One of our visitor was interested to know how to put an elastic ligature on the braces.

Well, most of the time we’re not the ones to do this, since it would be pretty difficult. In order to put a ligature over the braces, one needs excellent light, another set of eyes (the mirror thing wont’ work too well) and some special dentist instruments we don’t normally own. Trying to put a screwdriver or needle in your mouth for this is not a good idea (you will hurt your mouth/tongue) not to mention these are dirty and not suitable to go into your mouth.

So, don’t worry. Should you have issues with your ligs, just contact your orthodontist, he’s there to help

—

Do all orthodontists have the same color ligatures?

Most of them time these doctors have all kinds of colours so that any patient might find the right one or even the right colour combination. A lot of their patients who wear regular braces (those needing ligatures) try to make them nicer by using all kinds of colours and combinations.

Since there aren’t too many suppliers, I assume most orthodontists kinda have all colours the supplier can give. Don’t worry, you’ll have some nice ones to chose from.

—

Invisalign: can you just wear overnight?

Not only you can wear Invisalign overnight, you will wear it. The Invisalign treatment relies on some plastic aligners that go “clothe” your teeth. These plastic trays need to be worn as much as possible (over 20 hours if you can or more). You take them out to eat and then clean teeth and then you put them back.

So, prepare to wear your Invisalign at nights too. You will be able to sleep with no problems, so don’t let this scare you

Coffee is pretty famous for having the “talent” to stain things. Your Invisalign trays are clear when you start wearing them (the first days in the 2 weeks normal wear time) and it would be nice to have them as clear as possible till the end of those 14 days.

Any stains on the Invisalign aligners will show since it would make them dark and your teeth would look yellowish. This is why (clearly for cosmetic uses, since less patients really think about health) it’s important to keep the aligners clean.

I drank coffee myself with the aligners, but most of the time I try to avoid this. I tend to be more lax in the 12th day for instance since I know the aligners will come off and I can abuse them some more. On the other hand I am not a regular coffee drinker, so it’s not that hard to keep from it.

When I know I have to drink something that would potentially stain my aligners I always think if it’s not possible to take the aligners off and then brush my teeth. Sure, when I am at home NOTHING gets into my mouth with the aligners on. When I meet someone for a talk I try to stick to clear mineral water. I don’t care that much about the stains as I care about the “yucky” taste I’d have in my mouth till I’d be able to clean. The liquid gets under the aligners too and will stay there “decaying” till you brush your teeth and clean the aligners.

So, even if you can drink coffee and wine and coca cola, it’s a good idea to steer away when you know you can’t take the Invisalign off. If you are at home, it’s easier, but when in the city, maybe you just don’t want to start cleaning in a public restroom just because you couldn’t keep off the coffee.

How do you handle this?

It is possible.

Still many of them decide to go for the treatment and do the worrying afterwards. In the end it’s about their own wellfare and this should be their priority. Here are some tips to go through all these months and maybe even not stop dating.

1. You are not suffering from a terminal disease. You don’t have Ebola. There’s no reason to cut of your socal life.

Many orthodontics patients feel bad about their braces/Invisalign aligners. They are self-conscious about their teeth and smile and realize the braces don’t look that amazing.

And still those braces don’t look that bad either. You should start from this. Don’t feel bad about your braces. Why should you? You are taking care of your teeth, you’ll have healthy and nice teeth in months, you are improving yourself and there are only positive things to come from these months of hardwork.

You are not disabled, you are not ugly, you are in a treatment, but this doesn’t make you less attractive.

FEEL GOOD about yourself and you’ll see the change in how others perceive you.

2. Don’t stop smiling and be ready to do some explanation if needed.

Many people dread what they don’t know anything about. Most people who might stare at you are people who have no idea about this entire orthodontics treatment. I had coleagues who didn’t know anything about braces. I was happy to clue them in, show them before/after pictures and even answer any questions.

And you know what their reaction was when they found out all about braces? THEY WERE AMAZED!

The orthodontics treatment is fascinating, so many things happening, teeth getting aligned. It’s interesting and my coleagues were impressed. Needless to say some do consider orthodontics treatment for them.

People will stare at you, people will ask questions. Remember point 1 (you’re not diseased) and feel good about this things happening to you. In the end you’ll have an amazing smile, why be ashamed?

Another thing many people feel when starting wearing braces is confidence. I know how my teeth will look at the end and I see improvements. Even if I am 1 year far from the end, I feel like having a Hollywood smile already. I smile more and I feel excellent.

