Back to Daylight, No More Vampire Teeth at 27. Bountiful, UT

November 2014.

I went in for a consultation to Bountiful Orthodontics, which on a good day is a twenty-five minute drive away from my house and forty minutes from work. The office is in a very open and modern suite. The ladies at the reception desk greeted me right away and I was filling out a few forms and taken to meet Dr. Feller. The appointment was fairly quick. He examined my teeth and we talked about why I wanted Invisilign. My biggest concern is a top lateral incisor (left) that is currently hanging out at a 55? angle. My canines are slightly crooked in my crowded mouth so I have a very vampiric smile but honestly, the fangs have never bothered me. If they aren’t complete fixed by the end of treatment, I wouldn’t be upset.

I learned a few things about my teeth during the exam: My teeth are crowded, and my bite is off. Instead of my teeth sitting together and almost locking (like normal, apparently everyone knew this but me) my resting bite has my teeth resting completely on top of one another. The doctor said this would be something he would correct also, but I am a good candidate for Invisilign. Yay me!

His assistant put all of the work into the computer and gave me an estimate. $4,870. Honestly, it was about what I was expecting. Teeth aren’t cheap, but they’re certainly worth it. I told them I couldn’t make a deposit that day, but I would be back after tax season. I was told that they would like $1,000 down to get the process started. The assistant gave me the photos they took of my teeth and the estimate paperwork and I went on my merry way.

Attachments were brought up in my first visit, as were elastic bands. Whatever brings the best results is worth it.

December to May

The holidays and a bunch of birthdays came and went. I put a little money aside here and there but not enough to get started at Bountiful Ortho in April like I had wanted. I watched hours of Invisilign videos on YouTube and probably obsessed more than I should. I have Humama dental insurance I purchased for myself (the joys of working for a two person business, no benefits. Yay.) and MetLife for TriCare since my husband was active duty reserve. The Humana is less than $20 a month and I mainly purchased it to get cleanings twice a year and a filling or two if necessary. The MetLife did everything else. I didn’t think either insurance would help with the orthodontics since I was adult, but I was wrong! My cheapy Humana plan would end up giving me a $760.50 discount. After I called and verified with Bountiful Ortho in the middle of April, I made my appointment to get the imaging done of my teeth for Invisilign the next month and started ferreting money away like crazy.

May 19, 2015

I was late to my 8:00 a.m. appointment. I hate being late! Traffic was a nightmare between Clinton and Bountiful and it took me forty minutes to get there. Bountiful Ortho took me into the financial office when I arrived and I got all of the necessary paperwork done, deposit paid, monthly payments set up, with no interest by the way, to be paid off before I finish treatment. Treatment was estimated to be 15 months, but it could be longer, it just depends on my teeth and how well I do taking care of them. The nice thing about Bountiful Ortho is they are one of the offices with the new technology for mapping/imaging my teeth. Instead of the yucky trays I’ve heard about in many reviews, I had a imaging/wand-thing taking scans of each tooth and making a composite of my mouth. The wand blows air lightly as it worked. Nothing painful but boy, did it dry my mouth out. The whole process took about half an hour. I spoke with the assistant about the likelihood of needing IPR (she said it was possible and would likely be done when I came in for my first tray) and that was that.

Waiting for my first trays.

I feel like I’m fixated on everyone’s teeth. Crooked, straight, not-so-white, I’m turning into a tooth snob! I’ve looked closely at my own teeth and noticed a few not-so-straight ones that I hope will be fixed. I also have decided that IPR is very likely for my itty-bitty gap at the top of my front teeth to close. I’m slightly apprehensive, but I trust the orthodontist and am eagerly awaiting my ClinCheck.

Neglected to share a full teeth photo, so here it is. Definitely going to get some whitening done post treatment.

One week until the Invisalign! My trays came in about two weeks ago but given I need at least an hour to get everything started, we had to calendar out a little bit. No complaints from me, however. I got an appointment close to the end of the day so I won't be going back to work afterwards.

I know I'll be taking the trays out for eating, brushing, etc. but I'm enjoying my last few days of snacking without consequence. I hope this will force me to greatly limit my soda intake also.

Back in a week for the post-appointment post.