Posted a photo of this on my Facebook and some friends asked me what this is. It is actually elastic bands used to pull my upper row of teeth back. Throughout my Invisalign journey so far, I can honestly tell you I've never felt so much pain T.T The people around me would've realised that I'm not talking or eating much lately. And the reason is not because of the elastics alone, but something else...
THESE tiny buggers are what's hurting me! Seriously, they're really small. These are buttons, metal brackets which serve as anchor points for the elastic or rubber bands to hook on to.
Just a short brief on how the brackets are placed on my teeth. I'm pretty sure this procedure is similar to putting brackets on for braces :) It is also similar to the procedure for placing attachments. First, conditioning is done to smoothen the surface of the teeth.
"Glue" is then added and UV light is used to cure it.
Dr Matthew then made me wear my bottom aligners so he can adjust the exact position of the button. Now I know why there's a gap in my bottom tray of aligners! *revelation* He then placed the button on slowly but firmly and tadaa! It's on.
I can now hook the elastic bands onto my top tray aligners which, if you remember, has cuts in the front part to act as another anchor point. What are the elastic bands for, you ask? They facilitate and speed up teeth movement that the aligners on their own would otherwise have trouble moving.
The nurse gave me 2 packets of elastic bands and I was told to change a pair twice a day - once in the morning, once at night. The instructions also asked to wear the elastics as instructed to ensure proper treatment. Don't ask me why it says Creature of the Sea - Seal on the packaging haha.
How the elastics look like, it's the same type that people use for normal braces.
The nurse taught me how to hook on the elastic using a pair of forceps and here's how it looks like after I put it on! I'm sure people who wear braces can relate to this.
Looks are deceiving. I can't even smile properly these days because of the ulcers in the sides of my mouth. You must be thinking how something so small & trivial could cause me pain. Initially I was pretty excited to wear the elastics but I didn't know the price to pay from the buttons. Since the edges are quite sharp, my flesh kept getting accidentally hooked on the metal bits especially when I'm chewing. Food constantly gets stuck around the buttons too. It's so annoying :( Hope it gets better along the way, otherwise idk how I'll survive the rest of my Invisalign treatment *drama*
Ah well. No pain, no gain right?
Quote my name 'CARINN10' to get 10% OFF Invisalign services by Dr Matthew Hong at Q&M Dental Surgery, Taman Molek, from now until 31st December 2015!
Disclaimer: [Sponsored] I have received complimentary Invisalign treatment from Align Technology, Inc & Q&M Dental Surgery JB (Molek) after winning a contest organised by Invisalign & Nuffnang. In exchange for that, I have agreed to promote and write about my Invisalign story. The review is written based on my honest views and personal experiences on the treatment.
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Take care my dear! I always agree no pain no gain >< I remember the pain I go through during my braces time. But the results will more happy and awesome after all the hardships my dear! Please do eat alot you already such a slim girl. Take Care
ReplyDeletexoxo
Sharon Lee
Oh you had braces too! Yea, I'm willing to suffer for the results cos I'm vain like that haha XD I eat alot already, don't worry! Thanks ya! xx
DeleteAny idea how much does metal braces actually cost there ?
ReplyDeleteHi! Perhaps you could drop me an email at carinn.tan93@gmail.com and we could discuss more there? Thank you!
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