Me at 12.
I had a serious overbite as a kid and wore braces for two years. Best thing I ever did. I went from a buck tooth pre-teen to someone with a big happy smile that I considered one of my best features.
Fast forward 30 odd years and I noticed that my teeth had started to move and were no longer keyboard straight. In particular, the lower teeth were crowding in and the upper teeth were slowly starting to protrude again.
Tooth shifting is a natural process of aging. (A never ending list of indignities.) As you age, the adult mandible shrinks and the muscles that keep teeth in place can weaken, both of which can result in tooth overcrowding.
I had worked with Dr. Norden at WestCoastSmile years ago, when he shared his dental expertise on the show The Shopping Bags. When I saw that he was doing Invisalign I knew he was the person to ask about what could be done with my own teeth.
After a preliminary appointment, Dr. Norden and his team determined that I was a good candidate for Invisalign.
THE PROCESS
The first step in the Invisalign process is that the technician scans your teeth creating a 3D digital image of how your teeth look now and showing you how they’ll look after the Invisalign treatment. This also provides a blueprint for creation of custom-made aligners that are used to adjust the teeth.
The treatment consists of wearing the aligner, in my case, for a week. (Sometimes patients wear each aligner for longer.) After one week, you put in a new tray. The process gradually shifts the teeth, all without the more obvious railroad tracks that traditional braces provide.
The aligners can’t do the entire job themselves. A dental technician adheres white attachments on certain teeth that serve to help nudge teeth in place.
(The attachments are shown as pink here but they’re white IRL.)
Because I do acting and on-camera work, I was concerned that the attachments would be overly visible. Fortunately, mine were on the sides of my mouth and relatively unobtrusive.
In order for Invisalign to work, you really need to be diligent about wearing the trays. They told me I had to wear them for at least 21-22 hours a day. The only time they weren’t in when I was eating, drinking or brushing my teeth.
THE ADJUSTMENTS
One thing to keep in mind with Invisalign is that most likely, you’re going to need adjustments along the way. While the computer shows what the teeth should do, what they actually do can be slightly different.
Twice during the treatment process, we had to rescan my teeth and order new trays in order to nudge stubborn teeth into place.
When I started out, Dr. Norden estimated that 20 trays (20 weeks) would do the trick. The treatment ended up being over 40 trays. Plus, there were a few weeks in between when I was waiting for new trays to arrive, which extended the timeline.
THE EXPERIENCE OF WEARING INVISALIGN
My big question about any sort of treatment is always, “Is it going to hurt?” I’m happy to report that the Invisalign doesn’t hurt per say, though I did feel pressure on the teeth, especially in the beginning. This makes sense because the biggest changes and movements occur at the start. Many of the end aligners are really about fine-tuning.
The other thing to keep in mind is that the dentist may need to file between your teeth. We had to do this on my lower teeth in order to make room for them to move. Did this hurt? Not really. Is it a nice sensation? Also not really. But it’s quick.
It did take me a while to get used to wearing the trays. But in the end, I did. So much so that a few times I put food in my mouth, not realizing the trays were still in place.
THE FINAL RESULTS
Almost a year later, I’m very happy with the results. The bottom teeth are so much straighter! What’s harder to see here is that the top teeth have been pushed back a bit, creating less of an overbite.
Granted, my teeth weren’t terrible to start with. But my lower teeth are much straighter and, more importantly, I hope to prevent further crowding.
THE MAINTENANCE
If you don’t keep the teeth in their place, they will move back. I now have a retainer for the top that I wear mainly overnight. Dr. Norden also put a wire behind the lower front teeth in order to keep them in place. That’s not a must have – but I’ve heard of too many people going through the Invisalign process only to see their teeth regress over the course of a few years. The wire is relatively unobtrusive and I got used to it pretty quickly.
I’m really happy with the results. My thanks to Dr. Norden and the entire team at WestCoast Smile for their professionalism and expertise. They definitely gave me something to smile about.
Kristina’s Corner
Welcome to Kristina’s Corner – I’m Kristina Matisic and I’ve spent much of my career reviewing and testing products and services. From TV shows (The Shoppings Bags) to articles, to a book, and now online, I love finding and reporting on the best pieces and products for me and my followers.
Here I’ll be sharing product reviews, style and beauty finds, and household tips and tricks to make your life easier, more stylish and a little bit sweeter!
You can find me on Instagram @kristinamatisic and at www.kristinamatisic.com. And if you have a question that you think I could help with, be sure to reach out!
