Inman aligners

[earthgirl]

Hi everyone

I went last week for the impressions for a clear aligner. I was really hoping he would remove the composite blobs before he took the impressions but he said they need to stay on. I was a bit surprised about this because he originally told me they were only there to keep the bars of the inman aligner in place.

Has this happened to anyone else?

I go on Wednesday for my clear aligner so will update then.

Earthgirl,

How excited you must feel to be in the last weeks of your treatment plan?!

I don't have composites so am speculating: were you told you'd be in the clear aligners for a couple weeks to move a pesky "rotated" tooth and then you'd go back onto the IAs for a couple more weeks? That is what my dentist said we would do and currently I've completed
5 weeks + 4 days with the past 10 days I have wearing the clear aligners.

So now you have my two cents worth: you'll wear the clear aligners a while and then go back to the IAs--he doesn't want to put on any other composites.

When are you expected to complete your plan?

tennesseeditto, thank you for your words of encouragement.

My clear aligner has been in for 2 hours. It feels tight, and I can feel pressure in the right places! They have made me 3 aligners, 2 weeks each, so hopefully be complete in approx 6 weeks. The aligner is very discreet and my speech is fine, so will try to wear it 24/7 (apart from eating).

How soon after getting your clear aligner did you notice any movement?

[tennesseeditto]

I had the IAs for 4 weeks and saw a LOT of movement each week. My dentist made me a clear aligner and I have worn it for the past 12 days.
You are so right about it being tight; it was very challenging to get it off and on the first week but is a little easier this week.
I have a top tooth that was rotated over another and it has moved almost completely off! It's exciting to see so much improvement in so little time.

I return to my dentist Monday for another evaluation. Initially, he said it would take 8 weeks and the next two weeks will be IAs but I "think" he may make another clear aligner to move that rotates tooth completely.
Guess I'll quit speculating and just be happy for us all!

[Mich78]

Update!
I have been wearing my IA for 7 weeks and the movement of my teeth has been amazing! 

I still find it hard to talk so only wear it about 18 hours a day.

Apparently I should only have another 6-9 weeks to go.

Hope everyone else is getting on well with their IAs.

[jessica716]

Hiya,

Well... I had the standard clear front fitted on my IA on tuesday last week... I was fine if nt a little tender the first 2 days or so, but since sunday I'm having awful pains in one of my teeth that the IA is working on...

Kinda like a nerve pain as though biting into something freezing cold... This is happening whether the IA is in or out... I've physically not been able to have a drink of even water since sunday, its painful to brush my teeth and if I'm outside the wind on that tooth actually reduces me to tears...

Surely this isn't normal?

I rang the dentist who just said to use sensodyne toothpaste, which I already am and even that touching my tooth makes my eyes water...

Has anyone gone through anything similar?

Help....

[Toontino]

Hiya,

Well... I had the standard clear front fitted on my IA on tuesday last week... I was fine if nt a little tender the first 2 days or so, but since sunday I'm having awful pains in one of my teeth that the IA is working on...

Kinda like a nerve pain as though biting into something freezing cold... This is happening whether the IA is in or out... I've physically not been able to have a drink of even water since sunday, its painful to brush my teeth and if I'm outside the wind on that tooth actually reduces me to tears...

Surely this isn't normal?

I rang the dentist who just said to use sensodyne toothpaste, which I already am and even that touching my tooth makes my eyes water...

Has anyone gone through anything similar?

Help....

Hello.. Don't worry, mine were
Pretty painful aswell! As they were when the composite was fitted an the aligner adjusted position.. Stick with it!! It will subside!

I could barely put the aligner back in because of the pain but it wore off after 4 or 5 days.

[jessica716]

Glad to hear someone else has had something similar, well 2 weeks later today and I managed to drink a cup of tea without wanting to scream!

Breakthrough!

Another wEek till my next check up, nt been wearing the aligner for more than 15 hours a day this past week due to the pain and dentist told me to reduce my time just until pain subsides.

I put the brace in before bed and for once wasn't in pain, went in easily. Fingers crossed the pain stays away and I can get on with moving these teeth to where I want them!

[tennesseeditto]

Hi guys!

I first discovered this thread in April when I was going to get my very own Inman Aligner. I read every post in a couple of days, and the information posted here is probably the best I've read during the entire process.
I got my aligner on the 4th of April, and got my retainer (a permanent wire) on June 20th so my treatment was very quick, and the result is absolutely amazing! (I can post some before and after pictures if you want to see, when my post count is up a few notches...) After the treatment I got my teeth whitened, and my canines were very much vampire-like so we did some fill/build-work (don't know the English term for it, I'm Swedish) on them as well.

