I got my new appliance yesterday to close up those small gaps in the back. I’ll take a picture of it when I get home, because it’s kind of hard to describe. I thought that I was going to get an Invisalign tray and that would be it. But no, has anything gone the way it was planned/supposed to? Not yet, so why start now!
I get to the ortho and they give me a seat. I see my molds with this thing on it, and it is NOT like my retainers. Granted, it’s still “clear” plastic and removable, but you can still see it. The assistant goes “Hmmm, I’ve never seen one of these before!” GREAT, this is going to be fun. So she puts them in my mouth. Oh yeah, when I was there last we had decided to just fix the top and then deal with the bottom later. Well, there is both a top and a lower appliance. So the ortho comes over and I’m like “Please explain these, because this isn’t what we had discussed.” He never said that they would be Invisalign, but that is basically what he described. So he tells me that he sent my models to the lab to make the new tray. But that it would take several trays to close the gaps. So the lab and my ortho came up with this contraption. He then procedes to tell me that it’s a new appliance, they just came out with it the beginning of the year. He has never used it. Basically, I am his guinea pig! WONDERFUL! I just love being a test subject. He said that it has great reviews from other dentists, and that if it works on me, he will start using it on other patients. I go back in a month to see how it is working. If it is working, then we will keep going this route. If not, then we will try something else.
So let me try to explain this thing to you (the pictures later will REALLY help. I’m not good at describing things). It is a clear thickish plastic that run along the back of the teeth, and then the front. It doesn’t cover the whole tooth. Kind of weird. The way they make it is they take two sets of models. They leave one set alone, as your teeth are now. They then take the other set and actually cut off the teeth that they want to move, and put them where they want them. So they have a set of how your teeth are now, and how they will be when they are done. They then make the appliance to fit your new teeth. The way it differs from the Invisalign trays is that you only have this one appliance. Where they need to move the teeth, they put springs in the appliance. So basically, when I take the appliance off, it is now my teeth WILL be, but when I go to put it on, the springs stretch it to fit my teeth now. It is suppose to be a more steady movement of the teeth instead of a forced positioning with the trays.
When they were “playing” with my models, they decided that the teeth on the left side, that we were going to take care of another way, both had to be moved the same distance. So basically, they can fix both the upper and the lower without messing up my bite!!! And I got to see the models to prove it to me! That means no crowns for me!!!
That’s basically how my appointment went yesterday. The teeth weren’t sore at first, but around 6 last night they started to get sore. This morning they were pretty sore. Once I put the appliance back in, it doesn’t really hurt that bad. But when I try to eat I feel the pressure, and when you first put it on. But after all that we have been through, we should be use to the pain, so it’s no big deal.
I will take some pics tonight to better explain them!
You can see that the new appliance makes my lips look funny! Almost worst then with the braces.
Smiling with the new appliance.
Close up of the teeth with the "things" on. You can see that it is clear plasitc, but it's pretty thick! Also, if you look closely, you can see where the metal and springs are embedded.
Kind of looks like a Hawley retainer. I tried to point out where the springs are. When I put it on, it expands to fit my teeth now. But this is what they will look like when we are done.