MY BRACES STORY #7: THE END- Completed my INVISALIGN

Yes people! I completed my whole Invisalign treatment few weeks ago! If you read my whole braces story & my previous My Braces Story #6 post, you probably know why. So sorry it takes so long for this to be published on my blog as I want to share this only if I completed the whole treatment. So to mark this memorable moment, I have finally completed my Invisalign Lite treatment which took me a total of 4 months.

- WHY I DECIDED TO GO FOR INVISALIGN  -

There are few reasons why I decided to go further with Invisalign treatment. My Damon braces was super satisfied and as you can see my previous blog post about all the before & after photo. It solved my overbite problem and increase 80% of my teeth profile. I'm really blessed that I'm able to find the right and trustable dentist to solve my problem.

Personally I have gone through the whole 2 & half years of Damon braces and I'm really happy with the result. On the day of removing braces, I thought I'm done with everything but with the advice given by my dentist, he told me that I still can slightly improve the facial profile as he knew that I'm always in front of the camera and of course, he know my job as well. Therefore, he suggested me to continue with Damon for additional few months or convert to a short treatment of Invisalign.

Since I have been wearing Damon for years and I really wish that I can finally smile brightly without having all the bracket + I really can't wait to take it off as I have so many on screen travel job coming soon,  I'm eager to remove and don’t mind trying something more invisible so that I can look more pleasant during photo taking. So at the end of the day, since I'm alright with the cost and everything, I decided to go for the clear aligners which is the Invisalign.

But before I say yes to Invisalign, it takes few weeks to get the final report from the professional. As for the report, it will estimate the total time taken to complete the whole treatment and what's the expectations & things like that. Everything in digital form and the whole experience was really a surprise for me. Next, after waiting for few weeks finally I received the final report and make another appointment with Dr. Neoh to explain my Invisalign treatment and understand more about it.

The Invisalign report revealed that the improvement is better that I expected and it needs ONLY 4 Months to complete and his advice was going for the Invisalign Lite. Which has shorter period than a full Invisalign treatment and I was like wow, only 4 months! Then I just go ahead!

So starting from the beginning of this year, I have live my life with Invisalign. It's completely a new and different experience for this Invisalign treatment. There are some good and really annoyed one. Since I have been really into sharing things like this, I decided to write all my opinions here so you can really understand and knowing which to go for. At least this will not misled people thinking all cases have to end with Invisalign lol. So please take note of that.

- DAMON BRACES OR INVISALIGN  -

This is one of my frequent asked questions. Which I already explained for millions times but still, there are people who ask me again & again. If you read from my part #1 story until end of this post, you probably will not be the one who ask me this kind of question. For people who never read carefully, then they will ask me on this question.

Sometimes, I do receive emails like : Chanwon, do you think I should go for normal braces or I can go for Invisalign.

The answer is: I'M NOT EVEN A DENTIST! lol Every dentist has their own advice after consult with you. Knowing what's your expectation, after doing all the X-Ray & looking for your teeth profile. How the hell I know which you should go for since I'm not even a dentist or professional one lol. So in this case, I really can't answer you.

In my case, after consulted lots of dentist and since I'm more comfortable with my own dentist, then I choose to put all my trust on him as I truly know what can I expect and how long is my whole damen treatment and after all the discussion with my dentist. The reason why I go for Damon first is because only this Damon Braces can solve my overbite, wrong teeth profile problems. That's the only reason why I first started with Damon Braces.

To be honest, for people who go for Invisalign, it's normally just alignment problems or they want to enhance their teeth profile or having minor problems on their teeth. Since my problem isn't minor at all, I decided to take the advice from my dentist and after all the long discussion & case study, that's the best solution I had. That's why I never regret on getting Damon Braces as Damon braces is the treatment that solved all my problems. No doubt I'm really confident with that!

Next, getting the 4 months Invisalign is my next choice to enhance my teeth profile further since I really wish to get rid of the braces bracket life. Some people choose not to go for but since I have no problem with it and I feel that it's useful for me , then I might just go ahead! I hope this answer all your questions and don't ask me which is better for you as I'm not even a dentist lol.

