After years of not being 100% happy with my smile, I decided that this year would be the year that I would address it.
I have suffered with a very painful over bite for years, have some over lapping teeth at the front of my smile & some gaps between teeth at the side of my mouth.
After exploring the different options available to me, I decided that Invisalign with Ortho Specialists would be the perfect option.
I made an appointment to have a consultation with Dr. Owen Crotty who is a specialist orthodontist based in Douglas in Cork.
Dr. Crotty has years of experience in this field and from the initial consultation, I knew that I would not find a better orthodontist to treat me. He is exceptionally trained but he's also highly realistic as to what he can achieve.
Once I had committed to the Invisalign process, Dr. Crotty took impressions of my teeth and sent away the moulds to have the braces made. He was even able to show me a computer generated "mock up" as to how my eventual smile would look like.
On the day of the fitting itself, I was very nervous and had mentally prepared myself for pain. I have failed to tell you so far, that from a previous bad experience a few years back, I am a desperate patient when it comes to dental work! The full team at Dr. Crotty's clinic were very understanding of my fear and very kind. I need not have worked myself up though as it was completely pain free and over within 10 minutes.
Invisalign are a clear plastic brace that quite simply click on over your teeth.
They ideally stay on your teeth for 22 hours per day and just come out for eating or drinking (hot liquids).
Every 2 weeks, you get a new set of braces for your teeth. The shape constantly changing as your teeth move.
With regard to pain, there is slight discomfort on the evening that they get changed every fortnight, but nothing that a few OTC pain medication can't relieve.
With the process, I did have a set back for quite a few weeks that was disappointing. When Dr. Crotty carried out X-Ray's during the treatment, he found quite a severe infection in a root canal that had been completed by a previous dentist. As a result, I needed to have the root canal removed, treated for infection and have a new crown fitted. Because of the extent of the infection, it took a prolong period of time to have the work completed, hence why I was delayed with moving forward with my Invisalign journey.
However, I consider myself very lucky that Dr. Crotty found the infection before it became a more serious issue.
I still have a few months left in my process and I will keep you posted but for anyone thinking or wishing for that perfect smile - I highly recommend Ortho-Specialists!
