Invisalign Adventure!

 Lucy, the daughter of one of our nurses, Mandy,  presented us with a little aesthetic challenge.

 Lucy had orthodontic braces removed at the age of 13 but has since had a small relapse and was finding that her teeth were still moving if her retainers were left out.  Lucy also has a problem with grinding. Her upper right central tooth has taken quite a lot of the force and has reduced in size.

Dr Mark Hughes saw Lucy for a consultation and it was decided that even though there had only been a small relapse it was pointless for Lucy to have fixed retainers bonded before further orthodontic treatment.

Lucy decided that it would be most beneficial to have a course of Invisalign done by Mark (upper and lower).  The benefit of Invisalign for Lucy was because she was off to university and it would be difficult for her to come home every six weeks to have braces adjusted as she would have to if she had fixed braces (train tracks). Lucy could also track most of her own treatment once the invisalign was started.  She could tell her treatment was going well by fitting her next set of aligners and by following the advice given to floss to check the contact points weren’t getting too tight. Making sure the aligners fit well against the teeth.

Lucy’s short front tooth also benefited from the Invisalign.   Mark suggested that her worn tooth would continue to get smaller; this was really our main concern.  The invisalign aligned Lucy’s bite so that she was no longer able to grind this tooth.  The tooth was also pushed up to give her a more even gum line when she smiles. However this made the worn tooth look even smaller but, with clever bonding techniques to increase the size of the tooth from Dr Nick Fahey the tooth now looks perfect.

Lucy’s teeth pre-bonding

After bonding

In order to achieve the best possible aesthetic result we advise patients that if they were considering whitening their teeth in the future, it is recommended before any bonding is carried out. Lucy had whitening trays made and whitened her teeth at home for two weeks before Nick carried out the bonding treatment. The added bonus with bonding is that if Lucy does find that she does still grind with this tooth that at least it is just the composite bonding that is being worn rather that her front tooth.

The upper teeth are now completed and we are so pleased.  The lower teeth are with the invisalign in what is known as a refinement stage this just gives them a couple of very small extra tweaks to make them look stunning.

For the finishing touch Lucy has had some retainers fitted to ensure her teeth do not move back to their original positions.

I can’t thank Mark and Nick enough for their help, time and advice given while treating Lucy.

 

Completion of treatment

I’m sure you’ll agree when looking at the photos it is a great smile that Lucy has got.