In September, I shared that I was ending my first round of refinement of my Invisalign Treatment. When I went back, I was given fourteen more trays to tweak and tune. Halfway through, right around Thanksgiving, I stopped in for a mid-refinement check, some more IPR, and was sent on my way.
Ending Refinement Round Two
Last week, I finished up the fourteenth tray – for a total of 67 trays so far – and returned to the doctor.
I already knew that they were going to rescan me. My maxillary lateral incisors (the teeth between my upper front teeth and canines) could stand to turn just a little bit more.
It is nitpicky, especially coming from my baseline. My smile looks good! But why not get it right since it doesn’t introduce risk or cost me more?
Mamelons
Due to my pre-alignment bite, my teeth still had what dentistry refers to as tooth mamelons. These are the little peaks or ridges that often exist when our permanent teeth come in.
With bites that aren’t creatively arranged, these naturally wear away with time. Since my teeth weren’t in proper contact until, basically, now, they were still there. There’s no harm in them existing, but removing them can help with getting refinement right – and it produces a better visual in the end.
Before taking me to be rescanned, my orthodontist polished the incisal edges of all of my incisors to reduce them. Like IPR, this was not painful. The procedure did not shorten my teeth, but when I smile, that, “free edge,” looks tidier. My tongue notices the difference because it feels different, but that’s about it.
Rescan for Refinement Round Three
After all that, a technician took me for another whirl through the iTero. Same process as last time – silly imaging wand, awkward pictures.
The Bottom Line
I return in early February to get my new set of trays. As before, I don’t yet know how many I will receive, but I assume it is yet again in the 12-15 range. In the meantime, I am to continue wearing 14 until my next appointment.
At this stage (a refinement round three, for instance), I’ve noticed a lot of Invisalign patients reporting exhaustion with treatment and refinement courses. I won’t pretend that it is convenient to have to go in every 1-3 months, but I also think that boredom is coming from people with less complex cases. For me, I just want to get it right so it lasts.
I am eager to be able to consistently whiten my teeth (unfortunately, my attachments hinder that), but I can wait. :)