Please feel free to ask me anything regarding the treatment, I will try to answer everything!

/Jeanette

Have you posted your pics yet? I could not find them but would like to see them.

[tennesseeditto]

Hey guys, just a quick update as I finish my fifth week with Inman aligners.

Last week I saw my dentist and she could not believe how well it is all going, her words were "we're almost there" which sounded like heaven to me!!! I was a bit sceptical as I could see movement but thought it was my imagination being overly positive, but when she showed me the original moulds of my mouth it is quite incredible!!!! She has given me an appointment in 3 weeks and she reckons that'll be it.

I have taken some pics today and compared them to previous ones... and guess she's right... yep i can see the change now.

But my question is: at the end of it all, will you go for a fixed retainer at the back of your teeth (essentially three composites and a wire permanently there) or the plastic invisible mouth guard to wear at night for years??? They are pretty much the same price... what are people thinking of doing?

To all those that have recently started with the Inman, I remember my first few days salivating, discomfort, gum sores, etc but you must keep going, the confident smile that you will end up with in a few weeks is well worth the initial issues... I also had an arch expander so quite a big mouthful )

I found some really cool permanent retainers that are attached to each tooth such that one can floss regularly. Showed the website, with pics of both upper and lowers, and told him that's what I want on my teeth
His office manager printed the page so we shall see if I get them. Probably will since that's what I want.

Sure, I will pay extra to have the uppers done too bit, hey, I have not done all this work to have any of them return to their original state.

Hurray - almost done!
how is everyone else doing?

[unhappywearer]

Hi I'm going to have the impression taken for my fixed retainer next week hopefully , how long does it take to be made after the impressions ? Thank you for all advice

[Buckatooth]

Hello fellow inman'ers!

I'm now at the end of my "inman journey" and I am blown away by the results, even my dentist is mightily impressed with the outcome, all my teeth are now in their final positions and I have just had the impression taken for my bonded retainer, which means I'll be inman free for Xmas!! As a kid I was cursed with headgear and extractions to make space for my protruding front teeth. This medieval torture implement did not last long and consequently I waas stuck with front teeth teeth that looked more at home on a beaver. After years of hiding my smile and my daughter being fitted with braces I decided to look into the possibility of sorting my carrot nashers out. This forum was a fantastic resource, that along with my dentist convinced me to try the Inman solution, after the initial discomfort which was not really that much of a deal, I soon got used to wearing the aligner for around 20 hours a day. My job invloves daily contact with clients and presenting training sessions. I was determined to leave the aligner in and persevere with the now imposed speech impediment, other than spraying and sounding like I was suffering a stroke it was not that bad. My total treatment time looks as though it will be completed in around 20 weeks, I had a 3mm gap and protrusions that angled out at around 25-30 degrees..basically they were a right mess. Although not Simon Cowell stylee they are 100% better with a great even arch shaped bite impression and have altered the overall shape of my mouth...fantastic result, perseverence definately paid off in my case.

Dentist is going to give me all the pictures taken during my 2 weekly check ups which I'll post when done

[totallytwisted]

Hi everyone, I was hoping someone could answer a quick question for me. I have always hated my teeth and when I was 13 I had fixed braces for 2 years because my teeth were such a mess. All of them straightened nicely expect my left central incisor which was really rotated (almost to the point where you couldn't see the front surface, just the edge!!) it straightened quite a lot but never completely and it's always made me cover my mouth when i smile or laugh :(.
So anyway this year I decided at 23 to get it sorted and so got the inman aligner and was sooooo excited! Dentist said it would take 9 weeks. In the first 4 weeks my teeth moved so much. I went for my check up and dentist was amazed at the amount of movement (as was I) and said it would only be another 4 weeks which I was obviously thrilled about. Since then there has been no movement. Its now been 11 weeks in total now. Ive been back a few times to voice my concerns. I've taken pictures every week since the start to see my progress. He said they were moving but I know they aren't, he said they didn't need tightening or anything and they were moving fine. I can feel no pressure and the photos from the past 6 weeks all look identical. I went back a week and a half ago and said that I would like him to shave a little bit from inbetween the teeth to create space as they were really tight. I was getting worried there was no room for it to turn and thats why my fixed braces didn't work properly in the first place. Sooooooo he shaved inbetween my lateral incisor and the rotated central incisor and I am now left with a big gap which doesn't seem to be closing :(.
Sorry about the long post but am really down about it and was hoping someone had a similar story. I've read alot of these posts and nobody else seems too mention having a big, very noticable gap after shaving. I thought I would be finished by christmas :(. So has anyone had a really rotated tooth that straightened completely and has anyone had a big gap that has eventually closed???
I really need cheering up about this lol xx

[jessica716]

I can safely say I regret my IA,

After 3 weeks of unbearable pain I can now drink warm drinks but still not cold with minor discomfort... But my tooth is now bruised from the damage the brace has done to the root and nerve...

