Inman aligners

[smiletime]

You are right :-)

I just took it there for a while for eating and one tooth has moved in slightly. Its a small move, but there nonetheless!

The most sticky outy tooth has gone in slightly. When I run my tongue over where it used to stick out, its all smooth now!

Woooo hooo!

[boomerang]

Hi everyone. Sorry if I confused ppl about the tightening of the aligner but just realised that my aligner has an expander built in to it that not all of them have. doh.lol. Doin ok with it but not wearing it as much as I should be. Not much pain now at all which I hope is normal??? Still very happy that there has definately been movement. Still waiting for my Retainer brite and have to say my aligner does not feel clean even after washing it yuk, plus my teeth dont feel their usual even though they are being brushed more now than ever and going through mouthwash at a great rate.

[Dominie]

I'm going to attempt posting some progress photos again...here goes!

My teeth before the aligner:


7 weeks in...


and



Look at that progress!! Nearly straight! You can also see the composite blobs on my teeth that hold it in place.

I really hope this worked! If not, the link to the album is here: http://s1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa478/dominieheald/
Probably the least attractive photos I've ever taken of myself! But hope they're informative/helpful...

[Dominie]

Also, here are some pics of the aligner being worn, for those of you who are still deciding whether to go for it.

From the front:




And from below:



You can see how bulky it is inside the mouth...hence all the lisping! There's a plastic bar that fits around the front of the teeth, and another sprung bar behind the teeth; they push and pull the teeth simultaneously, which is why it work's so much more quickly than other braces (which only either push or pull in one direction at a time). The curved metal wire is holding it all together, and it sits on the back teeth in almost the same way as a sports gumshield/mouthguard. It's anchored by the back teeth (molars) while the two sprung bars do their pushing and pulling on the front teeth.

[JackDaniels]

Dominie - That's amazing! Your teeth look virtually perfect already! Thanks for posting the pics.

Any luck with the Retainer Brite? I use it every 2 or 3 days I think.

It's been 3 weeks now! I was at the dentist on Monday, no filing as he thinks there should be enough space for the tooth to come back. He did say he might have to tighten up the springs a bit when I go back in 3 weeks time, just to keep the pressure up.

I find it quite hard to monitor movement! Sometimes I think it has moved loads, and then I feel like it hasn't moved much at all. I should just stop looking!

[tipps]

Hi everyone,

I went for my 3 week check up 2 days ago. The dentist said the back of the plastic was now touching all my teeth so there has been some movement, but I needed to create some space for the protruding front tooth. So I had a little bit of filing done in between the front teeth to loosen them up. He used small strips of what felt like sandpaper, then went back and forth, changing from a coarse, to a fine, to an extra fine strip. It wasn't too bad but when ever he went too close to my gums, I would cringe. But the part I didn't like was the polishing bit which was when the drill like tool appeared. He put some banana flavoured fluoride in between the teeth after which is suppose to help the sensitivity and enamel. It felt like he had taken off a chunk and I was expecting to see a visible gap when I got to a mirror, but there was hardly any difference. So I wonder if I will need more filing done...

I was told to wear my front bar lower since there's more space to move the teeth but it keeps jumping up. But looking at Dominie's photo, hers is much lower than I ever considered so I'll go and try that. Although wearing it lower makes it more obvious and harder to talk so I'm a bit reluctant to move it! I haven't been using Retainer Brite but Steradent tablets (for dentures), I bought at Boots. They work well but it's still doesn't clean the areas where the wire joins to the the plastic, and my toothbrush doesn't seem to reach there either. I'm getting quite annoyed that those areas aren't getting a proper clean. Does Retainer Brite work any better and does anyone have tips on how to get to those hard to reach areas?

Dominie, your teeth have moved lots! Especially the one that fell to the back. They are looking very good!

JackDaniels, I'm sure they are moving. Did you take a photo of your teeth before? I did but I still can't see the difference!

[JackDaniels]

Hi Tipps, I have been taking photos every week. I was just looking at them again and really don't see much difference yet which is disappointing considering it has been 3 weeks and the dentist said he expected the whole treatment to only take 8 weeks! Hopefully things will start moving soon!!

