Miss B came to Elmsleigh House as she wanted to improve the appearance of her teeth. She was missing her two upper lateral incisors, resulting in uneven spacing, and had malocclusion, where her top and bottom teeth did not align and her upper dental midline was towards the right.
Miss B saw Kostas Spathoulas, our Specialist in orthodontics, who performed a state-of-the-art 3D scan and simulation to show how her teeth could be moved into position. Options included closing the spaces of her missing incisors by moving the back teeth forwards, or reopening the spaces of the missing teeth in order for two dental implants to be placed, which would secure two implant crowns to replace her missing teeth.
Kostas was able to scan and show a simulation of how he could use a series of Invisalign clear, removable aligners to close the gaps between her upper teeth and reduce the crowding in her lower teeth.
Kostas sent his 3D simulation to the Invisalign laboratory to make Miss B’s bespoke Invisalign aligners from a lightweight, strong, thermoplastic material. When these were ready, Miss B returned to see Kostas who showed her how to fit the aligners in place. She took home her set of aligners with instructions on use and care.
Miss B wore each set of Invisalign aligners for a minimum of 22 hours a day for up to two weeks (until they become passive) before moving on to the next in the series. She only removed them when eating, drinking anything other than water and to brush her teeth. As Miss B’s case was complex due to missing teeth and malocclusion, she wore a series of aligners for 2 years to close the gaps and improve her bite. A fixed retainer was then fitted behind her teeth and clear, plastic removable retainers made for night-time use; this was to ensure Miss B’s teeth remain in their newly aligned position and to prevent any future relapse.
Miss B then saw Cathleen Perrin for her general dental care and to complete the appearance of her smile following orthodontic treatment. Cathleen took impressions of her teeth, and whitening trays were made to fit her teeth precisely. Miss B was shown how to apply whitening gel to the trays and fit them in place. She took home the trays and sufficient whitening gel to wear the trays for 2–3 hours a day (or overnight) until she achieved the brighter shade desired.
Once her teeth were whitened, Cathleen was able to improve the look of her smile by replacing Kostas’ provisional bonding to make her upper canine teeth appear similar to the missing lateral incisors in shape.
She matched the tooth-coloured filling material to Miss B’s whiter teeth, and contoured and shaped her teeth to obtain a better look and symmetry to her smile.
