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How They Remove Invisalign Attachments Or Buttons…

March 22, 2010 by admin 31 Comments

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This week was another milestone in my treatment as it was time to remove my Invisalign attachments or buttons. I have now reached 30/34 on my first run of lower Invisalign braces (only 4 more to go!) and set 9/9 of my first run of Invisalign refinements on my upper arch- in other words, the first run of my upper refinements are now finished! To mark this momentous occasion I had a long appointment with my orthodontist to evaluate how my upper teeth are now looking, and also, joy of joy, to remove my upper Invisalign attachments.

For those of you as yet unfamiliar with all the details of Invisalign, attachments are small tooth coloured blobs of material that are glued or cemented onto teeth during Invisalign treatment. Their purpose is to provide additional “grip” for the aligners so that more difficult or complex tooth movements are possible. They can be used on any number of teeth, depending on the preferences of your Invisalign provider and what movements the teeth need to make. Some lucky people have none, some have a large number, I have 5. You can see some of mine in the picture below:

how to remove invisalign attachments

My orthodontist decides to Remove Invisalign Attachments

Throughout my treatment, whilst I haven’t enjoyed having attachments exactly, I have easily tolerated them to the point that not only didn’t I feel them in my mouth any more, I didn’t see them when I looked in the mirror either. So I was fairly relaxed about having them removed- I was happy to do it, but I wasn’t yearning for it exactly. In fact, given that they have been solidly attached to my teeth for the last 15 months and have endured all manner of brushing, tugging and scraping and still stayed resolutely attached, I was afraid that getting them off might be a minor ordeal.

So it was with a certain amount of trepidation that let I let my orthodontist lower me back in his dentist’s chair, one hand adjusting his medical face mask, the other brandishing a large, sinister looking dentist’s drill. My fear wasn’t allayed by him telling me, with only a little relish in his voice, that this was going to be noisy.

I don’t know whether you have ever had any fillings, but my teeth are riddled with them. So I am pretty familiar with the feeling of the dentist’s drill and the vibrations that go through your head as they buzz and scrape noisily through your teeth. This was what I was expecting with the removal of my attachments.

I am relieved and excited to report however, that it is really not that bad. Yes, there is a little of the same sensation of vibration as the attachment is drilled, but because it is on the outside of your tooth and the drill is not contacting with any of your tooth’s own structure, the vibrations do not travel through your head in the same way. Also, the removal of each attachment seemed to take no more that 15-20 seconds of drilling, compared to the 30 minutes to an hour that I have endured with some of my larger fillings, so although there was some vibration it had barely started before it finished. After the initial drilling was completed, my orthodontist switched to a smaller polisher and ran it across the tooth’s surface where the attachment had been, just to remove any last traces of the cement- and it was finished! The whole process of removing my attachments was over in less than five minutes start to finish.

As my orthodontist adjusted my chair back into the upright position and told me to rinse my mouth I was so surprised that it was over that I told him “well THAT was remarkably painless” to which he looked at me bemused, and replied “Well what did you expect?”
I didn’t really like to run him through the scenarios that had been coursing through my head prior to my appointment – if you google remove Invisalign attachments very little shows up, so I had filled in the details myself.

The attachments removed and my teeth in all their naked glory we were able to get onto the important business of discussing how my teeth look. Removing the attachments has altered the way they appear (see pics below) but hasn’t changed how I feel about what needs to be done. I told him all of my concerns (explained with pictures in my previous post about set 29 before and after pictures) about how the front tooth needed to rotate a little more and how I think the molars have been thrown into shadow.

He listened patiently, had a very thorough examination of my teeth from every angle, and then told me that he could see what I was talking about, that he agreed that my arch could be widened a little more by moving out my molars, and that we could look at it in the next refinement. He did caution that as my teeth have already moved so much that there was a limit to what could be done whilst still keeping my teeth in the jaw bone, but that he would do his best. One of the things (other than experience) that I think is so important to look for in an orthodontist is their willingness to listen to your opinion. I think I have been very, very fortunate with mine that not only is he willing to listen, he will happily rethink his approach if you tell him that you would prefer to do it another way.

how to remove invisalign attachments

Close Up No Attachments

Within my Invisalign contract I have the original run of aligners included, plus three runs of refinements. I have used one refinement correcting my upper arch whilst the bottoms were still completing their first run, so my orthodontist and I agreed that we would wait until I have finished my lower arch first run of aligners before we start the next set of refinements. That means that both arches can be tackled simultaneously in the same series of refinements. In the meantime, over the next eight weeks I will be wearing my upper aligner only at night whilst wearing the lower one for the usual 22 (ahem) hours a day for the next 10 weeks. According to my orthodontist this is the best compromise between keeping the upper aligner intact and still wearable whilst not letting my teeth relapse too much until the next series of aligners. All in all I am thrilled with how my teeth are now looking and excited to get them finished off. Roll on 10 weeks time.

