Inman aligners

[Sherral]

Hello everyone,

Today was a bad day for me. I dropped my aligner and it broke! Snapped the plastic bit that sits at the front of the teeth and the metal bit that sits close to the roof of the mouth came out.

Really upset! Several months of wear and now my teeth have started to migrate back to their old position. Dreading calling the dentist tomorrow to find out how much a new one is going to cost!

Anyone know how much a new one will cost?!

A very very upset Sher x

[Buzz31]

Hi all,

I am over the moon with the results... I only wish the Inman had been about a few years ago!

I did have whitening and used the Zoom system - very good and cost me about £500. I have so much left i'm sure it will last me a good few years so if i need to top up i can as and when

I now wear my retainer for the next 4 weeks solid and then start to gradually reducing the hours - if my teeth start to migrate during the day then i'll have to have the bonded bar. I go back on 15th July where we will make the decision.

Good luck all, the speech does get better you just have to persevere with it - i had the arch expander on as well and i think that makes it a little more uncomfortable but you get used to it. I used to wear mine for work, if i had a meeting i just used to pop it out...

If anyone is debating doing it - JUST DO IT - you wont look back!

[luckylou]

Hey!

Have had the weirdest experience. After having my expander adjusted, I can now speak okay. Have been able to wear it 22+ hours every day since, with minimal problems, even at work. I love being able to articulate again! So fingers crossed this minor mishap might actually speed up the first stage of the process, as could only wear it ~15 hours at best cause of the speech problem. So it can get a whole lot better with the expander!

[sandiepandie]

hi luckylou .. thats great news !!! .. x

[Irishbrace]

Hi Sherral-thats such bad luck breaking your aligner. Did you call your dentist? What did they say? Is it going to cost the same again?

[gerry]

Hi all,

Just got my IA for my top teeth today - so pleased! Almost went for the train tracks last year, and fortunately delayed it due to cost, only to discover IA in a newspaper a couple of months ago.

So far, it's pretty snug, no pain from the springs or my teeth, though apparently it's not fully adjusted while I get used to it (and neither is the expander), so there's only a very light pressure. I can barely speak, and haven't drooled this much since I was about 4 months old...but in about 3 or 4 months I should be smiling happily!

I saw an image of what my teeth will look like when it's finished as well - I think I'll be using that as a motivator to keep the IA in as much as possible.

Thanks everyone for your stories, it's really interesting and helpful!

[MUFC]

Hey all, has anyone else had a bit of bother keeping the bit behind your front teeth up towards your palate? My dentist said the higher it sits the better, but for some reason mine sits pretty low. If i press it up it stays high but then slips a bit. Its not low enough that you can see it, but not far off. Anyone have any similar experiences? Keep posting people!

[sandiepandie]

hi i tend to press the bar at the back upwards with my bottom teeth quite a lot !! .. not sure if its just not by habit now tho !!!LOL !!! .. mine doesnt slip down normally but when i wake up in the morning i sometimes feel it isnt quite so tight as other times... hope this makes some sense !!!!

[Tiger]

Hi

Mine was slipping down a good bit after the first few days and dentist put these composite filling things -stuck to the back of my teeth( and one on the front) to act as a ledge. Still not fully up to the top though but better than it was.

[green eyes]

Hi everyone

I just wanted to introduce myself and tell you all a little about my experience with the Inman ...I am from Ireland where (as far as i know) only 2 dental practices use the Inman method.

I had my IA fitted 14/04/09 and have had amazing results...I have a gap between my 2 front teeth and one of the teeth had moved inwards significantly over the last 2 years. It looked awful and people were constantly asking me what had hit me in the mouth!! I was told by an orthodontist that i would have to get train tracks for 1 yr + then wear a retainer for another year at least...im so glad i discovered the IA

Even after 4 wks the tooth has more or less moved back into position and my gap is nearly closed. The first week was very painful for me, but now, while i would not risk actually biting into anything its not really that sore anymore. I should point out that I wear the IA probably 20-22 hrs a day

I have appointments every 2 wks and got the IA tightened last week.

