With my Invisalign journey now over I thought it was time to
update you all on the removal process.
I wasn’t exactly sure how the attachments would be removed
as I had never had braces as a child, but my initial thoughts were that there
would be some kind of solvent that would dissolve the glue holding them in place.
Instead the attachments had to be filed down with a drill. I am not someone who is afraid
of the dentist, though I am sure that everyone agrees having a buzzing sander
in your mouth is never a pleasant experience. Luckily, it was over pretty quickly
and was completely painless!
With the attachments gone the areas they had
adhered to felt a little rough as my dentist was careful not to sand away my
enamel (especially as my teeth are super sensitive anyway). The rough feeling
persisted for a few weeks, but is slowly getting better as the remaining grit
of the attachments gets worn away. This
is not something that was at all noticeable, so nothing to worry about, even if
you have attachments on your incisors.
After the Invisalign removal I had a lovely clean and polish of my
teeth. I always love having my teeth polished (never whitened as they are too
sensitive) so I was happy with the results. Any residual staining from the
trays was removed and my teeth looked clean and bright, ready to be shown off to the World!
I was given my last tray to keep along with a new set of
trays made from a different plastic. I was told I should wear these for 15
mins every day to ensure my teeth didn’t start moving back into position. I
have to confess I haven’t been as diligent in this as the new trays are very
brittle and a little uncomfortable. I have tried to wear them a few times a
week when I can remember. Mostly I use them in the mornings when I’m getting
ready for work so I don’t have to speak as it’s pretty impossible while wearing
them!
It is amazing how quickly I have got out of the habit of
wearing the trays. When I first had all the attachments removed I expected people
to notice, but in fact no one did! Even though very few had commented on the
trays while I was wearing them, I thought that some may have been hesitant so
as not to embarrass me, but once they were gone they would comment. Evidently
this was not the case and I really was over thinking the whole thing. I guess this really does give testimony to the
fact that Invisalign is barely noticeable!
