Five days to go!

Hi

My name is Lang and I'm 35 years old and I turned down braces in my younger years, which was a silly mistake, so after years of not smiling I've finally decided to go for Invisaligns

I have had my new smile designed. I can't believe I first visited the ortho on February 12th (so many problems with multiple impressions- my mouth not fitting the trays, having to order special medium trays, then I had bubbles on the impressions!, then my doctor declined the first ClinCheck because there was a gap on the lower set, but last week (May 20th) I finally got to see and approve the finished look.

I'm a little peeved that they are unable to fully close the gap where I had an extraction from a root canal that went bad but the gap will be reduced by more than half, it's right next to the back tooth and if I really hate it I can have an implant. My doctor says the gap at the back won't show when I smile though

I'm not surprised (but a little disappointed also) that the actual width of the smile won't change that much, apparently it's very difficult to widen the 'tooth arch' (how wide the overall 'U' shape is) in adulthood due to the back teeth having four roots plus for me I have a small mouth so there isn't that much room to work with. I'm guessing also it's difficult for Invisaligns to do this because I've seen the spring-loaded metal devices they use to widen the tooth arch and obviously the selling point of Inviz is that it's clear plastic.

It's a big step I guess considering I've had these teeth for such a long time, everyone says I don't really need to and it's a lot of money

I do wish I hadn't declined braces in childhood, but what amazes me is that the treatment will take only 12 months and two weeks. Maybe quicker if my teeth move very fast.

What I'm not looking forward to is:

A) The pain

B) The 'attachments' or 'buttons' -Their name for small pieces of dental bond they stick on to direct the tooth movement,

C) Not being able to drink anything other than water when they are in- and they need to be in at least 21 hours a day

D) Lisping

I'm looking forward to the reported weight loss of most patients because you just can't be bothered to take them out, brush your teeth, clean the trays, and put them back in just to have a snack

As for the 'buttons' they are made to match your teeth, so I was pleased to hear my tooth colour is b1 which is apparently the whitest natural shade you can have- I have no idea why b1 is brighter than A1!

I use 'natural' loosely as my teeth are bleached.