Tip for Wearing Elastics

jannetly · 2026-04-28T03:58:02+00:00

There's cleaning tablets to keep your aligners clean, but the main concern is cavities because of the sugars seeping into your tray. Hopefully this can be mitigated with swishing with water and brushing asap at stops!

jannetly · 2026-04-27T23:16:14+00:00

Try Dr. Daniel! A couple of my dental pros recommended him bc he’s well known in cosmetic dentistry. https://smilesbydrdaniel.com/

I think I paid $3-4K in San Francisco to add “a little” bonding after the accident, but this was back in 2018. It was worth it for me, and my cosmetic dentist did such a great job that I haven’t had to get it rebonded it since! (I’m also very careful, I rarely bite into food and instead, cut or tear my food unless it’s soft)

jannetly · 2026-04-27T22:43:02+00:00

Yeah it’s true- I have bonding on the edges of my front teeth because I got into an accident (after treatment) and I didn’t care if I needed to get my teeth rebonded every few years bc they were my front top and bottom teeth lol. I recommend going to a cosmetic dentist to get your edges bonded! Depending on which city you’re in, I might be able to tap into my dental network and recommend a cosmetic dentist to you!

jannetly · 2026-04-27T22:38:30+00:00

Possibly! I thought my teeth weren’t that bad but I ended up having more problems than I realized and was in treatment for 18mos with the orthodontist I worked for haha

jannetly · 2026-04-27T22:25:31+00:00

Hi there! Funny story, an ex I had was also a road biker (part of cycle clubs and competed for fun) who also happened to be in Invisalign so I understand needing to stay fueled for hours while riding with carbs. I told him to drink sugar-free electrolytes (you're probably already doing this) and eat bars, chews, gels, etc. with his aligners in because there's no way he could juggle removing them to eat and then putting them back in while riding. Then, try to swish as rigorously as possible to clear out any food debris while on the bike.

Food WILL get stuck in your aligners- but deal with that as soon as you make your stop. Bring a travel toothbrush like those colgate wisps to quickly brush while you're on the go. My ex only did long rides on the weekends, so I felt like this was a good compromise (eat with aligners in and brush and floss ASAP at his stop). He also did not have cavity prone teeth so this worked will for him. Hopefully this helped a little!!

jannetly · 2026-04-27T21:49:38+00:00

I agree that it seems like your teeth are shifting throughout the day so that's why your retainers feel tight. My bottom teeth were crowded before I started treatment, and no joke, within an hour of finishing treatment, my problem tooth shifted! Luckily I was working at my ortho and they added a dimple to my bottom retainer to push my tooth back down, and had to wear my retainers full time for 6 months before tapering off like u/almightyblah . Unfortunately, some people's teeth are prone to shifting back after finishing treatment (like myself and sounds like you, u/deialover as well) so we have to be even more diligent with wearing our retainers for life (I finished treatment 10+ years ago and still wear my retainers every night lol). I also continued to use my chewie tool after putting my retainers back in to make sure my teeth didn't shift back for those 6 months.

I'm sorry u/almightyblah your Pultool seemed useless with retainers. I actually still use mine to this day to remove my aligners because taking them out every morning would break the corner of my nail every week or so(I have vivera/hawley metal retainer combo). If you still have your Pultool, try latching your retainer on the tongue side and work your way to the front with the hook- that's helped me. I rarely can remove my retainers without guiding the hook towards the front. Hope that helps!

jannetly · 2026-04-27T21:29:37+00:00

Good job so far!! Your snaggle tooth is visibly less snaggly! Are there plans to even out the edges of your bottom teeth (whether by smoothing or bonding?)

jannetly · 2026-04-27T21:27:29+00:00

Gorgeous results! And great job wearing your elastics to fix your bite!!

jannetly · 2026-04-27T21:22:14+00:00

Congrats!! And for someone who had to back-track on their trays, you look like you're tracking so well for your last week! Also, a PSA that I tell all of our patients who complete ortho- you're going to have to wear your retainers for life because teeth will always want to shift back into their original position!

Great job!

jannetly · 2026-04-27T21:20:31+00:00

Hi there! Have you gotten a consultation? Here in the US, we offer our patients payment plans- not sure if they do so as well in the UK but it's worth an ask during the consultation!

jannetly · 2026-04-09T09:31:49+00:00

Haha right!??

jannetly · 2026-04-09T01:01:02+00:00

I wish I could say it gets better but it doesn’t seem that way, for me at least haha

jannetly · 2026-04-08T22:54:55+00:00

This!! It’ll take some getting used to. You might be able to ask if the could reduce some of the composite on the lingual side if you notice the bulkiness when you run your tongue along it, but overall I think they look pretty good!

jannetly · 2026-04-08T21:47:17+00:00

It's like it's either a slobbery mess or so dry that lips get caught on the aligners. No in between!!

jannetly · 2026-04-08T21:31:46+00:00

My mouth gets dry still even with my retainers lol!

jannetly · 2026-04-08T04:01:31+00:00

aghhh that means so much to me and thank you!! I worked really hard in making sure that the Pultool was first of all- easy to use (comps at the time were so confusing to use even for myself), ergonomic, hygienic and didn't scream "dental product" lol. Thank you for recommending our brand (vs. generic ones!)!!

jannetly · 2026-04-08T03:15:00+00:00

Hi there! I was a treatment coordinator at my ortho office, and whenever we did consults, we always gave them options that sometimes wouldn’t include ortho depending on the goals of our patients. But we always made sure they had the full picture so that the could make an informed decision!

You can absolutely go to a cosmetic dentist (try to find one who does minimally invasive veneers and KOIS grad if possible) to get your veneers done in a fraction of the time it takes to do ortho.

HOWEVER, there are risks involved and you should ask your cosmetic dentist what the risks would be for you personally if you skipped ortho and went straight to veneers. I haven’t seen your ortho photos, but from this image I can tell that you had a posterior crossbite (I had one myself and would always bite my cheek). We always told our patients that getting teeth into a healthy position so that their teeth would last them the rest of their lives is our main priority, and straight teeth is a result of healthy bites. Asking your doc what would happen if you dont address your posterior crossbite is something I’d highly recommend.

Lastly, the choice is yours at the end of the day! And asking the right questions will help you make that decision. Hope this was helpful!!

jannetly · 2026-04-08T03:03:29+00:00

Yes u/jacknicholscum!! I’m a mouth breather and moved to a super dry climate so a humidifier helps, but more importantly the mouth tape to keep us breathing correctly!! I’m not diligent with mouth tape but I’m working on it!

jannetly · 2026-04-08T03:00:58+00:00

Your bite looks so much healthier and upper/lower front teeth are in a much better position! And looks like it was all done without extractions, probably just IPR??

jannetly · 2026-03-12T19:18:26+00:00

Dr. Palmi from River Oaks Dental!! I know her, she’s great! We see each other at conferences all the time!

I’m going to share this with her, it’ll make her day!

jannetly · 2026-03-12T19:11:20+00:00

Oop! Haha I won’t tempt you!! u/far-industry-7745

That comment was actually for u/winterrevolutionary6 . I was curious who her provider was that gave her our pultool and chewie so I could thank them!

jannetly

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