3. Make sure your teeth are clean.

Maybe the dates you have won’t have anything against your braces, but they’d surely hate seeing suff tangled in the braces or some “yucky” teeth. Make sure your teeth and braces are clean and there is nothing more there of “organic matter”. Try to notice if the other is interested in such topics, if not, keep the braces stories to a minimun. My boyfriend for instance dreads all dentist related stories. He’s not pleased I got braces, but he’s not trying to force me out of the treatment since he knows it’s important to me. But he’s not too interested in hearing too many details either, so I force myself to not bore him with them.

4. If he/she can’t be supportive,  maybe it’s a good idea to find about this NOW!

Having braces is not the end of the world. It’s something important for your overall health and a temporary issues. Have you ever thought what kind of a person wouldn’t date a braced one? What would keep them distant when it’s clear the treatment won’t last too long?

Seeing how many people supported me in this “battle” and how few there were to dislike the “new me”, I came to know the ones I wouldn’t like in my life anymore. The only ones who were shocked to see “how I destroyed my teeth” are older and lived all their life in the countryside. I don’t say such people are stupid, but my relatives from there, way less informed in all this did have some nasty comments to make.

All the others though have been very supportive. My coleagues from the radio station, my boss, who understood my small talking issues after being braces, close friends, most of the relatives and other people I know.

If you’re dating someone who’s willing to give you up because of a set of metal braces, maybe it’s a good idea to part ways. This shouldn’t pose any threat for you in your social or even intimate life. A person who cannot deal with your braces, would surely have issues dealing with other things that matter in your life, but he/she dislikes it. I wouldn’t like to get to attached to such a person.

As a conclusion … many people who were braced also found partners to date. They expected to be alone for all the time and still some of them were able to find ‘the love of their life’. The secret is to be RELAXED and positive about this. Just keep on beeing a nice funny person, dress nicely and be a pleasant presence. People will notice this and good dates will surely come from this. It’s all in the attitude in the end.

Three weeks ago I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom, after taking a shower. Even if I am pretty careful with the Invisalign aligners, this time I let them on the sink. And then one fell. My sink is very close to the wallk, creating a very narrow space, enough to have the tray go all the way down to the ground and still enough to not leave me any possibility to retrieve it.

Now what?

The first thing you should do is call your orthodontist to tell him about the problem. Sure, right that moment there’s nothing he can do since it will take some weeks for the Invisalign trays to be sent again from Align Technologies to you. It’s still a good idea to discuss this and have your doctor know about this.

Until you get your aligner(s) that are missing, you’ll keep on wearing the latest ones. NEVER THROW the latest aligners. Otherwise you’re indeed in deep doo-doo. If you’ll have the missing set sent to you, wear the aligners you aready wore for 2 weeks to keep the teeth in that position. In this case your trays will be a sort of a retainer, till it’s all back to normal.

This will slow down your treatment a bit, but it’s still all under control. Such things do happen, so it’s not quite the end of the world.

What have I done?

Sure, I didn’t practice what I preach entirely. I took a chance and it looks like it was still OK. I wore the latest aligner (I lost the lower arch tray) for the time I should have worn the new one. The upper teeth were having the prescribed aligner, the lower ones the last one, which I wore for 2 weeks already.

The chance I took was related to the possibility of the new aligner to fit properly, since I had one missing in the “list”. I misplaced no.6. So, for the upper jaw I had the no.6 aligner and in the lower one the no.5

The time came for the 7th set to be used and I tried to place the new aligners. The top arch was smooth, the lower one worked pretty well. I didn’t notice a huge difference in the teeth placement, so I was able to fit no.7 after no.5 with no issues at all.

This doesn’t mean it’s OK to misplace aligners or solve issues on your own. I was lucky. After over 3 months in the treatment my teeth are very mobile. They move easily and were able to adjust to the “steep” difference between the aligners. When I thought about “jumping” from no.5 to no.7 I also took into account the fact I have to wear 37 aligners on the lower jaw and most of the work is done (we have to rotate a bit some teeth and bring two molars in front to close some gaps). The biggest gap is closed with a power chain tied to a mini-mold and mini-implant so the “work” is done by this too, not just Invisalign. As you can guess I didn’t expect too much difference between the aligner sets and I wasn’t wrong in this.

The conclusion I’d like to present is that misplacing an aligner is NOT the end of the world. Sure, it’s important to try and pass the treatment time without such incidents, but if they happen keep your cool. Discuss with your orthodontist and you’ll be able to get to a common decision. NEVER throw the latest aligners, you’d be in trouble if you didn’t have any aligners to wear at all. And do wear that Invisalign as much as possible (over 20 hours if possible) because your treatment depends on you.

