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Before I can properly start with Invisalign I needed a bit of work doing to my teeth first. I had to have 4 fillings! Now I know I eat a lot of sweets so this was my own fault for sure but still I was pretty shocked. However I hadn't been to the dentist in 3 years nearly as I always seem to be so busy, so to be fair I guess I had it coming!

The dentist agreed to honour the refer a friend discount I had if I had my fillings and check ups etc done at the clinic, so this has ended up costing me more than expected but I know it will end up being worth it.

Once I had my check up, fillings were done and I had seen the hygienist, that was when they could start prepping for Invisalign. Now one of my teeth on the top set is really far back but about 5 years ago I had it thickened so that it appeared to be more in line with the others. I had to have this removed so that when my moulds were taken it would give a true idea of how long my teeth would take to move. It felt so weird and I am really conscious of it as it shows just how far back that tooth really is. I had this off about a month ago now and I am still not used to it!

Once this was all done I could then have my moulds taken. This involves sinking your teeth in to this wet play-doh like substance. It isn't particularly nice but its only in for a few minutes, one at the top and one at the bottom. This is then sent to Invisalign in the States, along with some photographs of me pulling some rather exaggerated smiles so that they can work on creating images to show how my teeth look now and how they will end up looking.

I received a call about 4 weeks later to go and see the video of the timeline of change. So as you can see below, this what my teeth look like now....

And below is what they will look like afterwards. The orange things you can see are the attachments I will have to have. They will be tooth coloured though, not orange. These will be removed once I reach the end. I am kind of dreading having the attachments on because they look like huge bits of plaque to me but I know it is only temporary. 

So its only a subtle change I feel but I know it will make a big difference in my confidence. Its mainly two teeth on my top set (one being that one really far back!) that need moving. And then a few on my bottom set. 

I have read lots of stories about people suffering in pain from the attachments saying that they cut their mouth a lot. My sister didn't have that problem and so I thought it would be ok. Only recently did I learn that she didn't have any attachments at the back like I will and so I think its going to be pretty rough on my cheeks!

I am now waiting for the retainers to come in which will be about a week or so and then my 40 week journey will properly begin!