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My Invisalign Braces Experience

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6th Set of Invisalign braces- A Silly Thing To Try And Treat With Invisalign!

March 11, 2009 by admin 10 Comments

I chose my Orthodontist after a long and arduous search for the right Invisalign doctor. One of the factors that helped me to choose him was that he is a lecturer in orthodontics at a prestigious Australian University. It never crossed my mind though that I might become the basis for one of his lectures.

Invisalign Orthodontist Dr Brett Kerr

My Invisalign Orthodontist – Dr Brett Kerr

Apparently though, that is the case. I don’t mind that at all- as far as I am concerned if my teeth can help other orthodontists to improve their Invisalign technique I will be delighted. It is more the title of the lecture that bothers me. My orthodontist cheerily informed me yesterday that my teeth are the basis for a lecture he is giving next week, entitled…”Silly things to try and do with Invisalign braces” That makes me feel so, so much more confident! My only consolation is that he might need to provide an update to the students in the future, so perhaps this will encourage him to do his best work… How much do I wish I could be a fly on the wall and hear what he has to say!
Other than that, my 6 weekly visit was short and uneventful. I asked my query about flouride and he said that as we have flouridated water here now flouride probably isn’t necessary for most patients. However, in patients with large amounts of fillings (i.e. me) it can do no harm. He actually suggested a weekly flouride rinse. His only stipulation was that it should be a ph neutral one.
I picked up three more sets of Invisalign- sets 6, 7 and 8, and immediately put set 6 in. They are tight. For the first time since set 1 at the beginning of this process I actually felt I really had to take a painkiller. I should probably explain something here. I have Crohn’s disease which is an inflammatory stomach disorder. As a consequence I have a lot of stomach ulcers and try and avoid painkillers as much as possible.
When I do take them I try and stick to paracetamol. So I don’t take them lightly, taking one maybe 2 or 3 times a year (as opposed to 2 or 3 times a week like my husband!). Lots of people, I know, always pop a painkiller when they put in a new Invisalign tray in, but generally I haven’t found it necessary. This time though the pain became so much that I had the sense that it was going to give me a migraine, so I decided to preempt that. It seemed to work because by next morning they felt a lot better.
I have had the usual difficulties of removing them with the attachments, and have noticed that there is a tiny crack in the side of one of my molars on the bottom arch. I am ignoring this unless it gets worse as it doesn’t seem to be compromising the strength of the tray. I know that probably I should call my orthodontist, but I know that he will only have two options- to order a new tray, which I don’t want to wait for, or to push me forward a set, which I don’t want to do. So, I am going to try and wear these as long as I can of the two weeks. If they get weaker or snap I will, of course, call him.
I live in Australia, having emigrated here four years ago. Consequently all my family are still in the UK, and haven’t yet seen my Invisalign. They are all arriving next week, and I am particularly looking forward to the comments from my Mother In Law who utterly despises me and will no doubt have some interesting things to say about my braces-I’ll keep you posted!

Filed Under: flouride, invisalign attachments, Invisalign blog, Invisalign updates Tagged With: australia, flouride, flouride mouthwash, invisalign, invisalign attachments, invisalign braces, invisalign dentist, invisalign technique, orthodontist, painkiller

Diet coke, flouride and Invisalign braces…

February 5, 2009 by admin 3 Comments

I’m not sure whether I have been living under a rock all my life, or whether I just don’t watch enough TV but it seems that I have missed out on something fairly important when it comes to this braces thing.
Since I had children I have got rid of almost all the vices in my life- smoking, staying out all night partying, you know the kind of stuff. So much so, that lately I have been considering the possibility of cultivating some new ones…  One habit that I haven’t managed to kick though, is a serious diet coke habit. Before you say it, yes I know it is the devil’s drink and probably carcinogenic and all that stuff, I understand and appreciate all of it, but the problem is…it tastes gooooood. So, Invisalign braces or not, I have kept to my several glasses a day routine, taking my aligners out, glugging down a quick hit, brushing (not always flossing because it is only a drink, right?) and then putting my aligners straight back in. Bad. Bad. Bad.

However, yesterday, thanks to the good people on a braces forum, it has come to my attention that I am probably seriously damaging my teeth. ( I mean more than I thought I was by drinking the brown stuff)  Apparently, there is a Tv advert at the moment that tells you that after fizzy drinks you shouldn’t brush for 30 minutes as you may actually remove enamel from your teeth. Instead, it is far better to swish with water, wait 30 minutes and then brush.

How did I miss this? I’m a busy mother with a pretty hectic life, and I’ve never been a daytime tv kind of gal, but I can’t believe that I have missed it completely. Apparently, asking around, it seems that it is common knowledge though, so maybe I’m just not as well informed as I thought about all matters dental.

Every child is proffered dire warnings by their parents and holds forever in their mind the urban myth of a tooth dissolving in a glass of coke overnight, so I can believe that drinking it could soften the enamel- it sounds plausible. So what happens if I don’t brush for half an hour? Should I put my aligners back in and effectively create the glass/tooth circumstances within my aligners? Should I keep the aligners out for half an hour after every drink? Should I just. Gulp. Give it up?
So, what to do? I think, on balance, my Crohns disease in mind, I’m just going to have to bite the bullet and go cold turkey, or at the VERY least limit my consumption to meal times. Having recently given up coffee the lack of caffeine is going to be a serious problem, but I’ll ease myself in with a gentle weaning program and let you know how I go…
If anybody has any alternative suggestions that might allow me to keep drinking the bad stuff please let me know…I don’t have much fun left!
On a brighter note, it was also suggested to me that I should use a flouride rinse whilst using Invisalign. I have bought one, and will use it for the next month until I see my orthodontist, when I will question him on the pros and cons. He certainly didn’t suggest it, but it seems other people’s ortho’s have, so I’m willing to give it a go.

Filed Under: Invisalign blog, Invisalign blogs, Invisalign updates Tagged With: adult braces, aligners, brushing, coffee, diet coke, flossing, flouride mouthwash, invisalign, invisalign braces, invisalign dentist, orthodontist, removing enamel, tv

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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