A Pain in the Butt, but Worth It

I grew up extremely poor, without proper access to dental care, and with very crooked, genetically bad teeth. As anyone who’s been poor and gone without dental insurance can tell you, it’s pretty much impossible to pay for something like braces in that situation.

I’d resigned myself to having crooked teeth, to the point where I actually started to like them. However, it was hard to keep them properly clean, and eventually I got tired of constantly dealing with cavities. Now that I’m in my 30s and well established in my career, I could afford to do something about them, so my dentist and I went with Invisalign.

Not gonna lie: it’s a pain in the butt. You can only have your aligners out for 2 hours a day, total, and having to tote your toothbrush with you everywhere you go gets tiring. In my case, treatment has lasted well over a year, so I’m good and sick of it. I’ll also need a retainer for the rest of my life.

HOWEVER. The results are totally worth it. I didn’t realize just how much my teeth had changed until I saw myself smiling on Zoom today and realized they were straight for the first time in my life. I do miss the quirkiness of my crooked teeth, but not enough to go back to the way they were, especially now that it’s so much easier to keep them properly clean.