A Patient's Blog - Changing my Smile with Invisible Braces

C-Fast Blog

Step 1

I’m excited to finally get started with my C-Fast invisible braces this week. My smile has been bothering me for a while but I didn’t want to opt for the more traditional “railway tracks”. I had fixed braces as a child and while they are effective, I don’t want it to be obvious that I’m straightening my teeth.

The first surprise is that Dr Barnes says it will take just three months to achieve the results we want. This is because I only need minor tweaks rather than a ‘full overhaul’. Either way its half the time I expected and keeps the cost down. If he is right then my pearly whites will be done and dusted before the summer is out!

To get where I want to be, I will need six custom-made plastic retainers. I wear each retainer for two weeks and each one takes me one step closer to my goal. So it’s full steam ahead with the fitting of the first one.

This involved filing a few of my teeth to make room for movements that are about to take place. The filing is like an intense flossing session. Not nice but not painful and over in ten minutes (Dr Barnes sings along to Spotify as he files my teeth. He has quite a rich baritone. Who knew a free concert was included?) It feels tight and strange but the effect is really subtle, you wouldn’t be able to tell I was straightening my teeth unless you look closely.

As the first two weeks go by nobody has noticed my braces and apart from some pressure there has been no discomfort at all. My teeth are clearly moving and felt sensitive at first. The retainer is a bit awkward to have in your mouth all day but it doesn’t affect my speech. The biggest worry is that I keep forgetting I’m wearing it and putting food in my mouth. This is not a good idea!

What has struck me the most is that I can see a slight improvement in my front teeth after just two weeks. Amazing stuff!