Inman aligners

[NewSmileSoon!]

Hi Firefly!

Well I live with my boyfriend so I have no choice, he just has to to put up with me talking with it! He does find it funny too - it was him that christened it Sylvester! He gets a real kick out of me saying words like desssthpicable or sttttthuper! And I'm actually getting fond of it myself! I do find meetings at work to be very frustrating, though I'm hoping to change career anyway so not too bothered about what people think! The only times I do take it out is if I'm out for dinner and drinks afterwards. Again something my dentist advised! And something that I am in complete agreement with. No harm in leaving it out for the very occasional few hours knowing it's safe at home.

As for movement, I haven't seen much either, but I really think it's quite hard to judge oneself. Therefore I've decided to avoid checking them out every day, in the hope that I will look in the mirror pretty soon and be blown away by the change. I am a bit of a dreamer! I'm seeing my dentist in just over a week's time for more tightening, so here's hoping that they will have moved nicely.

Yeah, my dentist told me to expect my teeth to get loose, but they haven't (and I can't say I'm complaining about that - was dreading putting the aligner back in over loose teeth!! Uggh!!)

The plan is that the aligner will be out by Christmas and the permanent retainer in. However after that I need two crowns and two veneers on the teeth and unfortunately won't be getting those until the new year. So dear, my teeth won't be looking outrageously fabulous for Christmas! But hey, every day is a step closer!!

I still can't believe you have an aligner on your top teeth and bottom teeth! Honestly, I take my hat off to you!! And it inspires me! Well, makes me feel like a wuss if I start feeling sorry for myself!

Cheerio for now...

[winning smile]

Hi,

I've been lurking around on the forum reading other people's posts for a bit but I thought I'd take the plunge and finally post something!
I've had my inman for 20 days now, saw my dentist last week and he tightened it as he thinks there's been a lot of movement. I have to say I can't see "a lot" of movement, but then I have looked at my teeth about every 5mins since I got it!
I've got the top arch at the moment (including expander) and will start on the bottom once this is off - I couldn't face two at once.
Work's a bit of a nightmare but I have a lovely team who are very understanding while I lisp at them or gob it out unceremoniously when I need to say something important! I usually manage to keep it in 19-20 hours a day, sometimes longer.
I did have a very sore mouth at first, but used a bit of wax so the sores could heal and now it's fine.
It's been great to see other people's experiences of the IA on here, so I thought I'd add mine to the mix!

Bye...

[Zedy]

Hi everyone,

I just got my aligner today. Relatively comfortable most of the time although there is a slight ache on my teeth that is only noticeable when I take the aligner out or put it back in.

For me the saliva problem got much better over the last few hours, I barely notice it. But my speech is quite bad - I'm not sure whether I should just talk lots and fast, or whether I should make the effort to enunciate?!

Also, the insides of my cheeks are getting a bit sore already from the springs. One of them seems to be sightly bent inwards towards my tooth, away from my cheek, so that side is ok, but on the other side the spring is straight, and digging in a bit.

The wax I used comes in strips, and you break off pieces, is that what others have been using?

Also, how is everyone cleaning their aligner, with a solution or toothpaste?

Thanks!

[rjwinter]

Hi,

I live in East Midlands (England) and I had an Inman Aligner fitted today. I have wanted to get my teeth straightened for some time, and after reading this forum I decided to take the plunge and book a consultation.

I need my top 4 front teeth straightened. I have had the THIS COMPANY DOES NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE ON THIS WEBSITE. PLEASE REPORT TO ADMINISTRATOR. IA. The total cost for the treatment plan will be £1300 - which I am paying in installments each visit. I have to visit the dentist every 4 weeks, and the total treatment time is expected to be 6 months. I will keep the forum updated, as I have found reading about other peoples experiences very usefull.

I can't feel any pain or discomfort at the moment - but I have only had it in 1 hour! My speech is terrible and I'm salivating loads. I'm hoping that this will improve before I have to go back to work on Monday!

Bye.

[rjwinter]

The pain kicked in after about 6 hours. I'm in really bad pain today, and I can't bear to eat anything. But...I cant see movement already! Very pleased.

[rjwinter]

Sorry. That was meant to be I CAN see movement already.

[Dominie]

Hi all! Seeing as I read this forum every day, I thought I'd say hi. My story is pretty standard - after a couple of years of fixed braces and monthly tightenings, and clear retainers at night, my wisdom teeth came through (age 19-20) and they moved again. I've finally got around to doing something about it now that I'm earning (age 23). My left-hand lateral incisor (the neighbour to the front two) is slightly rotated, and the right-hand incisor is not rotated but is set very far back from the others - so far back, in fact, that in photos it looks as though I'm missing a tooth!! I've been self-concious about it for ages.

