I'm all done!

[sammywantstraightteeth]

After 11 months in Invisalign I am now officially in retainers.

My full story can be found at my blog, along with lots of photos, linked in my signature.

Brief run down - I chose to have my teeth sorted out because my gums were in bad shape and I was having a lot of difficulty keeping my teeth clean. I also had jaw ache frequently and a lot of headaches. I had overcrowding on both arches, my two front top teeth were overlapped a lot and I was worried they were going to damage each other (my mum lost her two front teeth that way in her twenties and has had false teeth ever since!). My two arches were also a long way from meeting - with my upper arch flaring out and up.

I chose invisalign because you can clean and floss your teeth normally. I was having enough trouble keeping them clean without adding lots of bits of metal to them to brush around. Turned out to be a good choice because it forced me to really get my dental hygiene sorted out - and I did a good job. Having spent £3000 on my teeth I am not going to neglect them anymore!

My teeth aren't perfect now but I'd decided I had done enough. My overcrowding is sorted, my two front upper teeth are now side by side and no longer bothering each other, my jaw ache problems are long gone, and the frequency of headaches is way down. My gums no longer bleed when I brush my teeth. I can close my mouth without my top teeth resting on my bottom lip! I could go on for a while about such things but I won't. I'll just finish to say I'm very happy with the results. All you folks out there just starting your journey - hang in there it is so worth it in the end.

[chocomorsel]

Looks good to me. Great results with invisalign in such a short time.

But, the way your teeth sit in the front seemingly on top of each other, is that going to create problems down the line in wear and tear of the front teeth? Or are you just holding your teeth that way. I just don't see the normal 2mm overbite that makes a good bite.

[CountessDeSangre]

Congratulations sammy! I can't tell you how jealous I am of you right now that you're finished!

[Lynette]

Looks great! Good idea getting the extra retainers

[ShainaMichelle]

Congrats Sammy :)

[ktbanh]

wow CONGRATS!

[sammywantstraightteeth]

But, the way your teeth sit in the front seemingly on top of each other, is that going to create problems down the line in wear and tear of the front teeth? Or are you just holding your teeth that way. I just don't see the normal 2mm overbite that makes a good bite.

I was never assured of a good bite - the only way to fix my bite fully is to break my jaw (so not gonna happen), so this is about as good as I could get bite-wise.

My arches were so badly aligned when I started that I'm still struggling to find a way to comfortably settle them - my facial muscles aren't used to it yet I guess. I can hold my teeth anywhere between zero overbite and 3mm overbite and it feels equally weird at the moment!