Inman aligners

[jem]

Hi Caroline,

Sorry I did not mean to imply that you ought to be getting fixed braces. I appreciate the time, cost and hassle involved with fixed braces and recognise that I am getting off lightly. But I was suggesting that a specialist orthodontist might be best placed to advise you on whether an Inman aligner could be capable of getting good results in your particular case.

I first came onto this board some years ago in order to read up on Inman aligners. Inman aligners ( despite what my ortho says) clearly are capable of getting good results in the right cases and I only regret that I did not qualify.

Good luck with your research and subsequent treatment.

Jem

[orthoman24]

Hi Caroline 30

Quote: "Hiya,
Im from Glasgow and about to pay the £300 deposit for my IA. However I am sceptical about how genuine my orthodontist is, he only took 5 mins to determine I was suitable for this treatment and my teeth are quite overcrowded (previously told by visage clinic I was not suitable for Invisalign clear braces). Has anyone any experience with motdental, or Glasgow Inman practice? It is quite possibly my imagination running wild, but I have nightmares of rouge dentistry (and being left £2100 short with the same old teeth!)"


Whilst it will no doubt be possible to achieve some improvement to your teeth with an inman aligner, it is hard to see how it could achieve anything like ideal results if they are so crowded that you are not suitable for invisalign.

A lot of general dentists now seem to be offering inman aligners; mine has recently started and we had a chat about it when I saw him last week. In the right cases they are getting good results- the daughter of some friends of mine now has perfect bottom teeth after 12 weeks with an inman aligner.

I would suggest that you get another opinion from a specialised orthodontist. They will have done 3 years post-graduate training in orthodontics as opposed to a 2 day inman aligner course. If you look online at the General Dental Council register, you will be able to see whether any particular dentist has a full orthodontic qualification.

For what it is worth, my orthodontist prefers to use fixed braces as they give the best control over tooth movement but because of patient demand also does a large volume of invisalign work with good results in carefully selected cases. She does not particularly rate inman aligners for anything other than gross movement of teeth prior to cosmetic fine tuning.

Good luck!

Jem

Hello.. Interesting you say this . Im actually an orthodontist in W. London who uses Inman Aligners!!!
I was rather sceptical about Inman myself until I went on their programme last year after I heard Tiff Quereshi at the BDA in Manchester.
There certainly are limitations but I have to give them credit because it is taught extremely well and the teachers are totally upfront with what is and is not achievable. The support I received from them has also been second to none.
I certainly can do more with brackets but I have been rather surprised by the number of patients who actually prefer the Inman given the choice..and there lies the most important part..picking the right case is essential.

I am much more comfortable also knowing that dentists with little experience of orthodontics are using Inman because its actually rather safe and very little can go wrong.
There are other fixed orthodontic systems currently doing the rounds such as 6 month smiles and C-fast but from what I am hearing neither are rated well in educational terms. Admittedly I have not been to either course...but what I do know is that the latter is being taught by several people some who have barely even used the system themselves and with hardly any orthodontic experience.
Fixed orthodontics needs to be taught correctly and responsibly ...currently the only person I would rate who teaches fixed short term ortho to general dentists is Rik De Paul from the United States.

regards and best

J

[NickelNikki]

Well, after 5 months and 4 days I finally had my last Inman Aligner related appointment today! My dentist took the impressions for my retainers (which will be Essix and thus used for whitening trays too) and contoured my teeth. More details up on my story which is linked in the signature below.

I'm so pleased with the results! I'll be posting up complete before and after pictures once the whitening is done.

To anybody with minor cosmetic problems that wants their teeth to look like a better version of their own as opposed to the fake smiles of celebrities I highly recommend the Inman aligners. Keep your personality. Love your smile! (No, I'm not paid to advertise these - I'm just a writer by profession and love my new mouth!)

[lfkat1]

hello everyone.
congratulations nickelnikki. and thanks for all your posts.
i had my appoinment today 16 week and have had my mould taken for a retainer my dentist did not
say what type. but it wil take 2 weeks. so i can finally take the inman off then..
originally i was told 12 weeks but the last small movement took longer.
one of my teeth was chiped and my dentist has repaired this so my front teeth are now the same length.

[NickelNikki]

Hi Ifkat! Thankyou

It's fantastic to hear that you're so close to freedom . Congratulations to you too! That last bit always seems to take the longest.

Glad to hear you're happier with them now. That symmetry makes a huge over all impact for such a tiny detail! I actually got my top front two sanded down to be a similar length, and it's amazing how many people have noticed it right away.

[vickypayne86]

Hello Caroline30- the place you are attending is where i also go, which clinic do you attend as there is like 3 in glasgow. its very very good, im on week 2 of aligner but had expander ect for 8weeks so visited frequently, hes very quick&thorough! hope you get on well!!!