DON’T BE! It’s normal.

The entire orthodontics treatment is based on the ability of our teeth to move to a new position and to rotate. On a regular basis our teeth are strong and very well “welded” into their places. Their movement in this case would be impossible without them breaking or messing the jaw bone too.

This is why we should admire our body’s way to react to the small but constant forces the orthodontics devices place on the teeth: out teeth, when under such constant pressure, start being loose in their “sockets” and then they can be moved and rotated till the orthodontics treatment is getting the desired result.

Invisalign, such as any other system, has the ability to move these teeth. After some weeks in the treatment you’ll already notice your teeth seem to “fall off” from all their mobility. Don’t be scared, they are still well placed there, you won’t lose them, even if you feel 10 years old again.

With the metal braces the movement can be spotted even earlier, but Invisalign, such as all the other systems, also relies on the same thing: our teeth ability to be “mobile”.

So .. if you’re wearing Invisalign and the teeth are loose, be happy. It looks like the treatment is working nicely and your teeth will be OK. It’s NORMAL!

Even if this “uniqueness” made me a bit proud, I kinda knew what to expect: a lot of discomfort, a lot of hardware in my mouth, some good and some very bad days. But I was up to this, as I am now, after 1 year with 15 months of treatment still ahead of me.

With all the work done so far and all the huge changes in my life, I was ready for it all and had a very positive attitude that REALLY helped me. A lot of other patients were shocked to see how much this changes their life and how many days are not that good, but I knew from the beginning this is not an easy ride and went ahead with all my strength.

The weird thing is that this attitude made my treatment more than bearable, I went through 7 months of Damon braces and almost 3 months of Invisalign now, countless powerchains tied on my teeth, now a mini-implant (a small screw “stuck” in my jaw bone, under the teeth) and all the jazz without too much suffering. My doctor was pleased to see my attitude and told me this also helped a lot.

They have a lot of patients who don’t take it well. They are shocked to see how many things they have to change in their lives, that sometimes it does hurt a bit, there are plasting things, ceramics or metal in their mouth, they look weird, they feel weird and those teeth seem to take forever to move.

Here are some of the things/ideas that helped me “fly” through 1 year of treatment and be ready for 16 more months.

1. I CHOSE this, it’s not enforced on me.

I think this was the thing that really helped me. In case you get sick, you have to go to the hospital and undergo treatment because you are “forced” by the illness and the doctors who are there to save your life.

In this case the orthodontics treatment was MY choice. I didn’t get sick, I didn’t have a terminal disease (God forbid). I chose to go through all this because I wanted a better healthier bite or (to be honest) to have some good looking teeth. I was the one to go to the doctor and ask for a fix. I asked for it and now I got it

2. What you know can’t hurt you

When I was a teenager I used to read Shogun. Had a thing for Japanese culture, so it was just logical to “eat” up the book. Some of the ideas stuck in my head for years and one was “Ignorance is death”. Sure, not knowing what the orthodontics treatment is about won’t mean you’re gonna get killed, but it helps A LOT knowing what to expect there.

When I was certain I’d go through all this, I was already well informed. Read all I could about this and shocked my doctors with the knowledge I had. It’s something that will affect my life, it’s normal to care about this as much as to read some articles. This blog was “born” from my need to also share some of my information.

Read all you can and ask your orthodontist ALL kinds of questions. Don’t be shy, it’s your right to be as informed as possible. The moment you have all the facts you won’t be scared anymore, you’ll know what’s happening to you and why.

3. In the end there’s nothing a painkiller can’t fix.

We are scared by the pain. This is one of the things ANYONE fears when entering such a treatment. There will be pain, don’t expect your teeth to rotate and move without any discomfort, because you’ll be in for a big surprise.

Still this pain is not like giving birth or having a dislocated shoulder (I tried the latter option and it wasn’t pleasant at all). Don’t expect huge pains, don’t expect Morphine. Still there will be some pain when they place spacers (some patients require these), when you’re getting your brackets placed on your teeth (first days), when putting a new Invisalign aligner.

I recall using a light painkiller twice in my entire treatment. Once after having the 3rd extraction in 8 days time (1 pill) and one after the second adjustment (when wearing Damon). In 13 months of treatment I required 2 pills. The pain was most of the time light and wound’t require medication. You can take painkillers with no problems if you feel like it.

