Invisible Tourist: 2005

Saturday 10 December 2005

First Thoughts

My first thoughts after the visit to the orthodontist are:

My teeth are not in too bad shape at the moment, but they are at a point of collapse where if I don't do anything, they may well get rapidly and irreversibly worse.

I am not sure if I can face wearing visible braces for a year or so. Being able to take the aligners off for cleaning and to give the teeth a rest is also a major point in favour of Invisalign.

I have friends in Budapest and love the city. I have heard also that dental treatment can be much cheaper there, so I decide to look into having the work done there.

Wednesday 30 November 2005

A Trip to the Orthodontist

Last week, I visited the orthodontist here in central London. He agreed my overbite needed treating and my teeth straightening. He demonstrated three systems of braces. These were regular braces, lingual braces and Invisalign aligners. Lingual braces are braces on the inside of the teeth rather than the outside, so are much less visible but they can irritate the tongue. Invisalign aligners are aligners that fit completely over the teeth made of clear hard plastic, a bit like gumshields. The advantage is that it is not obvious that you are wearing them and that they can be taken off for cleaning and eating.

His quote has just come through - just over £5,000 for treatment with Invisalign lasting a year or so.

Tuesday 8 November 2005

The Beginning

A visit to the dentist for a couple of fillings. He points out that because of my fairly severe overbite, my teeth are fairly misaligned. In particular, the lower front teeth have become crowded and crocked in the last few years and this will only get worse in future if left untreated.

He refers me to an orthodontist in the centre of London.

Invisalign Do"s and Don"ts

Don't eat with the aligners in Eating with alingers in is possible but not pleasant. I never realised before how much of "tasting" is actually experiencing the texture of food through the teeth, and wearing aligners removes this sense. Plus food will get stuck under the aligners and they will become really dirty really quickly. Don't drink with aligners in Drinking dark fluids with the aligners in will result visible pockets of coloured fluid inside the aligners. Somehow, the space between the teeth and alingers seems to fill with concentrated saliva which largely prevents that happening. But drinking with aligners will get the aligners dirty more quickly. . . . . . . . . . . . . Don't ever chew gum with alingers You will be amazed how quickly fragments of gum get stuck behind the alingers. They are highly visible and are a real pain to remove. . . . . . . . . . . . . Smoking There doesn't seem to be a problem with smoking with aligners apart from the oral pleasure being reduced, just as in eating. Invisalign warn that heavy smoking may discolour the aligners which seems very likely but I can't comment on that. . . . . . . . . After Eating and Drinking To get the best results, it is important that you put the aligners back in as soon as possible after eating and drinking. Ideally you will want to brush and perhaps floss, but we know that's not always realistic. Vigorously chewing gum and pushing the gum around the teeth can be pretty effective at cleaning before replacing the aligners, so always try to carry chewing gum. Putting the Alingers in My prefered method is to push the aligners on with my fingers starting from the front teeth and then to bite my jaws together to push them fully over the teeth. If you find it difficult to get the alingers on, try running them under warm water to soften them slightly. . . . . . . . . Removing the Aligners My prefered method is to use both index fingers to loosen the aligner from the back teeth and then the side teeth. I think it's a good sign if the alingers are difficult to get off - if they come off too easily, you may be straying from the treatment plan and you may be headed for trouble. There are special tools like plastic hooks to remove aligners. I use a metal crochet needle but I am very careful to avoid damaging the tooth enamel with it. . . . . . . . . Changing to a New Set of Aligners A new of aligners can be quite uncomfortable and there is a strong temptation to take them out several times a day. I have a pet theory that taking aligners in and out weakens them. I avoid this problem by wearing a new set of aligners at night and the old set during the day for the first three days. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . When to Change Aligners Officially every 2.5 weeks. You will feel when an old set is no longer applying much force and when it is time to change to a new set. Sometimes that happens sooner, sometimes later. A word of warning - I went away with friends (who don't know I wear alingers) over New Year's Eve and decided not to wear the aligners for 48 hours. I was amazed how much my teeth relapsed in that short time - it put the treatment back by at least a week - so it is really not recommended. . . . . . . . . . Cleaning A dirty film will build up on the inside and outside of the aligners. Cleaning with a toothbrush is possible but it is difficult to get the insides clean. Ultrasonic appliance cleaners with cleaning tablets are inexpensive and get the aligners really clean. I am experimenting to see if ordinary denture cleaning tablets will work as well as the proprietary tablets.

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