Wearing Refinement Aligners
After 20 sets of regular aligners, my ‘case’ needs refinement. This final portion of my Invisalign Journey is about a slight change (aka – refinement).
Wearing refinement aligners feels like wearing no aligners at all. I asked my dentists if Invisalign has invented new plastic or something and they shared that Invisalign continues to modify and engineer improved practices and products. I am impressed by Invisalign’s ongoing advancements that are available to patients.
I saw the patient that had braces as a teenager but had not finished the ‘brackets and wire’ treatment. His Invisalign journey is complete! (Wait!!! Didn’t I start like waaayyyy before him!?!?) When I first met him, his bottom teeth were more crooked, sorry – out of alignment – than his upper teeth. He is done and I am not, why? My bottom teeth are better than my upper teeth, but I want to be finished too.
The Best Invisalign Dentist
I asked Dr. Gallagher about how long movement takes, why some patients finish before other patients and why particular teeth are more difficult to move than others. He very patiently explained that teeth have different root structures and that yes, lower teeth may be easier to move than upper teeth. I am grateful that I can ask Dr. Gallagher or Dr. Kuhn anything, and that they let me know why my situation is what it is. It is always better to have information and understand – and my Invisalign dentists are always able to minimize my concerns.
Invisalign Improved My Smile
I shared that my cousin decided to ‘do Invisalign.’ I saw him recently (he is a couple of months behind me) and we had a conversation about our journeys. When I talked about ‘refinement’ he said, ‘What’s that?’ disappointed that he may need more than what his dentist originally indicated. I shared what I understand about refinement. We talked about how your mouth feels when you take the aligners out… that one’s mouth needs a little bit of time before chewing or biting… that eating is different. We talked about ‘saliva management.’ He had not taken photos of his smile, so we took some so he can self-measure the changes. I enjoyed hearing that someone else was experiencing things that I had experienced, and for me to realize the hurdles I had gotten over. I hope that I made him feel better about his concerns. We live in different states, so we do not have the same dentist. I shared that I am happy with my Invisalign dentist, and I encouraged him to talk to his dentist about concerns that he has. Communication is important! Ask the questions, get the answers.
I am not aware of how many refinement aligners I have… I was told; but I do not want to think about the number, or completion… I just want this to continue to go well, to see changes, etc. My teeth look better, feel better, line-up better. I laugh more, smile more, express myself more.
Louise C.
