As a young mother, I was reasonably ignorant when raising my firstborn. My biggest regret is that I didn't help her take better care of her teeth. Like many people, I didn't realise the importance of baby teeth, resulting in long-term dental problems. Recently, my daughter got married and some of my tears were for the beautiful, glistening smile she presented to the cameras. Ever since I realised the dental damage I had caused, I had been saving for my daughter to have cosmetic dentistry. The results are remarkable. During the course of this journey, I have learnt a lot about caring for children's teeth and corrective procedures that can be undertaken when issues arise. I am sure many of you would be interested in the latest knowledge and techniques that are available to prevent and repair dental complications. I'm Margret Devlin - thanks for visiting.
If you are about to embark on a teeth-straightening adventure with Invisalign, you'll be eager to get started so you can see the results. Although Invisalign aligners do correct spacing issues, the process is a slow and gradual one for most patients. So, although you can follow your progress over time, the changes that occur from aligner to aligner will be small.
Most patients will start to notice clear changes within around 12 weeks of treatment. But you can notice even tiny changes if you follow your progress in the following way.
Study Your 3D Preview Before Treatment
Before your treatment starts, your orthodontist will show you a preview of the tooth movements to come during your treatment. The preview includes an animation that moves through the stages of your treatment. In each stage and with each new aligner, you'll reach another movement milestone.
Study this preview and take notes so you can track your progress once you begin.
Have Your Orthodontist Download Your 3D Animation
If your orthodontist is willing and able, you can ask them to download your 3D Invisalign animation for you. They can then send this video file to you via email or Bluetooth, for instance. This will allow you to watch the animation of your expected teeth movement on your computer or phone whenever you need to.
This is very helpful because you'll then be able to more easily recognize changes in your teeth as your treatment progresses. Since each Invisalign aligner only moves certain teeth, knowing which teeth a specific aligner targets will help you to identify changes as they occur. Without the help of your 3D animation, you might struggle to notice small changes from aligner to aligner.
Take Photos of Your Teeth Before and After Each Aligner
In general, patients wear each aligner for 2 weeks. This is enough time for the aligner to move its assigned tooth or teeth gently. With the help of your 3D animation, you'll know which teeth to check for progress with each aligner. But because each change is subtle, you might struggle to identify the change. This is why it is helpful to take photos before and after each aligner.
Before you start wearing an aligner, take a photo of your full set of teeth. And take one photo of the tooth or area that your orthodontist programmed the aligner to change. Then, once you have completed the assigned two-week period with that aligner, take another set of photos. You'll then be able to compare both sets of images and recognize the changes in your teeth and smile.
Share12 June 2020
