Inman aligners

[Dominie]

Interesting - and good to know!

[boomerang]

hi everyone,

Smiletime - So glad alls going well for you as well

JackDaniels - I wear my Inman around 16 hours per day (cant speak well with it in so cant wear it to work)

Dominie - My dentist said he has only ever had one other case as quick as mine and the reason for it was that the person had only had a brace about a year previously and had not worn a retainer after. This is not the case with me (I wore a brace too many years ago to count lol). I have an expander in my Inman and I am the first person he has ever given a key to expand once a week because I live so far away. He is astounded at the result and so happy and I am over the moon. Well worth it.

Dreamer - Hope all goes well with you today

[dreamer89]

Hi everyone,

Sounds like everyone's doing well. My four week check up went well. There has definitely been movement had some more filing done so fingers crossed that helps even more. I thought I was going for a half hour appt but it only lasted about 10 minutes. I queried the hygeniene of it (I know other people are having trouble cleaning it too!) Mine is well scrubbed apart from where the wire meets the plastic, the inside bit there looks horrible!But I was told Iwas keeping it really clean compared to most he sees - encouraging but does mean we can't keep them as clean as we may like!! next check up in 4weeks time.

One thing he did say was to make sure teeth are really clean and flossed well (and regular visits to the hygenist) as the cleaner the teeth are the quicker they move

hope everyone is ok/inman is going well

[charlie8]

Hello, everyone. I am having my 2nd appointment next monday so had the inman just over 6 weeks,
I am really struggeling to get it out at the moment.
Its like there is no gap for me to get my nail on the bar and push backwards. Is this just because my teeth are straighter so the bar is resting exactly on the back of my teeth.
Or have i somehow broken the alligner?
Please can someone reply as i am quite conserned.
I just have to pull the front clear bar down until the back bar pings out of my mouth. I cant get a nail or anything behind my teeth to release the spirng.
Is this normal. i really hope o so

[JackDaniels]

Hi all, just been for a check up, so that's almost been 6 weeks! The dentist said he is very happy with the progress, which is great, did a tiny bit of filing too. He also said that instead of the metal bar retainer thing, he thinks it might be better to go for a standard clear retainer to be worn for 6 months all day, and then 6 months night only. He said he has had a few cases recently where the metal bar retainer has come off, but he said it's up to me. What does everyone else think? Is the clear retainer going to be a pain to wear all day?

[dreamer89]

Hi Charlie8,
Having just had my first check up I am finding it more difficult to take the inman out too! Ican just squeeze a nail in to ping the back up but it's definitely not as easy as it was. I doubt it's broken, but ask your dentist at your checkup just to be sure.- just noticed the timing of your post - sorry if this is too late! Let me know what your dentist said.

Hi JackDaniels,
I had the plastic retainers when I was younger after braces. I wasn't told to wear them during the day, just over night for 6 months. I actually wore them every night for a year and my teeth remained straight for 5 years or so before starting to move again. My current dentist advised you wear the plastic ones for as long as you don't want your teeth to move! Not every night but a couple of times a week to be sure! I am getting the wire put on afterwards. I have been told it lasts 5 years or so so will need replacing. My dentist also recommends getting the plastic to go over the wire so I can wear it every now and again to ensure things aren't moving. Personally I am going to do everything I can to stop my teeth moving again. I do not want to wear (or want to spend the money on) a third brace in my life time! I hope that's helpful, every dentist seems to differ in what they recommend but mine makes sense to me considering wearing the plastic for a year didn't stop them moving in future years.

I can really see movement in my teeth and am really pleased since my appointment I have noticed my teeth aching again when I take it out and they are even a bit wobbly which scares me a bit! but have read on hear that other people have experienced this too - so glad I found this forum!

[smiletime]

Hi Guys

I am also finding my aligner a bit more difficult to get out since my first check up last week.

My dentist did not tighten it, though I think the more my teeth are moving back, the more tricky it is to get out!

I am seeing this as a good sign, that the teeth are all aligning up nicely!

It is a bit awful at times getting it out though, feels like I am going to break one of my teeth trying to get it out!

Hope you are all doing well

[smiletime]

I forgot to ask!

Has anyone who is well into their treatment got any photos?!

