already! It's that great.
So I believe many people have thousands of questions about Invisalign. The video below should be able to cover most of your questions!
So what are the procedures like?
1. Taking 2 X-rays known as the orthopantomogram and lateral cephalogram.
Orthopantomogram: to check if there are any extra teeth or if there are roots which have been damaged previously and would therefore make the patient not amenable to orthodontic treatment.
Lateral cephalogram: To measure the relative positions of the upper and lower jaws to each other, as well as to measure the angulation of the upper and lower front teeth.
This information will help the orthodontist to determine what kind of tooth movement is needed for the patient an ideal aesthetic result, can be achieved.
Orthopantomogram: to check if there are any extra teeth or if there are roots which have been damaged previously and would therefore make the patient not amenable to orthodontic treatment.
Lateral cephalogram: To measure the relative positions of the upper and lower jaws to each other, as well as to measure the angulation of the upper and lower front teeth.
This information will help the orthodontist to determine what kind of tooth movement is needed for the patient an ideal aesthetic result, can be achieved.
2. Taking photographs of the patient's soft tissue profile
To determine if a change in the soft tissue profile would be beneficial to the patient or if his existing profile is good enough.
In addition to this, upper and lower models must be obtained so that the orthodontist can measure the amount of space needed in the teeth and achieve the desired result.
To determine if a change in the soft tissue profile would be beneficial to the patient or if his existing profile is good enough.
In addition to this, upper and lower models must be obtained so that the orthodontist can measure the amount of space needed in the teeth and achieve the desired result.
NOTE: In the past, alginate impressions( the soft plasticine substance to get imprints of teeth) were done.This old traditional method used to present problems to patients, as it was soft and "gooey" and there is a tendency for patients to feel as if they are choking. Now, new digital scanning technology has made it possible for teeth to be scanned in three dimensions so that a digital three-dimensional scanned image can be produced. This eliminates the need for traditional, uncomfortable impressions.
3. The discussion
The orthodontist then does his analysis and diagnosis to determine the possible treatment outcomes as well as their related advantages and disadvantages.Then discussing with the patient the possible treatment options and outcomes as well as what is involved in terms of becoming an Invisalign patient.
The orthodontist then does his analysis and diagnosis to determine the possible treatment outcomes as well as their related advantages and disadvantages.Then discussing with the patient the possible treatment options and outcomes as well as what is involved in terms of becoming an Invisalign patient.
4.The green light
Once the patient is sure that they want to go ahead with Invisalign, a second scan is performed with more accurate software which will be sent to America where the scanned digital image will now be manipulated by the special software to produce the desired result.
5. The confirmation
Once the orthodontist and the patient have an agreement as to what the final teeth position should be, this information is transmitted to Invisalign and aligners are made according to specifications of this end result.
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The Clincheck software is a very detailed software as it is possible to examine the tooth movement of every single tooth for every aligner in a patient’s treatment sequence. A special device known as the grid also allows the patient to measure accurately the expected tooth movements over time for every individual tooth. Once the final tooth positions are agreed upon, the signal to begin manufacturing the aligners can be sent digitally and robotic arms in Mexico will automatically begin to manufacture the case.
So here is my Clincheck. I removed 4 tooth because i want to have my teeth pushed back further to have a better face shape. Note: extracting your teeth will extend the duration of the whole shifting progress.
The dark grey "teeth" is empty. ( It's the one that i extracted )
My experience with About Braces ( Dental Clinic ) :
I LOVE it there. Everyone is so friendly and efficient. They are all out to help you achieve a beautiful smile. I am glad that i chose About Braces to do my invisalign. A thumbs up!
This is how the aligners look like.
The orthodontist will give you chewies ( the white rubber tube ) for you to bite on, and also two cases ( blue and red )
I am wearing a new pair of aligners here so as you can see, it doesn't fit into my teeth perfectly yet but after a few days it will be perfect. It still looks natural isn't it!
My experience with Invisalign + Tips :
I did not regret getting Invisalign. With braces, you will always have that metal brackets in front of your teeth.. However with Invisalign, you can actually SEE the difference and changes. Hence after wearing for a long time, your teeth can be seen to be straighter and nicer, having a more beautiful smile every 2 weeks! Also, you will only be required to go back to the clinic every 2 months to check the progress and get your new aligners ( you will receive four each time )
My tips for having Invisalign..
1. Everytime you change a new pair of aligners, always use the chewie to bite so that the aligners can fit into your teeth better! As it hurts a bit when you take it out, i try not eat so many meals for the first 2 days.
2. After time, you will get lazy and not bother taking your aligners out before your meal like me even though it's not advisable. Try not to do that too often!! Your aligners will STINK REALLY BAD and become super dirty and gross.
3. Do not lose your aligners. It will be very expensive to get new ones! ( talking about around $600 for one aligner )
4. Do not go without your aligners for more than 1.5 hours every time you take it out. Actually wearing aligners for 22 hours is the standard amount of duration but sometimes i failed to do that. Once, i left my house without wearing my aligners and when i came back 4 hours later to put on my aligners, they were soooo tight!
5. Do not remove your aligners in front of people you are not close with, in fact you should not remove your aligners in front of people because it looks gross and unhygienic! ( Sometimes i remove it in front of my friends to gross them out HAHA oops ) But yeah, people won't have a good impression of you if you do that!
6. Do not put your aligners on a tissue paper. It will stick and it will be super nasty. Besides, you might forget to remove your aligners from the tissue paper, thinking it's just a used tissue paper. Just put it in the case they provide you.
Thank God for the creation of Invisalign.
Do check out About Braces
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AboutBracesSingapore
Website: http://aboutbraces.org
