An Update Long Overdue...

Where does the time go? I should have written this blog weeks ago! Forgive me, I am a stay-at-home mother with a photography career on the side. I'm always going this way and that way all at the same time!


Okay, My last appointment was in September. I pretty much felt like I was ready to be done. My orthodontist had previously given me the impression that I would not be able to get any further refinements. So, to my surprise she said that we could at my last visit. While we agreed that they look really good, she did feel that it might be possible to make more adjustments with refinements. I decided that I wanted to stop where we were. I'm really happy with the results and I honestly didn't feel like dealing with the Invisalign anymore. She also threw me another surprise. Previously she said that I would have to wear the last sets as retainers full time for 3 to 6 months. I think she could tell that I was ready for my freedom again. She said that I am an adult and I will know if I am not wearing the retainers enough, so just wear them at night. If they are too tight and hard to get on, I will know that I haven't worn them enough. Well, I've been doing this for a month and a half and have had no problems at all. And let me tell you how much I appreciate not having to think about where I am going to brush my teeth after a meal out! When I put them in at night, they don't feel so comfortable anymore. They didn't bother me too much when I was wearing them full time, probably because I was used to them.

I have a follow up appointment in December, if anything interesting comes up, I will post it here. (eventually - LOL!)


My apologies to those of you who left comments on my YouTube videos. I will be getting around to those at some point.


In conclusion, I am very happy that I did this! I love my smile now. I can stop obsessing over my crooked teeth. I can walk by a mirror and feel happy about my smile and not try to see if they look crooked in the lighting that I am in. Yes, it was expensive, but worth it in my opinion. I did it just for me. I'm sure glad that I did.

I'll leave you with a few samples of some commercial images that I modeled my new teeth in (and just an FYI, my teeth are not that white, they were enhanced in Photoshop):

This Is It!

This is hopefully my last week of Invisalign...new trays anyway. I am wearing my last top refinement tray. (I was given 3 additional trays, BTW) I'm still wearing 15 of 15 on the bottom as a retainer. All of the bottom attachments were removed at my last appointment. My next appointment is on Monday, September 22. It is my hopes that we are both happy enough with the results that she will remove the two upper attachments and allow me to continue wearing the trays are retainers. Do I feel that the tops are 100% perfect...well, not exactly, but it's really, really close. I know that if my orthodontist agreed with me, she would be willing to throw on metal braces to complete the job. If that's the case, I will pass. These are close enough for me and I'm feeling ready to be free of orthodontics soon. From my understanding, Invisalign only gives you one set of refinements, and my orthodontist will finish anything with braces for no additional cost. But honestly, I am quite happy with the results. My teeth look so much better now. Plus, I just can't wait to be attachment free!

I also wanted to mention my experience with a Invisalign and travelling. Honestly, it's a pain. I took a trip to Seattle last month and found it a little bit annoying to always try to figure out where to brush my teeth. This was a working trip so I was on the go with my camera gear all day, trying to eat quick lunches and then figure out what to do about my trays. One bit of advice my orthodontist gave me was that if I couldn't brush, swish really well with water and put them back in. One advantage that I did have on the trip was that I was waiting for my refinements and I'd been wearing the same trays for several weeks so it was okay to go a little extra time without them in. If you are considering Invisalign, keep this in mind if you travel a bit.

At some point when the attachments are off, I will be taking new photos, so be on the look out for those. I will also be creating an Invisalign FAQ's here. I've gotten so many questions about them and a lot are the same so I think having a FAQ's will be very helpful to all considering this orthodontic treatment.

Also, I apologize to all who have left me comments and questions here and at YouTube that I have not yet responded to. I've been really busy and haven't had the chance to sit down and answer. I will be working on that slowly but surely!

Waiting For Refinements

My last appointment with the orthodontist was on July 21st. We both agreed that the bottoms look perfect and are done. There is a small crack in my bottom retainer but she said that isn't a problem and that I should continue to wear it full-time for 3 months. The tops, however, aren't quite finished. Even though my teeth look pretty straight, there still is some improvement to be made. She took some pictures of my teeth and will send them back to Invisalign and they will make refinement trays.

