Almost done.... and a teeth whitening question

[KUMonkeyMomma]

So I have one more tray after the one I have in - hooorraaayyyy!! So I have roughly 4 weeks left (I wear mine for 3 weeks at a time). There are still some things that I don't like about my 4 top front teeth but most of that is cosmetic - 2 of the 4 are shorter due to them being chipped in childhood and never fixed and one has an odd angle to it on one side from how it was stuck behind another tooth for so long and got wore down, etc. So the plan is to take care of those issues with filing/shaping and bonding, etc.

The teeth in front of my canines don't look straight and look like they should be shifted a bit but those are the ones we've consistently had trouble trying to move/rotate, etc and have had attachments on them, etc so I think they are possibly the best they'll get without traditional braces (which I won't do because I'd have to go to an ortho and pay more money as I go to a dentist now since the dentist I have used and trusted for 10 years or more did invisalign too). I'm thinking those can be made to look a little better with some cosmetic work, but I'll ask him if more trays/refinements will move them better and if so I'm willing to do more trays.

I plan to do whitening when the attachments come off as well. What I'm not sure of is if I should do it before all the cosmetic stuff like bonding, etc so that they can match the color or if the bonding materials will whiten along with my teeth if I do it after. Does the bonding material change color with the rest of your teeth as they get stained or such or would those areas be whiter than the rest if I don't keep up with the whitening often enough, etc?

The other concern I have is that after I get all this cosmetic stuff done to make them look their best, my last trays likely will not fit properly, so I'm not sure what they do while I'm waiting for my retainers to come in. They possibly might if they shorten the long teeth and not bond the shorter ones but I think it'll be a combo of the two - take a bit of of the two long ones and add to the short ones - so that they don't file so much off we're getting to inside areas of the tooth with nerves or whatnot. I'm sure they finish the work and then do impressions and send off for the retainers so what holds them in place for the weeks it takes for those to come in? My only thought was bonded retainers for however long it takes for them to come in. Maybe this doesn't come up that much as for most people they use their last tray until the retainers come in.

[lilone]

I can't really help you with the last part of your post, but I can suggest that you do whitening before you get any bonding because the bonding will not whiten with your teeth.

I think sometimes they just leave the teeth retainerless for the couple of weeks and any changes that occur are reversed pretty quickly when you get the retainer (it forces them back where they should be) but I'm not a hundred percent sure. Are you getting a hawley or the invisalign brand one?

[goodteethby2013]

I would consult with a prosthodontist or cosmetic dentist now and get them and your dentist to coordinate the end of your treatment relative to your retainers. I am planning to replace a front tooth crown at the end of my treatment, and my two docs have been coordinating final tooth placement and spacing so that my new crown can be shaped appropriately. The cosmetic dentist can also advise regarding the timing of whitening. Good luck!