[jvr2]

One more week till my last appointment!... I really think I'm done and I even have one more week for any more improvements that want to happen. I don't know what my clear aligner situation might be but I don't think I'll get it the same day even if it can be done the same day since I have to leave later in the day to go back to Washington D.C. I will be back up to NYC a week later for a concert and will be able to pick up the aligner then hopefully if it's completed. It's been over a month since my last appointment so I'm anxious to hear what the dentist has to say (My last appointment was on August 13th).

Can anyone else say how quickly they got their aligner? Same day or weeks? Some have said they got it in a week. I'm sure some are done on site and some sent out to be made? Wish I had asked my dentist this question a month ago when she said I would probably be getting my impressions next time I came in. So best case scenario is I'm wearing it for another week which I don't mind much.

Another question; Has anyone gotten their before and after pictures to take home? My dentist took lots of before photos and it would be cool to have those and any they take of the after.

[NickelNikki]

If impressions are being made and not already made then you probably won't get them on the same day.

As for pictures my dentist is going to give me the after ones, so it is something that happens, yes.

[caroline30]

Hi Vicky, that's good to hear. I am booked in for this week to get my expander brace on so quite excited now. The stuff on here has been so reassuring. It's the one in city centre I've been to so assume the rest of my treatment will be there. All the best for yours aswell!

[Suzukibyker]

Hi everyone,

I've been looking through this forum for a couple of weeks as I've been looking to get my teeth sorted for years now but was unsure which way to go.

As a teenager I had 4 teeth removed because my incisors were pushing through the front of my gums and my lower fronts were over crowded, but I was 18 when I finally got called to have my braces fitted and I couldn't then afford to have them fitted.

I'm now 31, and definitely don't want horrible braces so I leaned initially towards Invisalign. But I have seen some great results on here which are quick and I can remove it meetings and conferences which I like a lot.

I think I'm set on the Inman now, but I wondered if anyone could recommend a great dentist/orthodontist in or near Maidstone, Kent? I suspect I am going to need some work done first as I haven't been to the dentist in a long time and although I brush and mouthwash regularly I've noticed my teeth becoming a lot more sensitive to cold and heat.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you all and I welcome your advice. Ill pop some pics up of my horrible nashers soon.

Thanks

Dave

[vickypayne86]

Yes its the same clinic as me Caroline, I had the expander also its so funny because you see movement even with having that, my top teeth overlapped and became uncrossed with the expander itself, you'l feel much better now that you have met him ect, hes so nice, i feel so comfortable with him hes so good at his job. I had my two week follow-up after having inman aligner two weeks, he said iv to see him again in two weeks and that he is sending my brace away to be "rebooted" occasionally this happens its just maybe my teeth have moved more than enough already and it maybe should have been slower...iv no idea i never like asking to many questions hahaha. so il be without mines which im a bit annoyed with but obviously its to be readjusted and il just have to lump it!! And also one more thing is it a removable expander? if so.. i actually found speaking with inman aligner easier than with my expander if that gives you some reassurance:) good luck xx

[caroline30]

Hi Vicky, i have had the expander since thursday, what a nightmare!! I cant speak in work so have been forced to keep it out for the majority of the time ive had it! lol (so yeh its removable) when I go to put it back in it doesnt fit as my teeth have moved back. Also its quite painful, is this the same with yours? I need to just bite the bullet and slur my way through work for a while.
And your right, he is very down to earth and his receptionist I have spoke to in Cambuslang is really nice too. xx

[Sassy]

Hi everyone, havnt posted for a few weeks so thought I'd give an update.

I'm onto 17 weeks 4 days. Was quoted 12 weeks but coldsores put me back a couple of weeks etc. to be honest, I'm at the stage where I don't mind that I still have brace. It is part of my everyday life now.

Did have a few panicks over the previous weeks such as a gap that hadn't closed up after being filed, and that I thought I needed more filing done between other teeth. However, since then my dentist has tightened up my IA twice. She tightened it up last Friday and I just noticed this morning that the gap from filing which I've had for around 6 weeks has closed up. I am so, so pleased with how my teeth are looking now. I have started my whitening treatment too. On Wednesday I'm getting moulds taken for retainer so I'm assuming I only have another couple of weeks of my IA. My dentist mentioned the retainer will be made to do some final tweaks to my teeth.

To anyone considering getting an IA I couldn't recommend it more! Yes I admit, when you first get it you will spend the first couple of weeks thinking you've made a massive mistake and probably get upset and emotional about the speech and look of the brace. Especially if you have family members who ridicule your speech as I did. But now I'm at the end, I realise this is the best thing I've ever done and best money I ever spent. I no longer dread people looking at my teeth but want to show them off now. So go for it!!!

[vickypayne86]

Caroline my expander was very tender also, my little trick was get some dental wax i could only find it in boots,pop some where the gap is,smooth it out andit really helps especially once its expanded, i work in pharmacy n i forced myself to wear it, you will feel self concious, but who careswhat people think of it? youl have the amazing smil missy! the more you wear it the better, its not for long think that way. Xx

[NickelNikki]

Just posted about my initial reaction to my retainers and teeth whitening method in my braces story. The information may be useful to people who are curious about the last stages of this process.