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I had my invisalign treatment in Hong Kong 4 years ago in 2016 and here’s a recall of the treatment and follow-up update.

I wish I wrote a blog about the whole experience to make the whole journey complete, but… Anyway, I’ll try recalling all the memories and hope you’ll find something useful in case you are in the middle of an Invisalign research.

* Since this is a recall and a few years have passed. There could be some deviations in the actual events and facts so please only take this article as a reference and always consult a second opinion.

Price

Invisalign was only started getting popular a few years ago because it only landed in Hong Kong not for long. I doubt there was another clear competitor in the clear aligners market at the time. Invisalign was the monopoly in the market so you can imagine how expensive it was!

I paid for HK$38,000 for the my whole treatment + cost of 3 pairs of retainers. It was already 40% off because I had a relative working in the dental clinic I had my treatment in. I remember prices could range from HK$30,000 to HK$60,000 several years ago.

Alternatives to Invisalign

Invisalign is still the leader in the invisible teeth bracing market and I think it’s still on the higher end. But NOW there are more options and brands to choose from.

There’re off-clinic brands (or home kits) that you can choose from, such as Smile Direct Club, which I DON’T recommend purchasing unless budget is really an issue to you. The main reason is that you won’t get professional support from a dentist in case there’s any problem during treatment!

Expected treatment length & number of sets

I decided to have it done in 2016 before I came to Canada in mid 2017. At the beginning my expected treatment period was 2 years, so I thought I’d have to do the final stage in Canada.

In fact, my treatment period was only around a year. It actually included the time for adjustment already! I’m a very diligent person and I made sure I followed the treatment schedule. I’ve never missed a set.

Also it really depends on how fast your teeth move. After the 30th set (out of 59 sets in total) my dentist told me my progress was excellent and I could skip some sets to even speed up the process.

My treatment requires me to have attachments on, which help direct the teeth to move to the desired positions.

(Upper Photo) Demo Picture; (Lower Photo) Real picture with attachments put in place

Attachments

Invisalign SmartForce® Attachments are tiny tooth-matching colored “bumps” that are placed/sticked onto the surfaces of the teeth.

They provide more strength to support the treatment process and may help speed up the progress!

The Process

The part that I wanted to adjust most was my 2 top front teeth. They were very untidy, kind of like buckteeth. My lower part looked tidy in general and I thought it wouldn’t need too much of an adjustment. However, it turned out more than half of my treatment was moving the ENTIRE lower part back so that it could make room for my upper part. It was also the most uncomfortable stage. The latter part was easy and the difference it made was more obvious.

The Result

So after the initial treatment I think my upper front part could move even a little further back. My dentist then made an adjustment model for me to take an additional 11 sets. I am happy with the final result and I smile open-mouth a lot more!

Side effects?

The only thing that I’m not completely OK with is that it leaves 2 black triangles next to my front teeth. My dentist says it’s common for a lot of patients to have those. Good thing is they can be treated with some kind of dental cosmetic surgery. This has been on my to-do list and I’ll probably correct the annoying triangles this year later!

So… how are things after 4 years?

According to my and my friends’ experiences, it is very important that you use the retainer every night for at least 3 years post treatment. My dentist suggested me wearing it day and night like during treatment in the first year for best result. This is probably the part that I don’t follow completely. Because of the change in lifestyle, 99% of the time I only wore it at night during sleep time. However, I maintain the result very well because I didn’t skip a night. After the 3 years mark I skipped it for some nights. I found out my teeth are still moving since I can feel the tightness I put the retainer back on the night after! Some of my friends don’t even use their retainers. Their results after 1 year were already not as perfect. So friends, DO NOT SKIP YOUR RETAINER!

Here’s a wrap!

…BUT I’ve prepared some more bonus contents for you. Read on to learn how I keep my oral hygiene (especially helpful if you’re having attachments/using permanent braces) as well as how I clean my aligners & retainers!

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