[LilPickle]

Hi everyone,

I'm finally getting mine fitted later today. I'm so nervous about it. I'll feel much better once its in and i know what i'm facing i'm sure! I'm getting married next year so i need to focus on that as its my reason for getting it done.

I'm sure i'll be on here to update later. Wish me luck!!

[JackDaniels]

Lilpickle - well done! Just remember, the first few days are the hardest, it will get more comfortable!! I remember spending the first couple of days reading just about every post on this forum! It was helpful though. Let us know how you get on.

Dreamer - yes I certainly want to make sure they don't move again too. I'm a bit concerned about the wire retainer coming off and the hygiene of it, i.e. food getting stuck in there, etc. In a way I am also not so keen to wear the clear one full time for 6 months because it will be slightly noticeable, and I assume it would affect my speaking a bit too? I wonder if it might be an idea to have the wire one for the first 6 month, plus wear the clear at night and then after that have the wire removed and just wear the clear retainer at night?

Has anyone else had any experience with either of the retainers they could share???

[LilPickle]

Well its in! I'm not in much pain at all apart from when taking it out and then putting it in again. I must admit when i have to put it back in i find it terribly painful and had to lie down afterwards this morning! Will be eating less though because i dont want to take it out so this could be the best diet in the world.

Otherwise i really dont think its that bad. I can talk and be understood. Some words are a little off but i've only had it in about 14 hours so i still need to practice and adjust. Its definately not the most discreet thing in the world but i dont think its massively obvious either. Will have to see how it goes.

I am looking forward to being done already though!! Hope it only takes twelve weeks (or less).

[Dominie]

LilPickle it really is the best diet, I've lost so much weight - mainly because whenever someone offers round biscuits, or I feel like half a chocolate bar, it's SO not worth taking it out and going through all the teeth-cleaning!

Going for a checkup now, and fingers crossed it'll be my last - but my last rotated tooth is STILL not fully in position! SO FRUSTRATING! I've been wearing the aligner faithfully 22 hours a day :*( I think he needs to do more filing to make more space, but I'm concerned that he might say it can't turn any further. I'll update you all upon my return!!

[Dominie]

Well I was right, he made more space and I have another two weeks to go! Aaahhh really hope this is the last stint. He said that in two weeks he'll take the impressions for my retainer and send it in the post! YAY

I'll post some more photos this week if there's any change and it's worth photographing them!

[tipps]

Good to hear your treatment is almost finished, Dominie! I have my next appointment next week which is a little over due but my dentist was booked up. I haven't been wearing my brace as often on some days and one of the days that had to take it off almost the entire day, and I think I noticed my teeth returning back to its usual position! I don't know if it was just me being paranoid... but I'm trying to be more disciplined.

With the retainer topic... my dentist has been recommending me to get the fixed wire one which I'm not too keen on as it's an additional cost (the plastic ones are included), I heard that the wire can move and you won't realise it until your teeth move, and don't like the fact that I have something on my teeth all the time (and like JackDaniels mentioned), the hygiene of having to clean around it will annoy me.

So I've been tempted to get the cheaper plastic option but after hearing dreamer89's experience of 1 solid year of wearing the retainers (wow! very disciplined!) and it's moved... it's caused me to worry. I was thinking, and not sure if anyone has thought of it, if you wore your IA for a longer period of time, instead of wearing the retainer, but wear the IA at night for a few more months, do you think it would help keep your teeth in place better? I have been too embarassed to ask my dentist about that possibility, as it might seem a stupid question, but I thought since the IA does such a good job moving the teeth in it's place, shouldn't wearing it for a longer period help keep it in place, instead of switching to a retainer straight away? Let me know what you think about it... even if you think it's silly!

[JackDaniels]

Hi tipps, I don't the wearing the IA for longer is an alternative to a retainer because it will continue to move your teeth, even if only a bit, and I think the retainer helps them sort of "set" in the right position.

To be honest, I don't want to have to wear the plastic one full time for 6 months, because it will be a bit invasive, i.e. noticeable, may affect speech a little bit, and I'll have to always take it out when I eat, etc. The more I think about it, the more I am tempted to go with the bonded wire and then also wear the clear one but only at nights. Basically doubling up. I think it sounds like the safest option. Then after 6 months I may have the wire removed and wear the clear at night, probably virtually for ever! The last thing I want is for the teeth to move back into their old position again! I'll have to talk to my dentist about it when I go back in a couple of weeks.