Saw my new & improved ClinCheck this morning after wearing this last tray set for just over 9 weeks now. It's been 4 1/2 weeks since my impressions were taken for refinements. Made an appt. for next week in hopes that my new aligners will arrive in the timely fashion that my office has been getting - usually a one week turnaround if not less after accepting the ClinChecks.
So - this is what is gonna get tweaked:
That stubborn upper right canine will get one of those lovely rectangular attachments to coax it's rotation into it's optimal place. Some IPR either side of this one to give it the space needed to allow it to turn properly, too.
Also my lower fronts from cuspid to cuspid will all get a little tightening up with a bit more turning of my canines, along with a little intrusion of some to make them line up as perfectly as they can. No attachments needed for these - bonus.
All this should be accomplished (in theory if all goes according to plan) with 4 more tray sets - meaning 8 more weeks. Which is fine by me - the rest of my uppers & molars should be well on their way to being stabilized by the time my retainers are made.
My calendar is marked for next Wednesday to have the attachment bonded on & do the IPR - & to fit my new trays.
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6 comments:
Is your refinement series only 4 trays?
I'm trailing behind you by a few weeks. I finished my last initial series of aligners last week and the doctor took new impressions and photos to send in for my refinement series. Just for closing a few little gaps and pushing down one lower lateral incisor tooth.
At the appointment prior to the impressions I finally also got a bonding operation done on one of my upper front teeth to lengthen it to match the other one. It was chipped a little when I was a kid and now that my teeth are straightened the difference between them seemed a lot more noticeable. This was the time for a chance to fix it since new impressions had to made and now the refinement series will start with the new longer matching front teeth!
My teeth whitening over the past couple months (I did an extra week touchup for the upper arch prior to the bonding) seemed to be successful. They had to shade match the composite material bonded to the end of my upper front tooth and I asked where the shade was on the scale and was told at or near the whitest for the "natural" teeth. Only shades whiter were special "un-natural" hollywood shades. So now I just have to maintain that natural-white shade! Right now I can't see the difference between the bonded part and the natural tooth, so I think it worked out great. Time will tell if the material is strong enough to last for several years with typical wear on the tooth edge. Bonding only cost $150 compared to other far more expensive ($1000s) overkill alternatives like a porcelain veneer.
I took some digital pics by myself yesterday with bright flourescent sunlight-matched lighting of the results after my initial invisalign series, teeth whitening with 10% gel, and one tooth bonding:
http://www.filehive.com/files/0213/Teeth_070213_1.jpg
http://www.filehive.com/files/0213/Teeth_070213_2.jpg
http://www.filehive.com/files/0213/Teeth_070213_3.jpg
Yes - 4 trays, BB.
WOWIE! Your teeth look fabulous! And very, very white indeed!
Which one got the bonding - right or left? It's very hard to tell, but I'm gonna guess the left one just 'cause it looks smoother on the surface. If it's that hard to tell, then obviously it was done really well.
Did you need to have a temporary retainer made to fit while waiting for your new trays since that one tooth is now a different size/shape?
Hope your refinement series comes more quickly than mine did - what with Xmas holidays & all the process ended up taking a lot longer than I hoped. Oh well -
it's all about patience...
Thanks for checking in with the pics - was good to meet your teeth at last. Danged good lookin' ones they are, too!
Anne
Thanks! I noticed how white they look depends a lot on the type of lighting used. White-balance on the camera probably has a big effect too.
Actually the bonded tooth was the one on my right. But the left one and a few other teeth got contoured at the same time to give a smooth edge - thats good for a final touch at the end too! The doctor suggested that as an alternative for my one lower tooth that sticks up a little bit now, but I said to give the refinement a chance to push it down first, since it shouldn't take more than 2-3 aligners to do it. Might as well try that first, I'm curious if it can do it easily.
Luckily my upper invisalign trays were made so they went straight across from the longer front tooth - there was already room for the bonded tooth, luckily! So I can continue to use my last upper aligner (now used for 4 months and still OK) until the refinement series aligners come in. I hope its only a few weeks as was estimated.
I'm really very satisfied with the state my teeth are in from the original series plus the one bonding. Just that slight pushed up lower tooth is the only thing I see. There are a few gaps not really visually noticeable but noticeable when I floss around some of the pre-molars. So the refinement may try to tighten those up a bit by moving the back teeth.
My original series was 18 upper and 26 lower aligners. So it took exactly one year. I have been wearing the last upper for over 4 months mostly full time, so I think its long enough I'm now wearing the upper only 1/2 day now to hold it till the refinement. I'll still wear the last lower full time though till the new aligners come in.
I do notice that when I've had my trays out for a few hours (a perk of having these last ones for over 2 months) at a time, the first thing I feel when putting them back in is pressure on that one lower incisor of mine that has been intruded.
So - it was pushed in easily enough, but it's the first tooth to start to easily move back. It's stabilization is definitely going to take longer than the rest.
What with Betsy's longer refinement series, we all just may end up in retainers at the same time yet. It's good to see how well the treatment has worked for us all!
Just a note: my trays definitely have taken on a slightly yellow cast towards the back molars since wearing them this long. That's with drinking only one morning coffee through a straw with them in & nothing else. Have you noticed any discolouration of yours?
Have seen others whose Essix type retainers go over the gumline more than our trays & they are apparently a bit harder to remove because of that. It'll be interesting to see when we finally get there...
I use a denture cleaner pill daily and that keeps the aligners clean for the most part. If I notice a little buildup which I have a few times in the past few months, I just use some toothpaste and a toothbrush and scrub it extra in that area and if needed a dental pic for anything really stuck on. That has worked for me for the worst of it!
I did see a temporary clear plastic retainer (like an Essix type) and it had a lot of extra plastic sticking out from the edges compared to the well-trimmed Invisalign aligners. I think it would feel different with that unnecessary extra plastic. I asked my doctor last week if the Invisalign-made retainers with a more durable plastic (2 year estimated life) are trimmed the same as the regular aligners are, so they would have the same feel in the mouth. Luckily she had gotten one of the Invisalign clear retainers in for another patient and got it and showed it to me in the same package that the aligners come in. Sure enough it looked just like an aligner and was trimmed closely the same way. Even had the black writing on it like the aligners do! I also asked to see some samples of other retainer types in the future to help make the retainer type decision, but seeing the Invisalign clear retainers appear the same as the aligners makes me tend the most now to start with them!
I follow that same routine - efferdent each morning & toothpaste on brush other times. There's no buildup of anything - just what I'd call some staining - sort of just discoloration & visible at the anterior only. It must be from that one morning coffee, I guess - even though I take them out right afterwards & soak them.
Thanks for the tip on the Invisalign retainers - don't like the idea of an extra unecessary rim. Will have to compare prices yet. Someone told me just today that the Essix type they have are more flexible & a different type of plastic than Invisalign trays.
Hmmmm - more to consider...
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