It wasn’t something I expected 30 years later, but it has happened.
Let me start at the beginning of the saga of my teeth.
When I was in grade school, it became very obvious that I would be a great candidate for braces. When I had my first orthodontist appointment, it was obvious to him that I was going to be a very good customer.
I had two impacted teeth in the roof of my mouth that required oral surgery followed by brackets to encourage them toward my smile.
Once I had braces, then I got full headgear along with rubber bands. I had an overbite that would need some serious intervention!
It was a 3 year ordeal, that ended with a smile that was worth my parent’s investment.
You could see it here in my senior picture, if it was cool to smile in your senior picture.
Let’s just say I had the best smile that money could buy in the 1980s. When my braces were taken off, I was fitted with a permanent upper retainer and sent on my way.
Fast forward about 10 years. I was getting my teeth cleaned at a new dentist. He insisted that the permanent retainer be removed so he could clean beneath it. Not understanding the ramification of this decision, I said yes.
Teeth constantly move.
Over the next 20 years my teeth shifted to the point where one of my center front teeth was inching over the other. When I asked my dentist about it, he confirmed that it would continue to worsen as I aged {lovely}. There was nothing stopping it. At some point, my teeth would cross!
When I posed for pictures, I had learned to turn to one side, which would decrease the appearance of a cross-over. It was something I was noticing more and more on the videos that I was recording.
Yes, it isn’t tragic or horrible.
It was just something that was bothering me.
So, 6 years ago I looked into options and visited 2 local orthodontists. My fear was confirmed that I would need braces again. From what I learned, I knew that I wanted
Invisalign, but didn’t have the energy to move forward at that time.
Last fall I went to Bloggy Bootcamp in Dallas and Invisalign was one of the sponsors. They hosted a breakfast {to which I crashed since I didn’t have a ticket} so that I could
stalk talk to them. It was a match made in bloggy heaven and early in 2014 I became part of the
Invisalign Mom Advisory Board which included complimentary Invisalign treatment for me.
The first step was an iTero scan so that the Invisalign lab could create 20 sets of trays that would be my set of braces.
The iTero process took about 15 minutes and was simply someone taking pictures of my teeth which magically transmitted all the information that the lab would need. You can see the 3D picture of my teeth above.
The next step is for the lab to create the trays. They plan out what minute movements will happen with each set of trays and then send back the tray plan to the orthodontist to approve.
About 2 weeks later, the trays arrived! I went in and got all the necessary
Invisalign information and three sets of trays that I am changing out every two weeks.
So far I am loving my Invisalign. After having traditional braces, it never occurred to me that with Invisalign I can take them off! I wear them 22 hours a day and take them out to eat or drink things other than water. So far, so good!
I will be sharing more about my
Invisalign experience over the next year. I am very grateful to Invisalign for making this happen for me. Check out the
Invisalign trained doctors in your area or take the
Invisalign smile assessment.
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