For some people the discomfort is bigger, for others it’s almost nothing. You can take medication to ease it when you just want to be relaxed.

4. I have a good doctor and trust him completely.

The advantage of chosing a TOP orthodontist is clear. My doctor had hundreds of cases so far, is one of the best in Romania and also Germany. He’s got a lot of experience and knows what to do. I trust him completely and wasn’t wrong to do so. 13 months in the treatment and all looks excellent, the teeth are aligning little by little and I am very positive about this all.

These would be the things you should also have in mind. Don’t be scared, or at least don’t let these feelings make you dread the treatment. Just think about the outcome and be ready for the result. The road to this goal is a tad scary, unpleasant sometimes, but the result makes it worth it. THINK ABOUT THAT!

If you want more details about Invisalign, please read our presentation article. Now, we’ll try focus on “how it’s made”.

Any orthotontics treatment starts with the initial consultation and this doesn’t break the rule. Your orthodontist will check you with great care and, should you “qualify” for Invisalign, you’ll be ready to undergo the first step to the trays: your molds.

For the Invisalign specialists to really be able to create your UNIQUE trays, they will need perfect impressions. So, don’t be scared if your orthodontist is that determined to have them perfect. They are needed this way, since your entire treatment for all these months will depend on them. At Align Technologies your impressions, the information about the course of treatment and all other initial materials, will be taken by other specialists in orthodontics.

They will make a positive out of your dental impressions; the plaster molds helping them see your teeth in their normal form. Because your orthodontist was so careful with those impressions, now, the Align Technologies specialists almost have your “teeth” there, and you won’t have to travel thousands of miles just so they can also do your consultation.

The plaster models are checked again and “cleaned”. Any residue or imperfection is manually checked and solved, so that the plaster can enter the other stage: 3D processing. State of the art scanners are able to create a three dimensional version of these plasters, and these can now be processed on the computer.

A barrier coating is applied to protect it from the possible damage it can take on the next stage. Once sealed, the models get placed into a chase, then in a mixture of urethane resin and hardener. They spend some hours in a vacuum pressure chamber the resin hardens and makes them look as blocks.

Each tray gets into a destructive scanning machine. This removes paper thin slices 3000 of an inch, while a digital camera takes two dimensional images of each of these slices.

The computer gathers more than 300 such images to create the 3D model.

These materials get sent to the technicians, who check once again if all is correct, the teeth and also the bite as the patient has it. The graphic designers will use a proprietary 3D application to cut each tooth and save it as a separate geometrical unit. The teeth are now separated and re-grouped on each arch in the position they will have once the treatment is complete.

From the initial stage to the final result, there are many intermediate stages that make up the entire treatment. These are carefully considered since the treatment is different for each patient and the entire orthodontic process needs time. As in traditional braces case, we cannot have straight teeth over night, so all these stages are just the normal tooth movement created with each aligner till the teeth are straight and the bite corrected.

The quality check process is next, so that all the process, the teeth movement, prescribed treatment etc. are correct.

The orthodontist who takes care personally of the patient is the one to decide if the treatment is a “go-go”, together with the patient him/herself. This application form is called “clincheck”

After all the treatment was checked and approved the aligners will be created. A series of models are created of photo sensitive thermo plastic, each of them will then be turned into an aligner. The thermo plastic sheet is pressed over each model by the use of heat. Trimming comes next so that the aligners come half a millimeter under the gum line, reducing the chances of sores and making the removal easier for the patient.

The aligners are polished and disinfected in a series of cleaning tanks, each set being then packaged, labeled and shipped to the prescribing orthodontist.

And, if you want to see the film, here are all these words in action

When we end our orthodontics treatment we get the teeth into the position and alignment perfect for a healthy bite and even a beautiful smile. But they still tend to go “back” and this happens most of the cases if a retainer is not worn properly. This is why wearing the retainer is as important as keeping those braces or Invisalign trays into place. It helps the teeth “learn” the new correct place and makes the treatment a success.

Our reader wanted to know if there are any ways he/she can renounce the retainer by getting his/her teeth stronger. Well, the problem is not about your teeth strength, but the jaw bones and gums since they “house” your teeth.

You will wear your retainer as long as needed. In some cases it’s just few months (for a less complex case) or maybe some more months or even few years. In such cases there was a very complex orthodontic case and this is needed to “secure” that wonderful result you had.

By definition the retainers are not as “tough” to wear as the normal braces and in many cases it’s just an overnight thing. I wore a retainer for 2 months (one that looked like the Invisalign trays) when waiting for my Invisalign. I had to wear it just at night and it wasn’t that hard at all. I got used to it and didn’t mind it as much as I anticipated before.

