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I have just finished my treatment so I thought it may be useful if I wrote a short (ish!) topic about my experiences and results.
I know that when I was researching which brace to get, I wasn't really interested in loads of the text people had written as all I wanted to see was pictures of people's progress. So I hope that I have included enough photo's for you all.
I attended Harwood Dental Care, Bolton, England to have my brace fitted. This dentist is brilliant and they are so caring and helpful. I would highly recommend it He talked me through all of the options and I had quite a big choice really. He said that for my case I could have the Inman Aligner, Invisalign, Lingual Braces or traditional 'train tracks'.. I had 'train tracks' as a teenager and my teeth were perfect at age 18. However, no night time retainer and no bonded retainer meant that my teeth soon moved back to their original position. I was so disappointed and I became really self conscious about my mouth.
Below is a picture of my teeth at my initial consultation date
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After much consideration I decided to go ahead with the Inman Aligner. The other options would have taken in excess of 12 months and I really did not want to wait that long! I was told that I would have to wear the Inman for around 9-12 weeks. Potentially up to 16 depending on how things were moving along.
I had moulds taken on New Years Eve 2015 and around a week later I was called back to the dentist to see the images which the lab had sent back. They sent a few pictures of what they predicted my teeth would look like at the end of the treatment. I got to look at them and then decide whether I was happy.
The image below is what I was shown:
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I was told that there was not much room in my mouth and it would be better to have the Inman Aligner which also had an expander. This meant that once a week I would have to put a small key in a hole on the brace and move it one turn. This expanded the plastic and in turn made my jaw wider. Hence, creating more room. I was adamant at the start of treatment that I did not want any IPR. This is something where the dentist puts small pieces of sand paper like material in between your teeth to shave of small sections. I did later have this and I have to say, your teeth do NOT look any smaller, or any different. It does not hurt and it is nothing to worry about. It also speeds things a long a lot.
I went to pick the brace up/get it fitted around 2 weeks later and below is a picture of my brace in.
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The brace felt a lot more bulky than I expected and I was very self conscious to begin with. I completely stopped talking the night that I got home as I was so embarrassed about how I sounded! I had a really bad lisp and no matter what I did, I just could not speak normally. My dentist told me to read out loud so I started to sing along to songs on the radio in my car, and in time my speech did improve. I do think that it improved quite a bit in the first couple of weeks but then it stayed the same until the end of the treatment. I was struggling with saliva in my mouth, it was like a never ending river! And, I sounded ridiculous slurping all of the time. This does go away after a week or so.
I did not have any pain really. When I turned the key once a week I did occasionally have a bit of discomfort, but only for around an hour. I had no issues eating or drinking anything. No pain in the night. Sleeping at first was difficult as I was really conscious of having a big chunk of plastic in my mouth but I soon got used to it.
The Inman Aligner can be difficult to keep clean. I hated my mouth feeling dirty so I got in to a habit of when I took it out I placed it in a small glass of around an inch of mouthwash. Leave it 10-15 mins and it feels/tastes brand new!
I also struggled REALLY bad with ulcers in the first few weeks. My tongue was so sore and that was from it pressing against the metal at the top of my mouth. I soon got over this and used mouthwash/bonjela etc.
I work in a job where I do home visits everyday so have meetings all of the time with members of the public. This did concern me and I worried about speaking and sounding silly! At first, I would take it out for around half an hr at a time whilst I did the meetings and then I would put it straight back in after.
My dentist told me to wear it for 20 hours a day and I stuck to that - everyday.
Below was my progress at the start:
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I went back to the dentist every 2 weeks for a check up. At this check up I had some of the IPR done (shaving). After that I noticed the most movement.
You really can see results so quickly it is brilliant! I carried on turning the key once a week and I saw consistent results. I got obsessed taking photo's and making collage's on my phone. I really do recommend that you do that so that you can monitor progress yourself. Your dentist may also take lots of photo's.
You may want to turn the key more than once per week as you may think the Inman doesn't feel any tighter. DON'T do this. It can be counter-productive and it doesn't speed anything up. I was told that your teeth can go in to shock (sort of) and they don't move any quicker. So don't turn it more frequently than you are told to.
Below are pictures of my progress:
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I then kept the aligner in for another week and then went back to have my bonded retainer fitted.
I was worried about this, as I didn't like the thought of having something glued to my teeth. I went in and the dentist fitted it and it was nothing to worry about. It took a few days to get used to it and then it was fine.
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I love the night time retainer. It is so much more comfortable than the Inman! I would definitely recommend one. The bonded retainer makes you feel like your teeth are cemented in place - it's great. I have had both for around 3 weeks now and my teeth have not moved at all.
I then started my whitening. I got the Zoom at home whitening included in my package. I have also bought some enlighten gel to go with it. Here are my results so far.
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To conclude, I would definitely recommend anybody to get this done. Just do it! I am so happy with the results. I can now smile without feeling paranoid about my smile. I have so much more confidence. It is 100% worth it. If anybody has any questions then please post a reply and I would be happy to help.
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Thank you for updating so much! I am currently just started my process, but I needed to wear an expander for 8 weeks first. It makes me really motivated to read your experience, and I wish you the best!
I have just (one week go) had the inman aligner fitted. After years of hating my teeth, loads of teeth out as a kid, I have finally made the first step.
I have a few questions and would be so grateful if anybody can tell me about their experiences.
My dentist said my teeth would get wobbly and the more wobble the better - so far my teeth are clicking a popping but no wobble... am I being impatient? How long did it take your teeth to go a bit wobbly?
My dentist is also moving my teeth forward for now so all the pressure is from behind my front top teeth - did anybody else have this to begin with and how long did it take to start noticing results?
At the moment, dental wax is my best mate and speech is a problem but all in all quite happy. I just want to know it's working. Only meant to have it on for 9 weeks so I feel like every day is precious.
Very cool for such a minimal type of an appliance! If you find yourself wanting to whiten later on, I highly recommend polanight vs poladay or polazing. No sensitivity. Available on amazon. So then what type of tray do you put the gel in? Is it pretty flexible that the dentist made?
He talked me through all of the options and I had quite a big choice really. He said that for my case I could have the Inman Aligner, Invisalign, Lingual Braces or traditional 'train tracks'.. I had 'train tracks' as a teenager and my teeth were perfect at age 18. However, no night time retainer and no bonded retainer meant that my teeth soon moved back to their original position. I was so disappointed and I became really self conscious about my mouth. 