Since the bottoms were done, she drilled the attachments off. It was a happy moment to get rid of those! I can't wait until the last two on top are gone. Even though I am used to them, I still catch myself being self conscious of them.

Here are a few photos that I took (on my good equipment this time) to show my progress:

Just when I thought they weren't noticeable!

I can't believe it. I had dinner the other night with someone that I have never met in person before. We had only communicated via email and website forums. She had no idea about my Invisalign treatment. About 20 minutes after getting our food and chatting, she says "So, what is that, pointing to my mouth, are you wearing braces?" I was shocked!! These are my last trays and not a single person has appeared to notice my Invisalign! She's a fellow photographer and we do tend to be very aware of small details. She said that she noticed them from 10 feet away! Now that's observant! I'm starting to feel paranoid now. I'm wondering how many people have noticed and were afraid to ask!!

8 Month Video Update

You have to pay $400 for an Invisalign retainer?

At my appointment about a month or so ago, my orthodontist told me that she would make me a retainer and that it would be less clear and more flexible and than Invisalign. I wasn't very happy about that since I'm already used to the way Invisalign looks and feels. So, I go back yesterday because I lost an attachment and she now tells me that the last trays will be my retainers. She clarified her mistake about the other retainer and that's fine, I didn't want to get used to something new. What upsets me is that my last trays will still have the bumps in it for the attachments. (which will be removed once we are done with these trays and possibly refinements) I wouldn't mind this much if I only had to wear them to bed but she told me that wearing them 3 months full time is best. (luckily it isn't necessary to have them in 22 hours per day like new retainers)

After expressing my concern about having to use a retainer with the attachment bumps, she then tells me that Invisalign offers an "Insurance plan" for $400 which gets you retainers with no bumps every so many months. This is very disappointing to have spent so much money on these and I can't even get a "bump-free" retainer from Invisalign without spending more??

15/16 U & 15/15 L

Wow, I can't believe I'm almost done! (unless I get refinements, of course...) I just have to say that I fully expected the last trays to be the easiest. I figured that the teeth are pretty much moved into place and the movements would be minor. Well, my assumptions were wrong! I just started 15/16 on top and 15/15 on the bottom last night and OUCH did it hurt getting them out this morning. The bottom was so tight that it ripped one of the attachments off when taking it out for breakfast. So it's back to the orthodontist next week to get it back on. My next scheduled appointment is on July 21 and it will be decided if I will get refinements or a retainer. The one tooth that I mentioned in my last post still seems a little out of place so it it doesn't change by next month, I probably will get the refinements. And that will be okay since I expect perfection with the price that I paid. :)

I haven't had time to do a video and a lot of you on YouTube have been asking for an update. I will get one out soon, hopefully. I have so many things going on that it's hard to find a few minutes to throw one together. Thank for all of your messages, comments and feedback and also for sharing your Invisalign stories.

Have a great weekend!

Getting Closer To The End

My orthodontist was very pleased with the results so far at my appointment last week. She decided to give me the last 5 trays. I'm still very happy with the way they look. It's amazing to be able to see the progress! I'm now on trays 12 of 16 and could possibly be done in late July. There is an issue of one of my front teeth appearing to be slanting a bit, but she will evaluate that in July. She will take x-rays and if the root is not straight, I will get refinements. It's a tooth that has bonding on it and it's quite possible that by shaping the bonding better, it will no longer look that way.

If she decides that I am done in July and need no refinements, she will remove the attachments. She will make a new mold of my teeth and make a retainer for me in her office. I'm a little nervous about the retainer because she said that it isn't as flexible or clear as the Invisalign aligners. She's thinking that I will have to wear it full-time for 3 to 6 months. I'm not to excited about this but am thinking that it isn't as critical to get 22 hours a day in since it's a retainer. (I need to confirm this thought) I'm looking forward to going out and eating a meal, going out for coffee or a snack and not having to worry about brushing my teeth!

