Set 17 of 27 / Day 2 of 14

Hey Guys, was super busy! Sorry it took me some time to post and reply to comments. I just got to it today. I am actually on set 19 and i didn't have a chance to take pictures of set 18. I will take pictures of set 19 and post in a couple of days.

Just to update, I can't believe that all these years I spent eating with my posterior teeth because I couldn't bite with my front teeth. Eating has been so comfortable.

In my life things are going really good so I'm really happy. Having nice teeth to express that happiness is just the icing on the cake. I go to the gym with one of friends and she says I smile all the time like a psychopath. I can't stop smiling because I feel like I spent the first quarter of my life never smiling because of my teeth, that now I just can't stop!

To tell you the truth, I've been leaving my aligners off more than 2 hours a day which should be the maximum). I have to eat like 5 times a day in small portions to keep my metabolism going. Plus I've been doing a lot more  strength training so I get hungrier more often. To compensate for it, I have been wearing my aligners (and switching to a new set) every 3 weeks instead of 2 weeks. It will delay the completion of my treatment but that's okay with me. I'm in no rush to finish. My dentist also said its better to wear them longer than the minimum time.

What's that? A natural overbite?

Sorry haven't posted in a while and didn't have time to take pics of set 15  =(  ...Here are pics from set 16.

Set 16 Day 2 / without aligners

Great results but these aligners hurt like no other when taking off to eat. Still on day 2. Hoping pain will subside but as of now, feels like my teeth are going to come off with the aligners every time I take them off.

Set 14 of 27 / Day 1 of 14 - The Gap is Gone!

Here is comment from an anonymous user:

Anonymous January 23, 2013 at 9:55 AM

Do you have many attachments on your teeth? I can't tell by looking at the pictures. How is your provider moving the teeth to close the bite? I just got invisalign and will be moving the teeth by using a TAD (temporary anchorage device) to move the back molars up to allow the front teeth to move down. I'd love to know how you're achieving that kind of movement so quickly.

He or she raises a very good questions and I decided to write a post to answer these questions. Below is a little information about the categorization of invisalign innovations and aligntech's mission to improve clinical outcomes and expand the scope of cases they can take.

Biomechanics:

-Attachments

-Power Ridges

Staging:

-Velocity Optimization

-IPR Staging Protocol improvements

Biomechanics (both attachments and power ridges) uses force to move teeth. Power ridges and attachments cannot be used together.

 

Attachments:

Attachments use forces to extrude and rotate your incisors and canines using standard tooth velocities.

 

Power Ridges:

Power ridges help add torque to move the root and the crown of the tooth and push the teeth into their planned position. Power ridges are engineered to apply lingual root torque. More specifically, they apply just the right amount (based on each individual case) of movement to force ratio to establish an incisor torque with lingual root movement.

 

 

This is exactly what my aligners look like. I know it's hard to tell from my pictures but the four upper front teeth have power ridges.

Tray 13 of 27 / Day 1 of 14

I am only in the middle of treatment (13 of 27 aligners). The gap is already almost closed. Problem - left front tooth and left canine is directly aligned with bottom front teeth. Right front tooth and right canine goes over (or is on track to go over) the bottom front teeth. In other words, left side is pushed back closer to my tongue, and right is pushed forward. Thats why you see one side of the gap is closed and the other is not. We are suppose to have a natural over bite. The right front tooth is a little ahead in this process.