Final Tray: Before and After

It's finally that time. I completed my last tray and I'm actually in my retainers right now. And all of this took less than two years. I'll start off by talking about what's happened in the last two months. I meant to post much sooner, but I have been incredibly busy with school and just haven't had the time. I had my teeth shaved a little more and they weren't quite as stubborn this time. The first time I had them shaved, they simply refused to even out, but the ridges look a little better after the second shaving. I was also told Tray 47 would be my last instead of finishing out the last few trays. So this is when my Vivera retainers were ordered. A couple of weeks later, I went back to the orthodontist to pick them up. I was given one set of retainers and 3 more sets will be mailed to my home when it is time for me to change into a new set. Vivera retainers are stronger than the Invisalign trays since they are supposed to be worn longer than 2 weeks. According to the information on the paper in the Vivera box, the retainers are supposed to last about 3 months, which is why they mail 3 more sets for the year. However, I was told at the orthodontist's office that each set should last a year, depending on how much you wear them and take them out and other factors. When I first put the trays on, they were a little tight, which I wasn't expecting. I thought they were going to be loose like my last set of trays had been. But that tightness is just to set them in their final position. Not much else has happened, so I'll get on with the pictures. It's been such a drastic transformation. When I started this blog, I wanted to show people that, with the right provider, Invisalign could be used for more complex cases. I think I have accomplished that and these pictures show it 100%, all thanks to my wonderful orthodontist, Dr. Randy Kunik.

X-rays

Before

After

Trays

Top Arch

 

Bottom Arch

 

Left View

Before

After

Right View

Before

After

Center View

Before

After

 

Bottom Arch

Before

After

Top Arch

Before

After

I'll continue to check in with post-treatment updates, but they will not be quite as frequent as I've posted during treatment. But I will make sure to respond to any comments or questions you may have. I really hope my blog has been of some help to anyone seeking information about Invisalign and wondering whether it's for them.

Tray 44

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Unfortunately, it is also the last day of my Spring break :( Anyway, I'm getting done with my 44th tray. It's been a little weird wearing my trays for only one week each. I'm so used to wearing them for two weeks that I sometimes forget that I have to switch to a new one so quickly. But it's also really exciting when I do remember and I get to open a new package that is so close to the end. I'm really glad I've taken pictures throughout my journey. I look back at earlier pictures sometimes and can't believe the transformation my teeth have gone through in such a short period of time. I think it's funny when I see a picture and, at that time, I thought my teeth looked pretty great. And then I compare it to how my teeth look now and, well, they just don't even come close. I think I definitely owe this to my orthodontist for being able to see how much improvement could be made with a second set even with the huge transformation made with the first set. Even though it added more time to my treatment, I'm so glad we did another set because now my teeth just look amazing. I'll end this post now and let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Facial View

Center

Upper Arch

Lower Arch

Tray 40

Wow! Is it really time for me to post about my 40th tray?! Apparently it is, so here goes. I have a bit of news for this post. First, I will no longer be wearing the trays for two weeks. Instead, I will only wear them for one week before switching to a new tray. Yay! This is because the movements are so small and I'm just about done with my treatment, so I can get away with only wearing them for one week now. This is great news for me because now I'll get done with my treatment even faster than I had anticipated. I also may not have to wear all of the trays. I am supposed to get up to the 47th tray (19 of 23 in this 2nd set) and then Dr. Kunik will decide how many more trays he wants me to wear, if any at all. I really wouldn't mind wearing all of the trays, just as long as I have straight teeth. Another thing I wanted to mention was that I also had my teeth shaved at my last appointment, although my teeth were a little stubborn and the ridges wouldn't go down as much as we wanted them to. But they do look better and feel smoother in my opinion. I had my photos taken at this last appointment as well so I will post those this time, but I will probably also use them for the final comparison since I don't think I'll have more photos taken again. I don't want to rant on since I have exams to study for and papers to write for school, so I'll end it here and post the pictures. And as always, feel free to ask any questions.

Upper Arch

 

Lower Arch

 

Right

Left

Center

I just want to say I love looking at the center view because I can see how much of a transformation my smile has gone through in just a year and a half. It's amazing. But you'll have to stay tuned for my larger post when I'll post the original pictures side-by-side with these.

Tray 36

It is once again time for an update. It's actually a little overdue. I wasn't able to post after tray 34 because I got so busy with finals and packing to go home for the winter break. I have some pretty good information for this post though. Not only is it time for one of the bigger posts in which I include more pictures from different angles and some comparisons from when I first started, but I also have something else I want to talk about first. So let's get started.

When I was first doing research on Invisalign, an interesting topic came up that caused a fair amount of concern for me. I read that many people get cavities while using Invisalign. And when I say they got cavities, I'm not talking 2 or 3. Some stated that they got 8 to 10 cavities during their treatment. This was a little scary because I had never had any cavities and I always took pride in that. So when I decided to get Invisalign, it was actually time for me to get a dental checkup, but I was unable to go. Then I was never able to get an appointment in the short times that I would go home, so it has been two whole years since my last checkup, which is absolutely HORRIBLE. But I finally went this week and I just kept thinking to myself, "Please, no cavities. PLEASE, no cavities." I got all of my x-rays done and my dentist came in and poked around in my mouth as did the hygienist. And after two years without any checkups, and a year and a half of wearing Invisalign, I am extremely proud and ecstatic to say I still have no cavities!!!!!! In fact, the hygienist was very impressed with how clean my teeth were. She even asked if I had been getting cleanings done at the orthodontist because she just couldn't believe how little buildup had accumulated over two years. I think Invisalign actually helped me with this. The frequent brushing and flossing just had to be a factor in the cleanliness of my teeth. I was so relieved when they said I had no cavities and very happy when they said I did an excellent job of cleaning my teeth. So if anyone were to ask my opinion on whether Invisalign causes cavities or not, I would have to say absolutely not. Even my orthodontist was surprised when I brought this up during the initial consultation because he said he had never had any patients have problems with this. This is still something to think about when deciding on Invisalign because if you aren't committed or simply able to brush your teeth several times a day, it may not be for you. Not brushing before putting the trays back on could lead to cavities, which will only make the treatment more expensive.

Before I put up the pictures, I wanted to mention that I wasn't able to have my teeth smoothed out yet because my orthodontist was at his other office when I went in for my appointment. So I just got two more sets of trays and will have them smoothed out at my next appointment.

And now the pictures...

Facial

Center

Left

Right

Upper

 Lower

     Upper Trays                             Tray 1                                 Tray 36

Lower Trays                               Tray 1                                  Tray 36