So what IS Invisalign, anyway?

I thought I might start with some basic questions like, What IS Invisalign? Are they braces? Are they invisible?? How do they straighten my teeth??

Invisalign is a clear aligner (or tray) system. The aligners are custom-made to your mouth and you receive a series of aligners.  Each set of aligners are worn for a period of about 2 weeks, for 22 hours a day. The aligners are removed only to eat, drink, and brush and floss your teeth.

They are not technically "braces" although often they have been given the moniker, "clear braces."  They are trays, similar to home whitening trays, but much thicker and stronger.

Having been a patient myself, I can say that yes, Invisalign is basically invisible! Only if someone gets real close (and you would probably really like this person or else this person was one of those "close" talker-types), he might think your teeth look a little "shinier" than usual.

Within each aligner, small movements are "programmed" into the tray. Over the 2 week period, your teeth slowly adjust to the new position of the tray. As you move on to the next set of aligners, the teeth continue to follow and adjust to the new positions.

So this is basically what you need to do Invisalign in our office:

teeth (har har)

crooked teeth (har)

OK let's be serious! You need:

1) A full set of xrays.  We need to determine that there are no active areas of decay, gum disease or other problems  before you begin treatment. If you suddenly needed a crown in the middle of your Invisalign treatment, then the aligners would no longer fit and then you would need to order new ones, and pay more $$$ so why not figure this all out ahead of time, no?

2) Face photos and Tooth photos. We need these as your "before" photos to help with the treatment planning of your case. It is also a great comparison tool at the end of treatment to see how far you have come with your smile.

3) Impressions. These are commonly called "molds." We take a plastic tray, fill it with some gooey material and then place it over the teeth with light pressure.  It's a good thing I do Pilates because sometimes I do feel like I am using almighty strength to make sure the impression material covers all the teeth! Then we sit like that, you with this tray in your mouth, me with biceps pulsing for about 2 minutes. I stare down at you, you stare up at me, we stare around the room, and I might hum a little tune as we wait for the material to "set." Then when it's time to remove the tray there is generally a suction that prevents it from popping right out. This is actually a good sign. It means I achieved a good "seal" around the teeth. But there is always a moment when I first tug at the tray and it doesn't move, that I see your eyes open ever so wide wondering, "Is this thing going to come out?" Luckily, moments after that the tray has already come out! Then repeat for opposite arch. By that time, you are an old pro.

4) Bite record. We tell you to open wide, and then we place another gooey purple material along your lower teeth. One patient likened this to being "caulked." He also started laughing hysterically which was bad timing as I had just placed the gooey material. I had to use my mean voice, oops I mean stern,  to tell him to now,  'BITE TOGETHER!' Patient obeyed. Wait 30 seconds...

Sit up, then we give you a mirror and tissue. You look in the mirror and look horrified at all the green and purple goo that has dried on your chin, your lips, sometimes your neck, and even in your mustache (hopefully you are male). A second later you laugh as you realize the pieces of goo peel right off. Granted, some of the pieces peel right off down your shirt, but is it really going to hurt anyone?

This whole process usually takes about 45 minutes, if you do it all on the same day. If you come just for impressions and bite record, it's usually 15-20 minutes.  Then you leave the office and will return in about 3-4 weeks for your new INVISALIGN aligners! Exciting!!

C ya,

invisalign gal

My "perfect teeth"

I was thinking today about my teeth. Yes, I know, how unusual for a dentist to think of such things! To be perfectly honest, I was thinking about the absolute hell I went through to achieve this smile! In the end it was all worth it and I get compliments all the time, mostly from patients who seem to think I am some sort of smile snob. They look nervously at me while I talk to them about Invisalign and what it can do for them, and somehow they believe I was born with perfect teeth. Wow, nothing could be further from the truth!

I started out with upper braces in the sixth grade. I don't have much recollection of this time, except to say that the braces did not add any glamour to my class picture that year. But I could also blame it on the fact that I had succumbed to yet another BAD perm, or that I had not yet been introduced to brow waxing (and would not be until my wedding, unfortunately). Who can say? I think I wore them for about a year. I also don't recall any sort of retainer or follow-up after this. 

Fast forward to college. It was at this point that I realized that I needed braces. AGAIN. My upper teeth were all crooked and seemed to stick out, although my side tooth (the lateral, if you want to be technical) retruded back, so that in pictures, with the right shadowing, it appeared that my front tooth was missing or at least very very dark. Not a good look, let me tell you. Especially because I was still suffering with the "bad Korean perm" affliction. Anyway, I saw this orthodontist in my hometown who declared that I had a condition called "tongue thrust." I tentatively asked, "What does that mean?" To which the doc tactfully replied, "You're like a lizard. Your tongue sticks out when you swallow, but it should go up." I was slightly horrified, to say the least. 

