Invisalign For Gappy Teeth: Treatment Update

AD - Complimentary Treatment - A&L Clinics

I thought invisible braces could be the biggest change of my 2020 when I first popped my aligners in back in January. How little we all knew, hey? And how little did I expect a global pandemic to be the reason my orthodontic treatment was interrupted. But we're back on plan now, and after a review of my teeth movement and an order for more aligners, I wanted to give an update of where I'm at in my Invisalign Treatment Plan and how many more weeks I have to go.

Don't forget! A&L Clinics are offering 10% off your Invisalign treatment when you book in using the code CHLOE10. Invisalign is definitely an investment so a 10% discount can be quite a big difference in terms of price. Arrange a free scan to see what might be possible for your teeth and how much it would cost.

So, how many weeks left?

12 aligners = 12 weeks.

What happen if I lose my Invisalign aligners?

Don't panic! The vast majority of the people I've spoken to who have undergone Invisalign treatment have, at some point or another, lost some aligners. You'll probably find that during your preliminary consultation your dentist will stress the importance of always placing your aligners back inside the protective carry case, because otherwise you'll slip into bad habits such as wrapping them in tissue or popping them in your pocket, only to lose them or accidentally chuck them in the bin (~ guilty ~).

If you do lose your aligners, let your dentist know as soon as possible. Depending on where you are in your treatment schedule, they may be able to simply re-order the aligner(s) you're missing and in the meantime, you can keep wearing the latest aligner in your plan. If you're later on in your treatment plan, you might find that your dentist wants to see you in person to rescan your teeth, assess the movement and decide if your treatment plan needs extending. This could mean that you'll have your attachments taken off, new aligners ordered and new attachments put on at a later date.

Will my Invisalign treatment take longer than expected?

I lost my final three aligners and so my dentist asked me to come into the practise to assess how successful the treatment had been so far. The initial timeframe you're given when you begin Invisalign is an estimation only, and it's possible that by the end of the plan, your teeth haven't moved as much as predicted. This is fairly normal and I'd suggest allowing a buffer at the end of every estimated treatment plan.

My plan was supposed to end in May but as lockdown restrictions forced dentist practises to close, I had to continue wearing my latest aligner because it wasn't possible to see my dentist. Once I was able to visit for a review, my dentist rescanned my teeth, removed my attachments and submitted a request for additional aligners to finish the treatment. Since each aligner is designed to be worn for one week only and I lost the final three, it wasn't surprising that my teeth hadn't moved as expected. It was bound to happen, really.

Upon re-opening, Invisalign had a backlog of aligner orders to fulfill so my new sets took a few weeks to come through, but I've now been back to clinic, had new attachments placed on, and my final 12 aligners given to me.

How much do replacement Invisalign aligners cost?

To have my attachments taken off and the new attachments placed on, for the time to rescan, clean and assess the movement of my teeth, and for the new sets of aligners, I paid £250.

How have my teeth changed since starting Invisalign?

My main concern when it came to my teeth was closing the multiple gaps and stopping my front two teeth from turning inwards. You can find more information about what my natural teeth looked like in my first Invisalign blog post or in the highlight in my Instagram bio, but to quickly reiterate, since my dentist wouldn't give me braces as a teenager, I decided to take matters into my own hands and try and close the gap between my front two teeth myself (wise move, I know). The teeth ended up turning inwards which meant they often looked shadowed, or worse, dead. This is something I've been self-conscious about for so long and even though my gap hasn't totally disappeared (yet), the fact that my teeth are straighter and 'flat' rather than at a diagonal, is amazing.

I also had generous gaps between a lot of my lower teeth, so much so that I could rest my whole tongue sideways through some. These have closed up considerably and everything looks much more uniform and balanced. It's difficult to see the magnitude of change in the photos because a lot of movement has happened at the back of my teeth and for my lower set, and also in terms of correcting my bite which was slightly open on one side (not sure what the technical term is, sorry dentists!). It's happening though!