Look no upper attachments- shame about the molars in shadow and the ugly crown at the front that needs replacing though…

Filed Under: attachments, invisalign, invisalign aligners, invisalign attachments, Invisalign before, invisalign before and after, Uncategorized Tagged With: attachments, braces pictures, clincheck, invisalign, invisalign before and after, invisalign braces, invisalign photos, invisalign pictures, invisalign prices, invisalign refinements, invisalign removal, invisible braces, refinements, removing invisalign

Invisalign Before And After Pictures : Set 29

March 10, 2010 by admin 8 Comments

For the last week or so I have been wearing set 9 of my Invisalign upper refinements – the last set! I’m thrilled to report that not only have my teeth improved over these nine sets, they have improved in all the places that didn’t improve with the first run of 17 aligners. The molar on the right hand side which was out of line and too long has now moved into place perfectly. The front left tooth that was still twisted and out of line is 99% straight now- although I would like to get that last 1% corrected too as it is a front tooth. One thing I’m not sure of is whether at this point that is still an orthodontic issue or something that will be fixed by getting my new crown on the tooth next to it (yes, the ugly old crown on the front left tooth is still hanging in there, and still horribly discolored – see pics below)

However, having corrected those problems another one has arisen. My upper left molars now look to be in shadow compared to the front teeth. In fact they looked substantially better at set 23 of my Invisalign than they do now. I’m not sure whether this is because my eye tooth has moved outwards during my refinements and thrown them into shadow (you can see that it was programmed to move out on the refinements clincheck) or because the molars need to move out more. I notice that on the clincheck the front few teeth move out, but the molars don’t move with them, hence the problem. I mentioned this to my orthodontist at my last appointment and he hummed and haaahd and was a little noncommittal, however I am certain I want to fix this. I know that I said that I didn’t want perfect teeth, but it turns out that I am not as laissez faire as I first imagined and I do want them more perfect than this! Judging by how things have gone so far, and how well my Invisalign have worked up to this point,  I imagine that it would be a very simple refinement to get them where I want them,

In another week or so I have a long appointment with my orthodontist where we will remove the upper attachments (joy!) look at my upper teeth and decide what to do with them. He seems quite keen on leaving them as they are- I am much, much less keen on that idea! Fortunately he is the kind of orthodontist that really seems to take your opinions into account, so I’ll report back after my appointment as to what we decide.

My lower teeth are now on set 29 and I am thrilled with how they are progressing. If you look at my original pre Invisalign pictures below you can see that they were really, really straggly, for want of a better word. They are not perfect yet by a long way; but they are so, so much better.

Anyway, I’ll leave you with the pictures and let you judge for yourself. Please feel free to leave a comment letting me know what you think. Clicking the “leave a comment” link at the bottom of this page will take you to the comments form. As always, thanks for reading.

Before Invisalign:
15.8.08 from camera teeth before Invisalign

After 29 sets of Invisalign braces on my lower arch and 17 original plus 9 refinements sets on my upper arch. See how much the bottom teeth have improved:

Invisalign before and after pictures - teeth set 29 tilt

Invisalign before and after pictures – teeth set 29 tilt

This picture below shows how the left side upper molars are thrown into shadow behind the eye teeth now. In both pictures and in person those teeth almost look “missing” now:

Invisalign before and after pictures - teeth set 29 tilt smile teeth set 29

Invisalign before and after pictures – set 29

Whereas in this picture below taken at set 23, before the eye tooth moved outwards, the molars looked much, much better and were visible when I smiled.

Invisalign before and after pictures - teeth nov 09 set 23

Invisalign before and after pictures – teeth set 29

I will be taking a copy of these images to show my orthodontist and see what he says- Watch this space!

Filed Under: aligners, clincheck videos, invisalign aligners, invisalign before after, invisalign before and after, invisalign before and after pictures, invisalign braces, invisalign clincheck videos Tagged With: braces pictures, clincheck, invisalign, invisalign before and after, invisalign braces, invisalign clincheck, Invisalign orthodontist, invisalign photos, invisalign pictures, invisalign refinements, invisible braces, refinements

Invisalign Refinements Are In!

October 21, 2009 by admin 3 Comments

The good news is that my Invisalign refinements have arrived for my upper teeth; the bad news is that I have 9 new sets. My orthodontist has placated me somewhat by assuring me that 3 are over-corrections and that we probably won’t need them.

Invisalign refinements are in! Image of an invisalign aligner

Invisalign Refinements are in!