The tooth has gone a light shade of grey and I have been advised it may get worse as it is a possibility the brace has damaged the nerve to the point of being irreversible and my only option to fix the discolouration is to pay for veneers!

Annoyed is not the word!

So much for my perfect teeth for my wedding!

I have no money left to pay for veneers

[tennesseeditto]

I can safely say I regret my IA,

After 3 weeks of unbearable pain I can now drink warm drinks but still not cold with minor discomfort... But my tooth is now bruised from the damage the brace has done to the root and nerve...

The tooth has gone a light shade of grey and I have been advised it may get worse as it is a possibility the brace has damaged the nerve to the point of being irreversible and my only option to fix the discolouration is to pay for veneers!

Annoyed is not the word!

So much for my perfect teeth for my wedding!

I have no money left to pay for veneers

Jessica,

I was so sorry to read about the damage to your tooth. I hope you know this is not a trite comment for I would not be happy either. Couple questions for you: how often did you see your dentist and WHY did he/she not see the damage being done and do something before it was too late?

Yes, I am suggesting that your dentist should have seen the damage being done before it was to the stage you have told us about.

As for me, I am VERY pleased with my IA experience but I also believe my dentist is the BEST. Example: when I first got my IAs they hurt a lot and I tried to just endure it but on the 4th day I sent an email that I was coming in to have him look at them and make some kind of adjustment. (I got mine on a Thursday early evening and endure them until Monday, hence the reason I waited 4 days; plus I thought they were supposed to be like this.)

My dentist told me they were NOT supposed to hurt (he could see how much pain I was in when I took them out); he snipped off part of the wire that was digging into my mouth and that fixed it. He then told me to NEVER NOT call him if I was in pain again (even gave me his personal cell phone and said to call him day or night).

The next week I had some pain with the lower IA and I called (it was during the day) and he saw me immediately. He made an adjustment to this one and checked my entire mouth very carefully. He checks my mouth VERY carefully, poking on my gums and bones each time I go in.
Like I said I think he is the BEST!

Personally, if I were you I might talk to him about what HE is going to do to make this right and then seek another dentist to fix the problem.

Again, I am so sorry to hear about this.

To address the question that was asked--everyone is different, dentists and clients looking for better oral hygience/straighter teeth. Do to someone who is recommended and for whom you feel comfortable. MY teeth are almost done and I am very happy with the results AND with my dentist.

[jessica716]

Last time i saw the dentist was 3 weeks ago, I rang when i was experiencing the pain and couldn't even drink and was told to use sensodyne toothpaste and reduce the time i was wearing the aligner, i rang up when i noticed the bruising and have been given an appointment for today so i'm going in later to discuss this with them.

Does anybody know the grounds i stand on in regards to paying as i havent paid up front and i feel as though if they have ruined my teeth and i'm going to have to pay for futher work to fix them due to their negligence that i should have some kind of rights in regards to not paying them the full amount, as in theory as they kept saying when i got the brace you are paying for the finished product so that includes all retainers etc to get you to the end result....

if my end result to get my teeth finished includes having to have in the worst case a implant (as i have been told my a friend who works in a dentist office that a bruised tooth sometimes will not get better and will need to be pulled to stop infection) shouldnt it be at my dentists cost to do such as you cant really class losing the tooth that was meant to be straightend as acceptable final result?

sorry for the long message!

[Crookedteeth88]

Hi good people!

I'm so sorry to hear about your story Jessica. You should demand that the dentist make up for it, it is not your fault in my opinion.

But yeah, Ive been on vacation to Bali and Thailand for the past two weeks. And wore the IA mostly at night not to much at day cuz we did a lot of picture taking. Had an appointment with my dentist when I came back (21 Dec) And he took a picture to show how much movement. And I was happy to see there was a lot of movement, eventhough I had been a little bad wearing it the two weeks.

I have to say to all the beginners, I also regreted it at first. Didnt see any to much change the first 2 weeks. But now I'm very happy, still have a few weeks till I'm done. But when I smile I clearly see the change. I'll post some pictures of the change. Enjoy!

Think I have another 6 weeks left:)