I started with a bit of googling and a modest budget of £3-4k. I knew the cost would be in the thousands but I thought the sooner I pay for better teeth, the better 'cost per wear' ratio I would get from them. I looked at traditional braces and also came across Invisalign braces. Invisalign seemed great. The marketing is very powerful and the benefit of these clear tailor-made plasic trays is that when they are on your teeth, as the name suggests, they are supposed to be invisible.
I thought this sounded ideal as I do have a job involving meeting clients and interacting with lots of people but I wasn't necessarily prepared to pay over the odds for it. I contacted a number of London dentists for quotes and in the end went for a consultation with the most competitively priced Invisaglin dentists in Harley Street.
The initial consultation was good and we talked prices and time scale. I was told that the trays would sort out my crossbite and straighten my other teeth in nine months and with 18 sets of Invisalign trays, which seemed a reasonable amount of time. The cost was £2995 for everything which was significantly cheaper than anyone else. (Though I've recently seen that my dentists has lowered their costs further to £1,500 - grrrrrr).
I returned to the dentist a few days later to have impressions taken of my teeth. The Invisalign inventors have a facility in Costa Rica where my impressions were to be sent and from which the plastic trays would be created. I was told this would take between 4 and 8 weeks, though in fact they didn't arrive for around 9 and a half weeks.
Invisalign also creates a computer generated image of your teeth realigning (great motivation). So, nine and a half weeks later, I went to pick up my first trays. I'd got the day wrong so my appointment was a little rushed and my dentist showed me the trays, told me how to clean them, (just scrub them with toothpaste and a brush) and put them in and showed me how to take them out. No problem. Off I went.
It's worth noting here that with the trays you MUST wear them a minimum of 20 - 22 hours a day, only taking them out to eat. This is why it's not necessarily a great option for kids as, believe me, the temptation to take them out is pretty great.
So on day one of tray one, I leave the dentist for work and arrive there feeling extremely conscious of this mass of plastic in my mouth. My bite no longer felt natural and I feel like everybody can see them and that the shape of my face has changed significantly. What's more, my lisp is awful!
But that's not the worst of it. Despite the relative ease with which I managed to take out the trays at the dentist, the first time I tried it by myself the pain was so enormous, I felt like I was going to pass out! As with all things, the medical professional said there would be a little discomfort. Whatever! My teeth felt as tender as anything, so much so that I could barely bring myself to eat when taking them off. Plus the pressure on my tooth had made one or two a little wobbly. Not much so but as the invisalign was putting so much pressure my tooth and making it move, it's really to be expected.
Also, on the invisible front, though they are in no way obvious, people did comment on my lisp and a couple of people noticed them on my teeth when we were in close quarters.
This problem with taking them on and off lasted about three days and after that it became a lot more easy. I lost a few pounds not being able to graze or snack during the day which I wasn't really complaining about. Sleeping in them wasn't great.
I definitely kept them in for 20 hours per day for the first two weeks but not always as much as 22 hours which is bad as word is that for every extra hour you don't wear the trays, you may have to wear them for another 24 hours.
Anyway, to the picture:
My gnashers at the beginning of the process. I'll post some pictures of the aligners next time.
Before Invisalign