[Dominie]

Jack, I know it's so frustrating! Just stop looking in the mirror for a week or so. They will move! And make sure your dentist checks how you're wearing the appliance when it's in, just to make sure it's connecting with your teeth in all the right places.

@Tipps, I didn't always wear mine with the bar so low. To begin with, he placed the composite bracket higher, more towards the centre of my teeth. But last week, because the rotated tooth wasn't moving, he checked how it was sitting in my mouth and realised it was making contact but wasn't applying enough pressure at the height it was sitting, so he put another composite blob further down to keep it right at the bottom of the tooth.

Anyone got any pics? xx

[Dominie]

Hi people, just thought I'd share some info with you as I went to the trouble of looking it up (probably irrelevant to most of you...)
A friend of mine in Dubai is hoping to have the treatment, so I phoned the US Inman office and got a reply from Mr Inman himself! Apparently they are holding a training course in the UAE now, so within a few weeks there will be 35+ dentists who can administer the treatment. (Currently none.)
It was interesting to me that clinics only need to undergo a brief course of a few weeks to be qualified to use the Inman! It appears they are holding courses in quite a few places, so if you live abroad and are hoping to get this treatment, it's worth phoning or emailing the HQ in America to ask if it'll be available soon. Their contact details are here: http://www.inmanaligner.com/ContactUs.htm

I don't think the UK site is up to date with its info on this.

[Dominie]

Hi people,

So I've been keeping track of my weight loss since having my IA fitted, and it's been a steady process (with a little fluctuation around christmas time!) I went back to Dubai where my parents live for the holidays, and saw old friends who haven't seen me since before I started treatment. As well as being amazed at the changes to my smile, they couldn't stop commetning on how thin I looked! I've lost almost one dress size, and about half a stone.

Just wondered if anyone else has had similar experiences? Are you all losing weight and getting healthy?

xoxo

[smiletime]

Jeez, I really hope I don't lose any more weight with this thing in my mouth!

I will disappear if thats the case.

Congrats to you anyway!

I am going for my 1st 3 week check up next week.

If I get more filing done, is it usual to see quicker movement then?

[Dominie]

Haha well Smiletime you're lucky to already be happy with your body shape! I'm really stoked to be slimmer AND have nice teeth! What a transformation! I feel like going the whole hog and changing my hair too!

Yeah the teeth always move the most directly after filing, in my experience. It's as though the aligner loosens up the teeth so they're ready and raring to go, and as soon as there's space for them they spring forward (or back in your case). But rotation seems to take much longer - i think that's more of a gradual process, and not so affected by the filing (although it does help).

[smiletime]

You should go the whole hog and celebrate your new smile by a new hair do too!

You deserve it after all the embarrassment of spitting and lisping!

One of my teeth is greatly rotated (one next to my front tooth).

Am dreading it taking forever to move into the correct position.

Am also a bit intrigued to know why my aligner has plastic that covers underneath my teeth, and not just the sides like the ones I have seen in pictures. I can't close my mouth as the plastic is in the way.

Is yours the same or are the bits you clip around your teeth free of plastic?

[shopaholic66]

hello everyone. I had my inman aligner fitted 4th february. im having the top done now and the bottom teeth done after that. struggling with the gum pain, the hooks digging into my gums, and im having major speech difficulties. i work in customer service, so all day im either customer facing or on the phone. so wearing the brace in work is just not an option for me. im managing at least 16 hours a day with the brace. hope this will still be effective even if it takes longer. so glad i found this forum, has been great to read the comments from everyone going through the same experience. i had no idea the brace would take over my life so much!

[smiletime]

Welcome Shopaholic66!

This is a great site isn't it?

I got mine fitted overe 2 weeks ago now.

I was very surprised when I first got it as I felt it was HUGE and it really took over my mouth it was so bulky.

It actually gets a bit better, you get more used to it. The lisping will never go away I think, but you get more understandable!

I have found that my teeth are moving already and once they do that, the brace moves and talking becomes a lot easier.

I don't wear mine at work either as I am a trainer and I can't train groups of people with that in my mouth!

I am sure you have read a lot of the posts that dental wax will help with the sores They really are a pain though go very quickly.

Take care,
A