Before you say yes to any treatment, always get advice from the professional dentist. If you feel that it's not something you want then consult few dentists and then only decide.

- INVISALIGN PRICE  -

To be honest, Invisalign isn't cheap. But I know you get what you paid for. One normal retainer cost me around RM800 (if not mistake). All Invisalign are actually imported from US. For 4 months Invisalign treatment, I get total of 14 set of Invisalign. So means if let say I click my calculator, it's around 11k for 14 set of retainer lol. But of course, I shouldn't count it in this way because Invisalign and retainer are totally different with each other but just telling you the example so you know the reason why Invisalign cost so much lol. I know this isn't a good example tho

Each set of Invisalign has diff alignment and each 7-10 days you are require to change a new complete set of Invisalign in order to complete the treatment and for the process of alignment. Depend on your dentist advice, the first few set I change it every week while the rest of the Invisalign I need to wear it at least for 10 days because my teeth are quite naughty. They don't move to the correct place lol.

And certainly the cost is a big concern to everyone. For a full Invisalign treatment, it can cost between RM12k to RM20k. Depend on your treatment period, how long and everything! Each individual have diff teeth profile and that's why there is no a standard one. But basically it's around that figure.  In my case, since I'm going for the shorter period one, it's around RM12k.

Both system have their advantages. The only drawback of Invisalign is the higher cost than a Damon Braces but of course, it's prettier because it's transparent.

If you watched my youtube video or stories, you probably wouldn't know I'm actually wearing an Invisalign because (as you can see) it's really transparent and even wearing it out doesn't make you look ugly on the photo. If you want to see you can search this video on my youtube ya. From my experience, it's totally like having your own teeth but the only thing that really annoyed me the most is taking care of the Invisalign thingy is harder than wearing my Damon Braces lol. 愛美沒辦法lol

- THE GOOD & DRAWBACKS OF INVISALIGN -

Good thing about Invisalign is it's transparent, therefore you can still smile brightly with it, but at the same time, it's hard to take care. This is my honest opinion! First, wearing a normal braces like Damon, when you are having your meal it's easy! What you need to do is just eat and maybe rinse your mouth or you can bring your teeth brush with you to brush it inside the toilet. But I never do that when I'm having meal outside of my house, I just rinse my mouth lol that's all for my 2 and half year with Damon Braces lol.

Wearing Invisalign is pretty but imagine every time when you need to eat, you need to take out the Invisalign and then after finish your food, you need to go to the toilet > brush your teeth or you can choose to rinse your mouth > lastly, put back the Invisalign. 90% of the time I need to brush my teeth after my meal with Invisalign as the food stuck between my teeth, I can't even put the Invisalign on. Therefore, I need to brush it first in order to be able to wear it nicely.

Next thing, if you didn't brushing your teeth or after putting back your Invisalign, imagine all the leftover food stuck between your teeth is inside your Invisalign for hours. I really OCD and very worried about my mouth hygiene level. Therefore, I force to brush my teeth on most of my meal.

How about drinking your favourite coffee, soft drinks or tea. Basically, the only thing you can drink when you are wearing your Invisalign is PLAIN WATER lol. Yes, mineral water because if you drink any Coca Cola , coffee or juice, all the stains will stuck inside the Invisalign and you teeth will look freaking weird like light brown color or orange color (because I love to drink orange juice lol). So anytime if you want to drink something, you won't even drink it since you are wearing Invisalign lol. Also no hot drink when wearing the Invisalign.

Therefore, Invisalign might be a good choice for people who want to smile beautifully without the ugly bracket but taking a good care and after meal experience wasn't as easy as wearing the normal Damon braces lol. So that's from my real review! Every time I put on my Invisalign, I dont have mood to eat the food or even drink thing other than plain water lol. Also, I must make sure to brush my teeth once I put it back HAHAHA!

Besides, wearing Damon braces what you need to do every night is just brush your teeth but wearing an Invisalign everyday you need to brush your teeth + brush the Invisalign lol. So it's extra work for me. Also, for optimal result it's better to wear for more than 22 hours a day. It means that except when you are having meal, other than that you still have to wear your Invisalign.

