My front teeth have always been a bit uneven-the upper 2 middle teeth are crowded. Although it didn't cause any pain and I could eat normally, my mom always advised me to get orthodontic treatment to straighten them. When I was young I went to the hospital about it once or twice. I remember in 2021, a dentist recommended removing my wisdom teeth, but I was too young at the time.
In early 2024, I returned to Shanghai, and my mom took me to the dentist. We visited a private clinic where I had a CT scan and was added to a WeChat group.
Then, over the course of about 4 weeks, I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed one by one at the hospital. There wasn't much blood, and thanks to the anesthesia, the procedure was painless. It was over so quickly that I didn't even notice when the tooth was removed. The crooked tooth(the one lying in the horizontal direction) was quite difficult to extract, so my mom booked an appointment for me with a specialist. That also went quickly and painlessly; he essentially broke the whole tooth and extracted it from my mouth in pieces.
But then I went back to Hefei. I started looking for dental clinics in Hefei. First, I tried a private clinic. I had another CT scan there. Then I went to the hospital affiliated with the University of Science and Technology of China, but it was quite run-down, with old equipment, and they used a physical tray to take impressions. I added the dentist on WeChat, but I didn't choose them.
After researching several dental clinics and getting new X-rays, I chose the dental school at Anhui Medical University, located at 69 Meishan Road. I found a dentist, Dr. Li, who is an associate professor at Anhui Medical University and has a doctorate (PhD). But then I realized that wasn't so important. In any case, Dr. Li is a very nice and patient person.
In February, I had my first consultation, where they did an intraoral digital scan to create 3D models of my teeth (which is not the same as a CT scan). The Invisalign treatment plan turned out to be quite expensive.
In March, I received my first set of Invisalign aligners. Dr. Li told me not to lose them, as they are ordered from the US, and a replacement would take several weeks to arrive. By June, I chewed some gum, and one of the attachments on a back tooth fell off. I went for a check-up, and Dr. Li glued the attachment back on.
Anyway, in 2024, I went through an (unprecedentedly) difficult period in my life, struggling with academic and mental health issues, which made me neglect my Invisalign treatment. It became inconvenient because I needed to eat, and I often forgot to put the aligners back in. It was frustrating.
I received the first tray in March 2024. In February 2025, I received trays 12-23. On June 25, 2025, I received trays 24-35. There are about 60 in total.
Date | Trays |
---|---|
627 | 23 |