This resulted in braces for the second time. Top and bottom. I was lucky enough to get the clear brackets on the top 6 teeth but the rest were all metal. I had to wear the suckers for at least a year and a half. And I was in college. Yay me. 

It wasn't so bad. I adjusted. I knew I would be happy in the long run. So I accepted the punishment and moved forward. Until the visit back home where the orthodontist told me, "Now you need head gear. And elastics." What the....?!?!  I went back to school and held an emergency meeting with the roommates. I showed them this new torture device and explained that I would be wearing it at night for the next 5 months. As they all began to snicker, I exclaimed, "Get it all out NOW because I don't want to hear a word about it later on!!"  I wore the damn head gear but it was not easy! Half the time I would find it under my bed the next morning.  A few times I would be going to the bathroom in the middle of the night and one of my roommates would see the back of my head with the head gear straps and burst out laughing. Then there were the elastics. Those were a challenge, especially when talking. Once, I was looking at the summer job board alongside another student. I said something to her and a second later, my elastic flew out of my mouth and sprang right past her eyes! She was like, "What was that???" Boo for elastics! But they worked...

I also went to TONGUE THRUST THERAPY. Yes, you are reading this correctly. I would go to this lady's house, I guess she was a tongue thrust therapist? Actually she was a speech therapist. She had me practice putting my tongue in the right position, she told me to put tic tacs on the tip of my tongue until it melted, and other strange exercises. Whether this really worked, I doubt it. But I remember that my university health insurance paid for it, so I thought, well why not try to squash the lizard in me?

But FINALLY, I got those braces off.  It was a day of celebration! The doc put fixed upper and lower retainers so I wouldn't have to worry about wearing retainers every night. It was a pain to floss, but I tolerated it for a good 10 years. Then I became a dentist. And I married a dentist. And jointly we thought, "Well those retainers have been on long enough. Let's take them off!" So hubby removed the retainers.  I was thrilled. Guess what happens next...

Now about 2 years later, I found myself wearing Invisalign! I was guilty as many of my own Invisalign patients. I had previous orthodontics, but was not faithful in wearing my retainers! But in my case, I had them and thought I could stop wearing them. My teeth shifted! Or as we say, I had orthodontic relapse. My case was minor,  but it was enough to prompt me to do something. I wore Invisalign for 5 months and it worked out beautifully. Now I DO wear nightly removable retainers and will for the rest of my life! 

invisalign gal ;0

Invisalign runs in the family

I saw this great gal, Emily today. She is vibrant and full of life and couldn't wait to get started on her Invisalign treatment. She came to us looking for Invisalign because her younger sister (by one year) had just started treatment herself! I wish I could say Emily's sister was my patient, but her sister lives in Colorado! But I thank her sister for getting Emily motivated! Emily had never had impressions  or "molds" taken of her teeth before.  So with those patients I am always a little worried that they might gag or be uncomfortable with the process. But Emily was so positive and ready to go. We took those impressions and got them both on the first try! She was thrilled and actually uttered the words, "That wasn't bad at all. That was actually FUN!" Now I can't say I hear those words too often from my patients. So it was a nice change! Emily also mentioned that her sister's treatment time was supposed to be longer than hers. I think she was excited about that. Competition between sisters? Nah! Never happens! :)

Starting Invisalign Gal's Blog!

Hello Friends!

I am really excited to be starting this blog! I have never "blogged" before, unless you count keeping a journal...is that just the antiquated form of blogging? In any case, I certainly never expected to start a blog, and who knew it would be all about Invisalign! When I first got certified I just had no idea that Invisalign would open so many doors and make me excited about coming to work everyday. It is great to meet so many new patients who actually want to be there! OK, so maybe I am stretching the truth a little here. But patients are genuinely interested in seeing how their teeth are moving. We take photos regularly, and people love to see them. The patient might say, " I don't think my teeth are moving," but once we show the pictures, it is obvious that things are changing. What has also been surprising is how much I have learned about people and their lifestyles, simply based on their use of the Invisalign aligners. One patient has discovered which gum won't stick (Orbit) to the aligners, another drinks hot coffee through a straw, a patient's new puppy keeps chewing up his aligners...one young woman left her bottom aligner at the Playboy mansion, and yet another gal put her aligners through the dryer! And they still fit!

It has been an interesting journey so far. I'm sure there are more stories to come!

Your invisalign  gal

Welcome to Invisalign Gal

Welcome to the Invisalign Gal Blog page! We've recently installed new ways to stay connected to us- Facebook, Youtube, and our very own blog! Visit us by clicking the icons at the top right of our page.

We look forward to seeing you soon,
Dr. Lee - your invisalign gal