24 and Finally Sorting my Teeth Out! Manchester, UK - Manchester, UK

I haven't been posting because not too much happened for a while. I had my clincheck 3 weeks ago and everything looked great I can't remember how many attatchments I need but they were quite a lot around the sides of my mouth and 1 for one of my front teeth. He said the treatment would be around 35-37 trays but he had planned in 42 incase I needed any refinements at the end of treatment which would take me to just over a year and a half and surprisingly invisalign said I didn't need any IPR! So I paid my deposit and left to wait for my trays to be made.

Which brings me to today! I went in today to get my first 2 sets of trays and he had some good news for me he said he managed to get my treatment time cut down because he had IPR put into the treatment which I was fully expecting IPR for the start as my teeth are quite crowded so I have no problem with them filing my teeth he didn't say how much he had gotten the treatment cut down to but as I left and looked into my little invisalign goodie bag on my packet of trays it said 1 of 21! So with some IPR it's cut my treatment time down to around 10/11 months if I'm right? Which I think is AMAZING!

I have to go back in 5 weeks to have my attachments put on, I was supposed to go back in 4 weeks as you change the trays every 2 weeks but I didn't realise I had to book in advance my appointment and the next appointment was the week after but he said it was fine so I'll be wearing my 2 set for 3 weeks instead of 2. My lisp is just completely out of control as well and I'm feeling the obvious pressure on my teeth I found it a bit much a few hours after having them in that it was a relief to take them out at lunch and my toungue is rubbing on a rough edge of the lower aligners but I'm sure I'll be fine in a few days. *fingers crossed*

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I first posted!
So finally on Wednesday I went in to have my x rays and impressions done and I had heard all the horror stories of the impression goop dripping down your throat and how precise invisalign impressions have to be so you could end up having them taken 3-4 times. However mine went so smoothly and I am very happy they did, I went in and had my x rays done first which I found super awkward, I'm so tall (5ft 11) so I had to sort of crouch down to get inline with the machine but it was quick and painless.

Then the impressions my orthodontist showed me my x rays and I was surprised by just how much of an overbite/overjet that I had I haven't been to a dentist in probably 2-3 years (yes I know that is terrible!) but I hated my last dentist I had a back molar removed about 6 years ago and I have 3 fillings and they both went terrible with him not numbing my mouth enough, or the numbness wearing off and him just being not so great it's really put me off going to the dentist but anyway he didn't mention me having any cavities! (WOOP!) just that there was a slight shadow where my tooth was removed which looks like the very thin shell of the root of my molar still in my gum (something my dentist has never pointed out or probably hasn't even noticed!) but he said with it being 6 years and with there being no sign of decay around that area it's probably best left alone now. So after he went through my x rays we started with the first cast which I'm not sure if it was for his records or if they've gone off to invisalign as well that set very quickly but the top impressions i could feel doing down my throat so I had to put my tongue to the roof of my mouth.

I then had to bite into some warm wax so register my bite and then it was onto the actual impressions which took about 2:30 - 3 minutes to set I first had impressions with some sort of clay like material and then he put a liquid material around my teeth and put the impression tray back into my mouth and again that went all great and he was more than happy with the first impressions so I didn't have to take multiple impressions :D! My appointment was at 9:30 and I was out by 10:15. He said that the impressions would be on the plane to Mexico the same day and he went through how they create the clincheck and send it too him and he rejects it and makes his own tweaks to get my teeth pretty much perfect :)

I'm really enjoying my journey so far and the fact that I have an amazing orthodontist who wants my teeth perfect just as much as I do really helps.

So January 21st was when I had my impressions and now I'm just waiting for the call to go in for my clincheck so again I won't be posting for a while but I'm now one step closer :D

So today I went for my free invisalign consultation, I was a little unsure at first but decided to take the first step and see what my options were. So I saw the private treatment co-ordinator and she asked my what did I not like about my teeth and if this was my first orthodontic visit. I told her that it was mainly my upper teeth which bothered me as I have an overbite and crowding which is causing my 2 front teeth to twist into almost a V and my teeth on my lower jaw are starting to shift to accommodate where my upper teeth are trying to sit.

She asked how I felt about fixed braces as invisalign isn't for everyone and I said I'd consider it but Invisalign is what I'm wanting. After the brief chat she took me up to see the Specialist Orthodontist he sat me down and asked what bothered me, what I wanted to achieve and how the end results would affect me. He then did a full exam of my mouth and said I was suitable for invisalign but that there are also damon braces as well he said he's estimating apound 20 months for both options. He also said at the end of treatment obviously a retainer is needed but he would put a fixed retainer wire at the back of my teeth on my lower jaw, they don't tend to put them on the upper jaw because of the way our bite is, it's easy for them to break on the upper jaw but he'd see at the end of treatment. Also because at the moment when I bite my centre line of my bottom teeth doesn't actually line up perfectly, my centre line goes through the middle of one of my front teeth and he said to make it just about perfect I'd need a tooth removed but as he's confident that at the end of treatment the centre line will be almost perfect that he doesn't feel that it's necessary to remove any teeth as it will only be a millimetre off being perfect.

After that I went to have som photos taken of my mouth which was awkward, she was pulling my mouth open and pulling my lips back, was so funny.

After the photos I went back to the treatment co-ordinator at the start of the visit and she went through both options invisalign and damon clear braces I didn't realise how firm invisalign are I expected them to be a softer plastic but I was pleasantly surprised to find out they were a firmer plastic she said I may need elastics but he would put the hooks on the inside of my mouth rather than the outside which I was also pleasantly surprised at! She told me about the buttons and how they do try to keep them to the teeth at the side of your mouth but they may need to put the on my front teeth which doesn't bother me. She then went through damon braces with me which I didn't want but I would of gotten them if they were my only option.

She then did a breakdown of the cost with me for invisalign:
£3950 ($6212.32) in total, I'd pay £250 ($393.14) when I went for my x-rays and impressions, £1645 ($2586.78) at my clincheck appointment and I can pay £150 ($235.91) or more on a monthly standing order and that covers the whole orthodontic aspect of my treatment.

I'm quite happy with the cost and with him saying around 20 months which I'm assuming will be a lot of trays I think the price is really good. So I think I'm going to go ahead with the treatment I told her could she ring me back next week to see where I am with work because I may have to start treatment in January after the christmas rush has died down and it'll also give me chance to save up the £1645 incase my mum or nana won't pay it for me. :)

So that was my free invisalign experience! I loved it and I was in there for just under an hour.

I'll post once I go for my x rays and impressions and I'll also put up some pictures :)