First Post!

[Carrotcake]

Hi there everyone,

I'm very new to this! I'm in the process of getting Invisalign, Clincheck is all done, but I'm waiting for a few modifications to it before I say I final yes and get the trays ordered. One half of me is madly keen to do this, as if I don't do it now, I never will... I'm in my mid twenties now, and everytime I see photos of myself, I cringe at my teeth, I went through my teens with a closed-mouth smile, now I tend to just smile regardless, but I'd love to finally conquer to tooth demons and finally be able to smile without being self conciouss!

My clincheck suggests I'll be in trays for about a year, and need about 4 attachments at the front (2 either side of front teeth, 2 on botton teeth) so I'm abit worried about the top ones being prominent. I'm also concerned about the prospect of having refinements after the initial phase is over... but I guess you get used to them - and I know how fast years seem to fly by these days! How often do people need refinements?

Anyway, thought I'd say a quick hello and introduce myself! Hopefully I can update you on my progress and get your advice in the coming months! I'm sure it'll be abit of a lifestyle change with the dental hygiene needed! but if I have lovely Julia Roberts' teeth at the end, I'll be over the moon!

Thanks
Carrotcake

[Sunny]

Great you're preparing to fix your bite and smile Carrotcake!

I work with an orthodontist who's a premier provider and nearly all his patients have attachments ... some on nearly every tooth and yet they're not easy to see. Invisalign isn't invisible ... but it's hard to see, unless someone is looking closely at your teeth and knows what they're looking for ... the same goes for attachments. Remember that without the attachments, your teeth will not be moved properly ... so they're a huge plus for the current invisalign treatments.

Refinements should be something to celebrate, as if you need them, they do the 'detailing' of your bite and smile ... the finishing touches!

Then it's time for retainers ... and remember that retainers will need to be worn for lifetime! That often sounds scary, but it's not. Retainers are usually worn full time for a period of time, then every night and eventually two or three nights a week for life! Teeth will move for as long as we're alive ... so if you want your teeth to stay where they are when you've finished your invisalign treatment, you need to retain them for some part of every week ... so retainers are very important.

Good luck and good for you making this decision and being able to have treatment while you're so young!

[radaly]

On my uppers, I had an attachment on one of the teeth immediately adjacent to my two front. This attachment was definitely more annoying than the ones on the lowers (I never could tell those were there) but it was not that bad. And people still never noticed it was there until I told them.

[mikeg]

welcome carrotcake!

[mommamorin]

Welcome Carrotcake!!
Glad you have decided to take the plunge and do it now. I am in my 50's and finally did it :-).
good luck with your treatment, there are many people here to help you, don't be afraid to ask.

[Carrotcake]

Thanks all for your lovely reassuring messages! I'll keep you updated with my progress! The trays are on order now... I'm excited to get going!