My Invisalign Journey - United Kingdom, GB

I've always known my teeth were wonky and my canine tooth protrudes so much that I avoid smiling at all costs. Because of this, I stopped going to the dentist until I was about 16 and even then, they refused to give me braces on the NHS. Their excuse? I'm not in pain so it's purely cosmetic and so I can't have braces. I then asked the dentist about any alternative to braces - invisible ones preferably - and he told me about Invisalign. The only problem then was that it was about £2000 for a teen and I definitely did not have that kind of money. My only choice was to wait and hopelessly dream about the day that I can fix my teeth.4 years on, I finally saved enough money to live comfortably and be able to afford these kind of braces, and went onto the Invisalign website to look for a local orthodontist. When you go to search for it, all the local orthodontists are ranked in order of their experience - naturally, you would pick the one that has the most experience right? So I did. Luckily, they were having a special offer of Invisalign Full (no limit) for £2500 (down from £3000). I didn't check prices with any other dentists because this one was local to me, but I would recommend that you do it to see if this price is universal, or if it's on the pricey side but just advertised to be on sale. I know that the prices depends on how long you need treatment for, and so you should see an orthodontist to get a proper quote, but my dentist said that the maximum price I'll pay is £2500.Anyway, I booked a free consultation with the dentist and really didn't know what to expect. I went in and immediately felt at ease. He explained to me the procedure, costs, and yes, my teeth could be fixed. I'd have to wear the braces everyday for 14-15 months but that's not a problem - it'll all be worth it in the end! My service comes with free whitening and final retainers at the end (you have to wear retainers at night for the rest of your life..), although I'm not sure how many that will give me. I guess I'll just have to ask next time I go! I also have to ask him why I won't be getting the official Invisalign retainers (Vivera) and why he's giving me another brand "Essix". He is the most experienced person in London though, so I guess I should trust his expertise. He explained to me all about attachments and all that, and I was dead set on doing it. He did an examination on me, just to see the quality of my teeth, and I paid for an X-ray (£20 - private dentists cost a lot more than NHS) and found out that I would need 2 fillings (I almost had to go for a root canal, but luckily I went to see the dentist in time to fix it!) and then to be seen by a dental hygienist.Armed with that information, I quickly went to book dentist appointments elsewhere (Private dentists would have charged me £400. On NHS, I paid £50.50 for 2 fillings and then £55 for a hygiene visit) and now I'm just waiting for my appointment on 15th August to get my impressions done (10 more days eeek!) I'm not sure how they will do it - I've been watching lots of videos online about this and there's either the scanner method (which I think is more modern) and this gum-like method where they make a mould of your teeth. I hope it's the scanner method though.After this appointment, I'll probably go shopping for all the bits and bobs I'll need when I have my Invisalign. It takes about 3 weeks to them send the images to Invisalign (in America) and for them to custom make my braces. I'll be on holiday for 2 weeks in September and my dentist is going on holiday on 17th so I just have to do it before he goes and collect it when I come back from holiday.I'll update about my invisalign journey! :)