My first set of trays was made using traditional molds in which impressions of my teeth were made using putty. I leaned back and had the tray with putty pressed against my teeth. Then, a pink goo was put into this mold and it was pressed against my teeth again. This was a little uncomfortable because the goo seeps out and can get to the back of your throat. And if the molds get messed up when being pulled off, you'll have to repeat the process until the molds come out correctly. The iTero scanner took about 10-15 minutes and basically just took pictures of my teeth from several different angles to form a digital mold of my teeth. I went into just a little more detail about the iTero scanner in A Surprise Finish. Everyone at Dr. Kunik's office kept telling me how much better the second set of trays were going to fit because they were made using the scanner. I believed what they were telling me, but I was just having a little trouble understanding how the trays were going to fit better. I figured trays either fit or they don't. Mine had always fit so I was more so just curious to see what the difference was and if it would be as noticeable as everyone was telling me.
Let me just say, after wearing both kinds of trays, there is definitely a difference in the way they fit. When I would wear my first set of trays, there was always a small amount of space between my gums and the top of the tray, especially on my front 6 teeth, which needed the most movement. Every now and then the inside of my lip would get pinched because of this space. Nothing terrible, but it did hurt a little. I did always think the trays would look better if they were right against my gums instead of having this space, but I thought that's just what Invisalign trays are like. I thought maybe they would be irritating if they were right up against my gums. But this is not the case. I tried on my new set of trays and not only did I see the difference, but I felt it as well. As soon as I put on the trays, I noticed the space was gone! They felt perfect. So smooth and they line up with my gums so effortlessly. I honestly can barely tell where the edges of the trays are (using my tongue) because they fit that well against my gums. And they don't hurt my gums at all. They feel so much better than the first set of trays. Then, when I looked in the mirror, I saw how much better the trays look without that gap. Without that space, the trays are even less noticeable, making them pretty much invisible. Duh, they are called Invisalign after all. They look so great that I can hardly tell they're on....and I'm the one wearing them! I can see how these trays will move my teeth better because if they fit better, it only makes sense that they'll move my teeth better than trays that didn't fit as well.
So after wearing both sets of trays, I can vouch for the iTero scanner. I can't fully say that the iTero scanner is more effective just yet since this is only my first day wearing these new trays, but I really do believe it will be.
Aside from my comparison, I also wanted to write about my first day back in the trays since I've been on a break for about 3 weeks. Now remember, I was wearing my last tray (28) as a retainer. It was nice to not have to wear the trays all day and to not have to worry about brushing my teeth right after eating. I thought I might have a little trouble getting back into the rhythm of overly superb dental hygiene, but it hasn't been too difficult on my first day. The tray also doesn't hurt like the first set used to. I can still tell which teeth are going to be moved because I do feel some pressure on those teeth, but they don't hurt. But in my last post, I did mention that I didn't think these trays would be as painful because the movements looked smaller in the ClinCheck videos. So maybe I was right. I sure hope so. I think that may be it for this post. I'll post again soon after I've been wearing the trays for longer than just one day.
Oh! and I wanted to attach more ClinCheck videos. These are faster than the ones that show each individual tray. I like having them show from different angles because you can't always see which teeth are moving from the straight view.
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