Can I just say WELL DONE to everyone here who is braving the treatment! I think it's a really good character trait to take pride in one's appearance, and it's so true that the English as a nation are know for their bad teeth and their laziness in doing anything about it. I'm surprised at the reaction I've had; my South African and Aussie friends think it's great and are really supportive, and many of them have had similar stuff done. But ALL my English friends and colleagues say, "Why bother? No-one notices your teeth". Has anyone else had this reaction? It upsets me because I'm being made to feel vain or self-centred for wanting to have it done, and I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to improve my appearance. It's not vain, it's personal presentation! Sorry - rant over.

I had my aligner fitted 6 days ago, and so far there's been a lot of pain whenever I take it out and put it back in. I wear it for about 23 hours a day and am already seeing some movement (although that might be wishful thinking!) I'm slurping a lot and lisping heavily, I usually have to repeat myself and talk slowly for anyone to understand me. My boyfriend says that I sound like I'm kissing my tea when I drink it! I think I'm also paying more than most, at £1950...but I don't mind too much as my ortho is so attentive and gentle, and I'm seeing him very regularly (every 10 days).

Just a couple of questions:
- What have people's reactions been to your aligners?
- Are you drinking hot drinks with it in? My dentist said not to expose it to heat as it can become misshaped, so I drink my tea lukewarm.
- Does anyone have any progress photos?

Nice to meet you all! ~ Dominie

[rjwinter]

I've had my inman aligner for 6 days and the pain has finally worn off. Its now actually comfortable. I can speak almost normally now - but still with a slight lisp. I can eat fine too (without the IA in). I am also drinking with it in (warm but not hot drinks).

[idahogirl]

I was excited to read these posts. Not many people have experience with the device. I was given my Inman a little over two weeks ago. I also had a lot of pain and raw sores in my mouth. I am happy to say that it has all gone away. I have very little discomfort now. I have seen my teeth move and do have two teeth that feel a little loose. I cannot eat or swallow liquids when it is in. I have to remove it to do any eating or drinking. The good news is that I am losing a little weight because I have to think twice about everything I put in my mouth. Remove the appliance and then clean my teeth just to have a couple of M&M's is not worth it. One bit of advice I read which I adhere to is, always put it in the case when you remove it. Never put it in a napkin when you eat as you will accidentally loose it. I bought a cute little case that I keep my "dental" supplies in including the case. I take it everywhere with me in my purse. Comes in handy with floss, toothpicks and the case.
My question is if it continues to work even when the pain and discomfort has gone away. Any one ahead of me in the process? So far I am happy with the Inman. I can tolerate a little discomfort and lisping for the short time I need it in, 6 weeks to 2 months.

[Lea]

Hello again!
It's been 4 weeks since my last post, just been reading about you guys just starting out - I can honestly say that my speech improved so much after about 4 weeks, I got the hang of it, it was only 's' that I struggled with! So stick with it!

I was excited last time I posted because I thought I was nearing the end. The feedback from that cast I had done was that my front two teeth still needed to be pushed further out, so my dentist tried putting even more composite on the back of my front teeth to create more pressure. But the blob protuded so much I couldn't get any bite... which was quite annoying! And then it chipped off anyway. And I couldn't get an appointment for another week.

So they decided it wasn't the right route to take and took off all the composite blobs front and back ( HURRAHHH!!!) took another cast, and sent my aligner back... with the 2 options being either another tighter aligner or the final clear plastic brace...

Only problem is that it's been 9 days without and I can feel my teeth have started to slip back

I'm hoping that it is going to be the clear one....
Let you know ...

[Dominie]

It's been two weeks since I had mine fitted, and am off to the dentist this afternoon to have more gaps made between my teeth. Really looking forward to it as I'm desperate to see more movement! Have already seen some, and the pain has pretty much gone - but they continue to move. Hooray! How are you all going with yours?

[winning smile]

Hi,

I was wondering whether anyone had the same experience as me? I went to my dentist the other day after wearing the inman for five weeks and he said he needed to take a new impression and get the lab to send me a new one as it was no longer doing anything.
Now I'm still having to wear the original one while I wait, even though I know it's just "retaining" not moving anything which is a bit annoying.
Has this happened to anyone else? I've not read any other posts that mention getting a second aligner.

Thanks!

[Dominie]

Well my ortho made much bigger gaps yesterday, by filing and also with a little drill. Even in the 24 hours since he did that they have moved drastically! They'd clearly run out of space to move, so as soon as he made space for them they practically leapt forward!

He also reshaped the one (left hand lateral incisor) that was set very far back. It had come a long way forward but couldn't come any further because the bottom incisor overlapped it. So he took the drill and shortened it enough so that it could come over the bottom one. The cloud of powdered tooth flying into the air was a little disconcerting! But no pain at all.

[img]C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\dheald\My%20Documents\My%20Pictures\teeth[/img]

[Dominie]

Oops. That was an attempt to post a picture of my teeth before I had the aligner fitted. Anyone have any ideas how to do that??

[emmsyg]

I uploaded pictures to photobucket.com first, and then posted the link to the image, and it worked, you could try that!