So that's all the pros and cons for wearing the Invisalign. But no choice, I really love how it look even I'm wearing it. I can smile bright and feel more confident with it! lol Also, Invisalign alignment is less pain than a normal braces but in order to get use of wearing it, you might need 3-4 days to get use to it. Like how to take off and how to wear it nicely.

This is me wearing Invisalign. Can't see anything right?

- MY FIRST INVISALIGN EXPERIENCE -

So yes, after my long Grandmom story, I hope you get some basic knowledge of everything I have told you lol. Just wanna let you guys really understand everything about Invisalign and the difference between it with normal braces. Then you can save time to search for extra reference or ask weird question to your dentist lol. 

Now, just updating some of my Invisalign story and experience for you guys! So when you start your Invisalign treatment, the dentist will give you few set of Invisalign first and a calendar / dates for you to put on your new set of Invisalign. Each 3-4 set of Invisalign, you are require to make an appointment with your dentist again to follow up / check up on your treatment & grab your new set of Invisalign too.

HAHAHAHA My first three set of Invisalign. 

Now you might be wonder, what's the difference between retainer (the one you had after you removed your braces & wear it at night one) and Invisalign.

This is retainer 

This is Invisalign

The main difference between both

As you can see from the photo above. Invisalign is more beautiful, and more like the shape of our teeth while the retainer actually include the shape of our gums. Also the quality of Invisalign is thicker than a normal retainer. So that's the differences but not to compare as both is totally diff. Invisalign is a treatment to fix and align some minor problem of our teeth while retainer is just to maintain the alignment of our teeth. 

This is Invisalign

The Invisalign report actually send to US first and few weeks later, they sent back my final report. After receiving my teeth mold, it takes few weeks again to receive the full Invisalign treatment. Also, there are these Invisalign logo at the Invisalign itself. But it can't really tells when you are wearing it.


Next, before putting on the Invisalign. My dentist will put some attachment on my teeth so it can hold the Invisalign nicely and good for alignment too.

First experience on wearing the Invisalign is quite scary lol. I dont even know how to put it and take off the Invisalign. But no worries, your dentist will show and demo to you.

After wearing it on, you can see it's like your own teeth and your teeth actually look quite glowy lol.

I know I'm freaking ugly here. xD Look quite funny lol

New buddy! It's chewies. I use chewies everyday just to  make sure the aligner sit in properly. 

Each pack is sealed nicely also everything stated clearly on the packaging itself.

Also you get a casing for you to put on your Invisalign. 

- COMPLETED MY INVISALIGN TREATMENT -

So it's almost the end of this post! What to do after completed the whole Invisalign treatment? Wear the Invisalign retainer. The Invisalign retainer look exactly like the Invisalign but thicker in term of its quality and also the overall shape. So normally when you are wearing the last set of your Invisalign, you need to take a new mold again in order to get the Invisalign retainer.

Unlike the normal retainer, Invisalign retainer is thicker and the shape is without covering our gums.

The Invisalign retainer = vivera retainers

Invisalign retainer

So this is the Invisalign retainer that I collected few days ago. From now on I will need to wear it every night and no joke, braces or any Invisalign treatment isn't a short term commitment. It's a long term commitment. You have to wear this to remind your teeth to stay in the correct position and it's really a long term forever thing lol. So from now onward, I will life happiness with my Invisalign lol. 

Also if this spoiled, I have another back up set to wear it on. But if all the back up set spoiled, or when I'm wearing the last set of Invisalign retainer, I need to go to my dentist there and make a new mold again for the new set of retainer. 

So I guess after reading my post, you are now the braces and Invisalign expert! HAHHAHAH Thank you so much for reading my blog post and I hope you can choose the right treatment to solve your problem. But most importantly, find a good dentist like mine! HAHAHA

I like Dr.Neoh from 32T Dental Clinic @ Puchong so much. He's always professional and look at my teeth, for 3 years time I always follow up with my appointments and now, I'm done with everything. I guess this should complete my whole braces journey! Thank you for following me on this journey since 3 years ago! Nothing much I can ask for, thank you from the bottom of my heart!

From now onward, please enjoy my bright and happy smile! lol That's all for today. Love, xoxo.