ab22

Long delayed follow up-

I am on refinement process #3 which consists of 13 upper and lower trays for me. The trays are finally sitting properly on my upper teeth. I'm on #7 and am skeptical that I will actually attain the results I'm hoping for. One crooked tooth is moving properly, the other doesn't seem to have done much at all.

Thanks for your comments, Ade15. I'm sorry to hear that you've had a difficult time w/ Invisalign also. At my last appointment it was determined we would try a 2nd refinement process (mind you, the orthodontist thought it was the 1st one b/c he didn't read my chart correctly). I am awaiting the new trays to come back. I'm sure it'll probably take at least a month since the holidays are coming up.

I agree with your post and if I had known would have gotten traditional braces instead of Invisalign. Yes you should realize ahead of time that snacking will be a struggle but for me I was able to deal b/c of the hope that my teeth would look great in the end. I just finished refinement #1 with no improvement. I wish my ortho would offer regular braces to me b/c I would do that in a heartbeat to get this over!

To follow up, I just finished my first refinement set which consisted of 8 upper and lower trays. My bottom teeth were crowded due to my wisdom teeth erupting and not being removed earlier. I have one very crooked top tooth (in the front) that is rotated toward the front of my mouth and another crooked top tooth (on the side) that is smaller than the rest of my teeth and looks like it didn't grow in fully. I am happy with my bottom teeth as they are no longer compacted but I can't see any difference in my top teeth. My very crooked tooth is as crooked as the day I started this, it seems. I have an appointment today and hopefully will see my actual orthodontist and find out the next steps. I really don't want to get another refinement set done as it seemed that this one didn't do much but I've invested a significant amount of time, money, and energy into this process. Most people it seems don't have the "buttons" on their front teeth, but I do, so it's very obvious that I have these braces. I'm more self conscious than I was before and just want this to be over with!

Jen- I had a gum graft performed. The periodontist took a slice from my palate and sutured it to my lower gum. I had the stitches on for 10 days and then they clipped them out. I hope you don't have to go through this procedure as mine was really uncomfortable because the palate had to heal without any bandages and that made it really difficult to eat.