Apparently, Invisalign refinements usually give over-corrections. They appear to have concluded that if something didn’t work the first time it may need a little something extra in the refinement phase. I’m hoping if I am superlatively compliant that little extra will be unnecessary and I’ll be able to finish after 6 aligners. We’ll see.
I’m a little disappointed that there are nine, but frankly, at this point I would rather get it done right, than done quickly. I still have to wear my bottom aligners anyway as I am still in the middle of the first run of those so it really doesn’t make a huge amount of difference. The only real problem is that the upper aligners are so much more visible, and that you can feel them in your mouth more too.

One thing that bothers me is that I still have my original attachments on my upper teeth. I am sure my orthodontist has kept them for a reason but I know that other people have had theirs removed before refinement impressions were taken. This sometimes means that if there are no attachments needed during refinement they don’t have any. I only wish I had remembered to query it before my impressions were taken. Anyway, it’s too late now! When I see my orthodontist in a few weeks time I will ask him why we kept them and let you know. I suppose one consolation is that the attachments do keep the aligners much more stable on my teeth, they feel much tighter than they did before I had them. Perhaps that will help them to move more quickly. I live in hope.

One good thing is that my aligner numbers have synchronised. I will wear 21 lower whilst I wear #1 upper of the Invisalign refinements. This should help me to remember where I am up to. Of course, my orthodontist claims to have designed it that way. And I believe him. Really!
My clinchecks can be seen here. As ever they are very quick but you can see the area on my molar that is over extruded (is too long!) and that my front right tooth needed to rotate a little more.

Apologies for the funny green logo on there. I needed to crop my name and address off the clincheck and this was the only way I could work out to do it! Must be my age…

Filed Under: airplane invisalign, invisalign before and after, Invisalign blog, Invisalign blogs, invisalign refinements Tagged With: clincheck, invisalign attachments, invisalign refinements, invisaling braces, invisible braces, orthodontist

Set 11 Invisalign Braces Comparison Pictures.

May 28, 2009 by admin 14 Comments

A few Invisalign before and after pictures at the set 11/17 upper and set 11/34 lower.
Before Invisalign (unretouched)

After 11/17 upper and 11/34 lower sets of Invisalign and bleaching (unretouched)

Update: I think I should just add that I think the second sets Invisalign pictures were with flash, and the first were with daylight, so I think that helped them look whiter. Still, they really are straightening up. What you can’t see from the bottom picture is that my bite is still way off- my bottom teeth still tilt back. Hence the 23 more lower Invisalign aligners I have have to go, I suppose.
Click the link to see the same Invisalign before and after at the 28 sets stage.

Filed Under: invisalign before and after, invisalign pictures, Invisalign updates Tagged With: braces pictures, invisalign, invisalign before and after, invisalign braces, invisalign pictures, invisible braces

English Teeth… My Teeth Before Invisalign

November 22, 2008 by admin 4 Comments

In the beginning… there were my teeth. English teeth. Teeth that have got me through 35 years, self confidence reasonably intact, and even through 9 years of modelling- in the days when perfect teeth were a nice bonus but not strictly compulsory in the modelling world.

The thing is though, that I have never been happy with them. They aren’t bad enough that I always remember to put my hand up to hide them when I smile (although I often do), but they aren’t good enough that I would consider smiling naturally. People probably assume that I was born with this strange lopsided grin. I wasn’t, I cultivated it slowly over my teenage years as the most effective way of hiding my wonky, and less than beautifully white teeth. Just because I cultivated it doesn’t mean that I like it, however.

And so, at the age of 35, perhaps as a mid-life crisis, perhaps thanks to the grace of new technology, I have decided to fix my teeth. My objective isn’t perfection. At 35, and at the point from which I’m starting, it is unlikely that perfection is possible. What I want is good enough. Good enough for people to think I have “nice teeth” but perhaps not perfect teeth. Even just good enough for people not to think I have “goofy teeth” as I once saw a potential client had noted on the bottom of my model card. I would like my teeth to be good enough that no one ever again notices I have bad teeth- so I can blend into a room full of people anywhere in the world.

So, I shall record my journey here and see where we end up in my pursuit for a Hollywood smile.

English Teeth Before Invisalign

My Teeth before Invisalign – English teeth

before invisalign overjet English teeth

My teeth before Invisalign – Overjet

Want to jump to the end? Check out my Invisalign before & After video and photos.

Filed Under: invisalign before and after, Invisalign blog, Invisalign blogs Tagged With: before invisalign, braces, dentist, invisalign, invisalign braces, invisalign dentist, Invisalign orthodontist, orthodontist

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About Me

Ex model, mother, English & Australian. 2 daughters, 1 dog, 2 cats, 2 rabbits, a horribly expensive beauty habit and an obsession with straight teeth.

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