Here's another snapshot of the progress:

IPR - Interproximal Reduction

IPR, what's that? That's what I thought the first time that I heard it too. It's the formal term for tooth shaving. When you have a crowded mouth they have to make room for the shifting teeth, so they need to slenderize some of them so they can straighten out and fit in. Today, I had this done for the first time. I was a little nervous, however, I read online from other Invisalign wearers that it's not a big deal. And, they were right. There is no pain involved. Just a little concern that some of your teeth are being shaved and your hoping that your orthodontist has a steady hand! I hear that there are two ways for this to be done, one by a drill and the other with floss that is like sand paper. My orthodontist used the drill. It has a small disk at the end of it that she slides between the teeth. I can see a difference where some of the tooth has been removed. She said that she will do a little more at my next visit since a couple of my teeth aren't aligned enough yet.


I just started trays 9 today and I have to say that I am really happy so far! I can really see a difference! Even my husband (who didn't think that I really needed this to begin with) complimented me the other day about how good my teeth are looking. I'm so excited that this is going so well! As long as everything continues to go well, I should be done with this late July. I may need a few refinements, because my orthodontist claims that she is a perfectionist and that's okay with me. When you pay this much for something, you want perfection!

Seeing Results

I just started tray 6 on Monday. I had an appointment to get the next three sets of trays and be checked out by my orthodontist. She was very happy with the way things were looking. It's really exciting to get the new trays to see the improvements! I have 6, 7 and 8 now (out of 16 top and 15 bottom). I like to take out tray 1 and compare it to the most recent tray that I have.

I can honestly say that I can see things changing. The tooth that sits on top of my front tooth has moved back a bit and my two front teeth are slowly moving to be side by side! This is really exciting to be able to notice a difference! I have to go back to the orthodontist when I finish tray 8 on March 24th. She said that she will be "slenderizing" (tooth shaving in other words) some of the teeth. I can see why this needs to be done with a crowded mouth. I'm not sure what it's going to feel like, but I can't imagine that it's pleasant. She will either be using something that is like floss that files the tooth down or a drill. It depends on how things look when I get there.

So here's a side by side from the original snapshot to one that I just took this morning. It's not a huge difference, but it's good to see some change!

Invisalign Video Blog - 9 Weeks

I finally got a few minutes to create a video blog!

January Updates

I've had my attachments for 10 days now. Well at least five of the six attachments. I've been back to the orthodontist 2 times now to have one stubborn one glued back on. I wasn't feeling very happy about the attachments at first because it feels like they are really obvious. I've been hiding my smile and my husband pointed that out to me. So, I decided to let go and just smile. The way they look is certainly less obvious than metal braces but still noticeable in my opinion. I still haven't had anyone question me about them, but then I was thinking that it's probably one of those "Oh crap, my friend has broccoli stuck in her teeth do I tell her and embarrass her or let her walk around like that all day?" sort of situations. LOL, sometimes I think about what I think other people are thinking way too much. (did that make sense? I wonder what you are all thinking about that statement...) :)


Anyway, the bottom line is that I am getting over my self-consciousness of the attachments. I think it's important for people to know about the attachments. Invisalign doesn't make this obvious in their advertisements. It looks like a little piece of white rice and it's attached to the teeth that your orthodontist wants to rotate. The Invisalign trays have little bumps in them for the attachments to fit into. It makes taking them off a bit difficult, especially for the first couple of days.


I am currently on Upper Tray 3 of 16 and Lower Tray 3 of 15. I change them on Monday the 14th. My orthodontist is already talking about refinements. For those of you that don't know, they are another series of aligners that are made after the first series to correct the teeth that didn't quite end up were they should have.

And even though I refused to smile for the first week with my attachments, I will gladly post a photo for you to see what they look like. :)