I'm 17 years old. I've always had good teeth(no intention to brag), but it's been a couple of months where my lateral incisor is distancing itself from it's neighbours. Yesterday, after a long two month wait, I went to the orthadentist; he gave me a few options, one of which is the new Red White and Blue thingy. I really don't know what to do- I'm even starting to rethink the whole process. My mother and dentist both say it's quite necessary considering the fact that my teeth will continue to move for a few more years.
He proposed the RW&B for my lower teeth only for around 6 months.
Any ideas/tips/similar experiences would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance
They are proposing a removable aligner for your teeth. Red White and Blue is similar in concept to Invisalign and Orthoclear.
The good news is that the aligner is removable and you would not need regular conventional braces. But you have to wear the aligners exactly as the orthodontist says -- otherwise it will not work well.
If you do not have any bite issues then the aligners should work well.
Also keep in mind that you will be required to wear a RETAINER for many years after the treatment. Otherwise your teeth will shift and you'll be back to square one.
I'm the owner/admin of this site. Had ceramic uppers, metal lowers ~3 years in my early 40's. Now in Hawley retainers at night!
Thank you, however im still not clear on a few issues: how does this product compare to the other ones? is it better, worse? can it be used only for the bottom teeth? has anyone done this before? can my case, like the orthodentist said, be covered in 6 months?
PS: My orthodentist never talked to me about a retainer.
If you want more information, I might be able to get someone from Ormco to explain more about their product and how it compares to the others.
You should know that all of the "invisible aligner" companies are suing and counter-suing each other for patent infringment (this has gone on for years). However, these suits don't affect the products or the treatments.
I'm the owner/admin of this site. Had ceramic uppers, metal lowers ~3 years in my early 40's. Now in Hawley retainers at night!
I am in the middle of a 9-month treatment with Red White and Blue. See the thread titled "new kid on the block" for more discussion. It is similar to Invisalign and Orthoclear but less high-tech and a bit cheaper. The aligners are made by hand by Orthodontists in the Ormco labs. net net - your ortho takes an impression of your teeth and sends it to them. they create a model of your teeth from the impressions. they then use that model to create the aligners (out of Essex-retainer-type plastic) by literally cutting the teeth off the model, re-placing them on the model a little closer to the "target state" and then making an aligner. then they move the teeth on the model again, and make another set of aligners. they make 3 sets of aligners from each mold. My treatment is 9 months (6 sets of aligners) so they made a new mold after the 3rd set of aligners.
I understand from reading this board that the aligners are a bit thicker than OrthoClear and Invisalign, and they do tend to cover not just the teeth but also a bit of the gum at the base of the teeth. Therefore, they are a bit harder to adjust to than the others. I found I had speech problems for a few weeks. Now I don't even notice them 95% of the time.
I have been happy with the treatment so far and would recommend it as a viable treatment for your situation. My bottom teeth looked very similar to yours and now, after 4-5 months, they are nearly straight.
