Epilogue

This blog has been sorely neglected, and while I can’t go back in time and fill things in as they happened, I can at least round things off so this series of posts might be useful for people looking into Invisalign treatment.

I started the journey 400 days ago, but I’ve been plastic-free and straight-toothed for about 3 months. Let’s start with everyone’s first question – did it work? Well although I didn’t blog regularly, I did take pictures every couple of weeks. You can see the slow transition by looking at the Gallery page, but for those who just want the headline result, here it is:

Now that, my friends, I am happy with. You might look at the after pic and think they’re not perfect. I’ll admit, I did too. But frankly, short of some major surgery to re-mould my jaw and hand-craft each tooth, I don’t think it’s half bad. Had I been born with the teeth on the right, I definitely wouldn’t have ever considered dental work to straighten them any further. It’s not a perfect Hollywood smile, but I’m not a Hollywood person. All I wanted was to be able to smile without feeling self-conscious, and that has definitely been achieved. In nine months (including a self-inflicted one month stall) I went from wonky as hell to pretty darn straight.

Now just to cover one thing that I missed in neglecting this blog. I did have some IPR – interproximal reduction – where they shave down the edges of your teeth so they can fit together once they’ve shifted. It wasn’t painful, except for when the dentist caught my gum line a couple of times which made it bleed a bit. I was a bit worried it would look really gappy, but it was barely noticeable. I tried to take a pic at the time, and it took me several attempts to get this one so you could actually see this gap:

I think that pic actually makes it look bigger than it was. And remember it’s mostly hidden by the aligner you’ll be wearing anyway. The gap vanished with subsequent sets of aligners as my teeth shifted anyway.

In the end, I didn’t use the full batch of aligners either. The dentist said I was finished, and that I should keep the last two sets sealed for use in case something went amiss in the future. I’d actually been happily throwing all my old sets in the bin, but I’ve since been told that it would have been a good idea to keep them – so bear that in mind!

But. But, but, BUT. The fact that you’re reading this probably means you’ve put some effort into researching Invisalign before taking the plunge. I’ll admit, I probably didn’t do enough, and rushed into the decision when a Groupon voucher landed in my inbox with 50% off Invisalign if I booked that day. If I’d done more research, I’d have known that once you’ve started Invisalign, you’re never free of aligners. If you want to keep the nice straight teeth you’ve invested in, you have to keep wearing aligners/retainers.

You have options though. Once you’ve finished the all-day-every-day aligners, you then switch to slightly different (tougher) removable aligners/retainers and gradually wear them less and less, til you’re just wearing them at night (your attachments/buttons will have been removed by now). Or you can have fixed/bonded retainers attached to the back of your teeth, and then just wear the (new) removable retainers at night (or not wear removable ones at all, but your teeth are more likely to shift).

Now, none of this was included in my Invisalign package. I took the opportunity of switching to a different dentist for this part of my treatment, partly because I was getting a bit wary of the clinic I was going to, and partly because I’d moved house during my treatment and it was a real trek to get to the original place.

It costs quite a lot of money whatever option you pick (if it’s not included in your original package). And the cost is ongoing, because the removable retainers you’ll be wearing will slowly wear down and need to be replaced.

In the end I decided to go for the bonded retainer plus removable retainers to wear at night – that seemed the best combination of cost/maintaining my teeth in the end. The prices I got varied a lot; one place charged £300 for the bonded retainers (top and bottom) and £150 each for the removable retainers (so around £600 total). Another quoted £140-165 for each removable retainer, but £290 for EACH bonded retainer (i.e. twice the price of the first place) – so a total nearer £900. The good thing about the place that I ended up going with is that when the removable retainers need replacing they can do it for half price because they keep your moulds on file.

There were also mixed messages about how long the removable retainers were likely to last – i.e. how often I’d have to replace them (and pay…again..). My original clinic said I could expect to replace them every few months (at £100 or so a time, if I remember correctly), depending how much I grind my teeth, take care of the retainers etc. The place I ended up going to said the retainers should last a year (again, depending on wear and tear). Now I don’t know if they’re made of different material and some are tougher than others, but I’d definitely look into that if I were you. I know some people (possibly in the US?) use Vivera retainers and I think pay some sort of subscription to get them replaced every so often, but I’m not sure how it works or if that’s available in the UK.

Anyway, I was against the idea of the bonded retainers originally because I didn’t want something permanently attached my teeth, and I was worried it would get in the way and interfere with my speech. Suffice to say it doesn’t, and a few months in I don’t really notice them any more. I still know they’re there – even tiny things feel huge in your mouth, right? – but it’s not a problem. I tried to take a pic so you can get an idea what it is we’re talking about (click the image to see the wire better):

I think it’s pretty standard to attach the retainer to the front six teeth on your upper and lower arches. I try and wear my removable retainers every night. If I miss a night, they feel tighter the next time I wear them even though I’ve got the bonded retainers; shows just how much my teeth are trying to move. The removable retainers are also showing the effects of me clearly grinding my teeth at night. They’re nowhere near wearing through though, so at worst I’m expecting them to last six months.

So I think that’s about all folks. I get email alerts whenever anyone comments on here, so if you have questions then just ask and I’ll reply even if it’s a few years down the line. People do seem to be regularly viewing this blog so do add you own experiences, and shout if I’ve got anything wrong!

Lastly, not that they’ll probably ever see it, but I’d like to say thanks to Mulberry Dental, who sorted me out with my retainers after I decided to ditch the Q Clinic (I’m not the first former Q Clinic patient they’ve had through their doors either), and they’ve been absolutely lovely. Accommodating, knowledgable, friendly and reassuring. If you’re in this part of the world and looking for Invisalign treatment, I’d recommend chatting to Riten.

Best of luck with your own treatment, whatever you decide!