My next appointment is near the end of May where i will get the mould done for a thin wire retainer, this will take another 2-3 wks to make then once its fitted that’s it!!

At first my speech was horrendous, but my dentist gave me the red wax that i have seen some of you post about and i NEVER go anywhere without it. The wax is free and she always gives me enough for about 1 months use.... i have also heard that you can buy it in boots. She assured me it makes no difference to the position of the IA etc....

This forum has been a great source of info for me so thanks everyone

[MUFC]

Hey green eyes, glad its going well. Im fascinated about this wax, what is it called? dentist never mentioned it before but heard people chat about it. Does it go on the palate part of the aligner? I'll hav to check out boots, my speech is still hilarious after 3 weeks lol.

[green eyes]

Hi MUFC

I am not too sure what the offical name is but as far as i know its called 'Dental Wax' . You use it to stuff the space where the IA hits the roof of your mouth...sorry thats not very clear. There is a gap between the wires on the spring part, its kindof kidney shaped and you just plug it with the wax .

My Dentist told me that air is being pushed thru this gap when you speak and that this causes alot of the lisping. I think it makes a world of difference.

Best of luck with it !

[jodiejo]

Hi all, just thought I'd drop you an update on my IA.

I've had it now for five weeks in total, been wearing it pretty much all of the time, give or take a couple of hours a day. Just been back to the dentist this afternoon and he has taken the impressions for the thin wire to be fitted at the back to hold the teeth in position - absolutely delighted!!!!

I now go back in three weeks to have the wire fitted and that is my relationship with my IA finished

So for everyone that's going through it just now - stick at it, mine was an exceptionally quick treatment but it just goes to prove that it DOES work!!!

And if I could bloomin' figure out how to post pictures on this site, I would show you a before and after, still trying to work it out !!!

x

[mareikem]

Hi, I had my aligner fitted on Thursday, so had it in for three days now. I have to say, it really is quite painful just now - especially when taking it out or putting it back in - so much so that I find myself counting to three and trying to do it as quickly as possible...
I had to take painkillers on Saturday as it was so painful when putting it back in after lunch, I actually had tears in my eyes. Has anybody else had this experience?

I also find that I had underestimated what it would be like having braces 24/7. Constantly having the annoying metal taste in my mouth (particularly in the morning!), my speech is a nightmare, and the constant pressure on my front teeth. I really hope and pray this will get better. I didn't expect it to be like this, maybe a bit naive of me I find this forum a great source of support and motivation, and hope I can shortly add my own success story!!

On a more positive side, I have the feeling that my front teeth have started to move (this of course could be imagination - really hard to tell!!)

Fortunately I'm on a two-week holiday just now so at least I don't have to think about work at the moment!

[jodiejo]

Hiya Mareikem, if you read back in the forum you will see that I had the EXACT same experience as you. The first three days were a complete nightmare, the pain was terrible, I was counting down the minutes before I could take more painkillers, I couldn't eat, taking it out and in was absolutely horrendously sore - so yes, I did have the same experience. Now 5 weeks in and nearly finished my whole "experience" I can promise you right now, that it does definitely get better and within I would say about the fourth day the pain subsides until there's no pain at all - the only pain I still "sort of" suffer is when I brush my teeth but its nothing compared to the pain at the beginning.

I must admit, the metal taste in my mouth didn't both me much, the only thing was I always find I've got a horrible taste in my mouth and I am drinking a lot more water as I find my mouth gets very dry alot.


The pressure on your teeth will subside as well, until (believe it or not) you won't really "feel" like you've got anything in your mouth.

Please believe me when I say the pain does get better, I had a miserable first three days but PLEASE perservere - it is definitely worth it....and for what its worth my teeth had moved the first morning I had mine in - so your teeth may possibly have moved as well

Good luck xx