If you “survived” all the braces treatment stages I can’t believe you can’t make it with the retainer. It’s a simple device to be worn, in some cases (if bonded) it’s just a small “wire” glued to the back of your teeth. You won’t even notice it. If it’s a mobile device (the one to be taken off and then placed again), even if a tad tricky (since you have to take care of it too), it’s still something you will be able to manage.

Just think that by wearing your retainer you’ll have that wonderful smile forever. You’ve been through many things, sure you’ll make it

Sure, the orthodontic treatment is GOOD and USEFUL. I knew that and this was the reason I chose to go through many months of teeth straightening treatment.

The “day 2″ though was a huge punch into my confidence.

I expected pain since Damon is a very aggressive system (in the good sense of this word) and works fast. Sure, the changes in the teeth can become slightly painful.

Woke up in the morning with the same pressure feeling I had in my teeth since last night. No pain, just pressure. I then clench my teeth, as a normal person should. In the end I wasn’t gonna keep my mouth slightly open as I woke up with.

AUCH!

Cursed, shocked of the pain coming out of nowhere. “Jesus, how can this hurt like this?” I though to myself, noticing that not touching my teeth was good. No pain there, only when I pressed the lower teeth to the upper teeth, meaning closing that mouth and clenching them.

Cute, let’s see how we eat and brush.

The brushing was interesting to say the least. I was trying not to put too much pressure on my teeth and it worked pretty well. Expected more pain, got less than thought I’d get. I was brushing with care, not forcing anything, being very gentle and thorough.

And then .. I ate.

Or something like this. The pain I felt when putting pressure on my teeth was serious and I just didn’t want to face it anymore. Sure, a simple painkiller would solve this, but I was stubborn. No medication, I wan’t to feel it. And feeling it I was.

My grandmother and her sister ate better. I ate some mashed potatoes (I mean really mashed), drank some milk and ate pudding; all kinds of meals a toddler is getting used to. No solids. My teeth were in perfect shape theoretically, but painful when pressing. So, no pressing.

Even if I expected to starve that day, I wasn’t in such case. There are so many things you can eat in such occasion and the “mashing” and “mincing” are two things that make almost anything edible even for an orthodontics patient with new braces on.

My second day in Damon wasn’t that bad. As I went to sleep, trying to keep my lower and upper teeth from getting in contact with each others, I realized my pain wasn’t that serious and the discomfort pretty bearable. I was looking at 7 months with the metal braces on and I knew THIS DAY was the worst of all days and that I CAN MAKE IT.

Attitude means a lot in such a situation and I was looking at months of braces with a positive attitude. Nothing happening to me from now on could be as bad as this day was and this day wasn’t that bad at all. And it could have been a good day if I wasn’t as stubborn as to not take any pain medication. But I wanted to feel it. To sense how my Damon braces are starting working to make me have a perfect smile.

My orthodontics journey started 1 year ago. On June 1st, I was there, ready to start my new life. I read ALL I could about this, so I kinda knew what to expect. I knew my age (almost 29 at that time) wasn’t a huge deal, that my treatment would be a “weird” one (7 months in Damon 3 to solve some of the lateral issues and then Invisalign since I didn’t want to show braces at this age) and that this WILL CHANGE MY LIFE.

I was ready with all this. Crooked teeth were a big issue and some of my problems weren’t quite “usual”. I liked my “special” status, but knew this complex case was also trouble.

My orthodontist set the meeting and I was ready to get braced. On the “International Children Day”, I really felt like one.

I knew it’s a good idea to use the toilet before (being on that chair for 2 hours is not that “cool” for one’s bladder, so I used it. I was then ready to start this, thrilled to see how many “cool” things I’ll have. I am a strange person, curious and thrilled to try all this. I know it’s sounds pretty weird, but I couldn’t wait to see what they’ll do to me.

Etching was placed on the teeth, then washed out. It was sour, it’s an acid. Then they placed bonding (tastes like Super Glue) and the brackets on the molars and bicuspids. These were the teeth to be braced only. Then the archwire was put there, the “sliding doors” closed (Damon has self-ligating brackets, so no need for ligatures) and then some power-chains tied on some of the brackets to close a gap I have.

I was talking funny, but felt pretty good. A wire was poking my cheek, but it was cut short then. I felt a small pressure on my teeth, but I was pleased to see I made THE FIRST STEP towards a perfect smile.

– to be continued –