Officially all done- parting thoughts

The permanent retainers are installed. It's just a thin strip of metal that is glued to the back of the front six teeth on the top and bottom. It looks no larger than the wire they use on traditional braces, but of course in my mouth feels like a huge obstruction. I'm sure I'll get used to it.

I also have a set of plastic retainers that go over all my teeth. They are much larger than Invisalign aligners, as they cover a good bit of the gums as well. I have a hard time talking with them in. The orthodontist said I only have to wear them at night, but the assistant told me I should wear them full time for three months. I'm definitely not doing that, I hate these things. But I have noticed that there is quite a bit of dull pain when I transition them in or out, so that tells me that my teeth are trying to move out of place. I've compromised and pretty much wear them whenever I'm not working. I don't want my teeth going back to crooked on me after all this.

So, after this experience I have some parting thoughts. These are just my opinions based on my own anecdotal experience.

First, if I had to do it over, I would still choose Invisalign over traditional braces. They really are pretty much invisible, and easy to get used to. The process is easy, and most people will not need all the extra attachments, buttons, and elastics that my complicated situation required. Being able to take them out when needed is priceless.

Second, I'm convinced that Acceledent is BS. I thoroughly believe that the reason we had to start over so many times is because we were rushing the process. Trading aligners every week is just too fast, at least when the moves needed are complex. On my last set of 12 aligners, I just didn't use it at all. I scheduled my appointment far enough out that I could wear the trays for about a week and a half. I actually stopped paying attention to how many days I was wearing them, and just went by feel. When the trays started to become loose feeling, I would trade out. This method also made the experience less painful. Looking back to early in the process, I remember the day I put a new aligner in would cause serious aching pain. I believe this was because I wasn't actually ready for the next tray. We were forcing the process.

My original plan was to take 10 months. It actually took just short of 23. The orthodontist said this didn't surprise him, because this is the about the average time that it would take with traditional braces. When you think about it that way, around 2 years seems about right. But that means that Acceledent did nothing. No plan would have been scheduled to take 4 years!

But here's the catch: If you don't get Acceledent, you will be instructed to change aligners every two weeks. In my experience, that much time is not needed. A little over a week was about right for me. But if I hadn't signed up for the goofy mouth vibrator, I would have had to stretch to the full two weeks in order to time my appointments. So I guess I recommend getting the stupid thing anyway. Use it if you want. Early on I actually liked it because the gentle vibrations were soothing. But don't change trays until they feel loose and you are experiencing no pain or feeling of tightness. Do not rush the process!

Overall it was an interesting experience. My orthodontist was great, and took great lengths to make sure that we got it right and that I was happy with the results. I smile differently now. I'm proud of my teeth and happy to show them off. I call it "my six thousand dollar smile!"

Third, I'm still going to brush my teeth every day after lunch. It's just a habit now and to not do it feels gross.

Coming soon...before/after pics. Stay tuned.

My braces are off!

The day has come! The orthodontist has removed all of my buttons and attachments. It feels so weird, as my teeth are all smooth and slimy. To remove the hardware, he basically just reached in with a pliers of sorts and broke off what he could. It felt weird, but didn't hurt. Then he took a dremel type tool and ground the glue off. The combination of cold air from the tool's exhaust and the heat from the friction caused a bit of pain on the teeth where he needed to spend a little extra time, but it wasn't a big deal.

Then he took another tool and did some shaping and smoothing, mainly on my front teeth. He evened them up a bit, and gave them a rounded edge. This took just vibrates, kind of like the tool they use to cut off casts. It tickled.

Next they did a mold of my mouth to create the permanent retainers. I was told to keep wearing my last set of aligners, and scheduled an appointment for the following week.