I am a 42 year old female who had braces twenty years ago to correct minor/moderate crowding on my top teeth. I stopped wearing my retainer (bad move!) about six or seven years ago. Of course my crowding returned - although I am beginning this treatment before it gets as bad as it was before braces. I contacted Smile Care Club (out of Nashville, TN) around October 2014. I uploaded photos (kind of difficult to take some of them) and after a few hiccups, received my impression kit in November. I sent in my impressions in late November and received my starter aligner a few weeks after that. I tried it on and called them to okay the fit around Christmas, then received my a box of ten aligners on January 6, 2015. I am on a 20 aligner plan and was told it would take 15 months. I attribute a longer than expected treatment to the fact that I am getting my bottom teeth straightened, which I did not do twenty years ago. I am a little disappointed that each aligner set has to be worn three weeks (instead of Invisalign's two weeks) but it's not the end of the world. So far I have received excellent customer service during the handful of times that I've had to call and chat with someone. I am a tiny bit skeptical about the treatment due to the drastically lower cost than what I was quoted for Invisalign and the fact that Smile Care Club is a new company. I am willing to take the chance though because the price is about 60% less than my other quote and I don't have to commit to regular office visits - yahoo! (unless something goes awry). So I am on my first days of my first aligner and have virtually no discomfort other than a little soreness when I brush my teeth. So far so good!
SmileCareClub Clear Braces Review - Nashville, TN
Second Aligners
I put in my second set of aligners yesterday evening. The fit seemed tighter than the first ones and I have a little more soreness but nothing terrible. I find that I'm wearing them on average 18-19 hours a day so I'm going to try to step that up with this second set. I haven't really noticed any difference in my teeth but will post a pic if I see a change. See you on the third set!
Third Set In
Put in my third aligner set last night. Very little discomfort. I noticed that my teeth are whiter than they have been in years. All the brushing and flossing are keeping them in great shape. I've also lost about five pounds since the start lol. No more snacking!!
On my Fourth Set
I put in my fourth set a couple of days ago. These seemed a tiiiiny bit tighter than previous aligners but it was no problem. Initial soreness and they feel weird on my molars but that always happens at first. I did receive a notice from SmileCare that I must submit photos for them to monitor my progress. I think the overlap on my front teeth is getting better and I feel a little bit of extra space between a few teeth that wasn't there before (when I floss) but nothing major. It's a slow process lol but that's okay - much better than trying to hurry up and not giving my teeth time to adjust. If I see anything notable in the pictures I take for the SmileCare docs, I'll be sure to post one or two here. As I usually say - so far, so good!
5th Aligner Set In
Not much to say - put in my new aligners last night. A little soreness this AM but nothing serious. The overlap on my top teeth is definitely a little better but the bottom teeth don't really show any change that I can see. After this set I will be 25% done! Everything is going well - the pics I sent in during the last aligner change were approved. I am on track . . . see you in three weeks!
6th Set In
Put in my sixth set last night - I'm a quarter of the way through! Yay! No more pain than usual. Everything seems to be going great. I am posting a pic to show the progress. My front teeth overlap is better and the bottom row is starting to straighten a little. It seems to be straightening from one side to the other because there is now a gap on the right side of my bottom teeth that didn't used to be there. My thought is that the teeth on the left are slowly being pushed in that direction and the gap that was formed is giving them room.
Next Set In - Number 7
Well, I guess no news is good news when it comes to something like this lol. Put in my new aligners last night - moderate soreness - nothing major. They are requesting progress photos. I don't exactly enjoy taking them but am grateful there is someone checking on me regularly. Small price to pay for a great smile!! Won't be posting any pix this time because the change is so very minor from the last tray but I might post some pix next time around. See you in three weeks!
Set 8 In
I suppose I am getting repetitive . . . all is well. New aligners went in - minor discomfort - everything is rolling along nicely. Will post pics perhaps next set or the one after. See you in a few weeks.
Ninth Set In
Put in my 9th set last night. Very little discomfort. Progress is still subtle so I'll take pix after this set. Almost half way through! Going great!
10th Aligners
I am about a week late posting this - apologies. Put in tenth set - had a little more pain than usual but nothing to really write home about. Soreness lasted two or three days as opposed to barely one. I also sent in progress photos as I seem to do about every two months. I am posting a pic but not sure I see any real difference. I think at this point the real work is being done on my bottom teeth. I only had braces on my top teeth (so many years ago) so my bottom teeth needed quite a bit more work. Here you go!
First Hiccup With Treatment :-(
I sent in progress photos on July 21 - about a week after starting my tenth aligners. I just heard back today that they want me to go back to my ninth aligners for three weeks. This makes little sense to me because the ninth aligners no longer fit and my tenth aligners are almost loose. Weird to go backwards. I am waiting on a call back for clarification. I really hope it's just miscommunication. That's going to add a month and a half to my treatment :-(
Off the Rails a Bit!
Sorry for the absence! Last update I was told to return to my 9th aligners for three weeks, then go on to ten etc. Well, that didn't exactly happen. I decided to keep my 10th in for an extra week or so then go on to my 11th. This of course is foolhardy and I do not recommend anyone NOT take the advice of their medical professional. Three weeks later, when I went to change from 11 to 12, I realized that I had been wearing 12 the whole time (or perhaps 11 part of the time and then 12). I have NO IDEA how this happened. Basically I skipped (or partially skipped) a whole aligner set. Because the 12th aligners were loose when I went to change them, I forged ahead with 13. They seem to fit perfectly and there's been no extra discomfort. I am due to send in progress shots in a couple of weeks so I am going to let them know what happened. Hopefully I will still be tracking properly. I hesitated writing this because I don't want to give anyone the idea that skipping aligners or not following advice is okay. At the end of the day though, I want to give a full and truthful account of my adventure. I'm also posting a pic. Docs that are following this, please be gentle with me . . . I've chided myself quite a bit :-)
15th Aligners
Sorry I've been remiss in updating! After the hiccups earlier this year, I can report that all is well. I am a week in to my 15th aligners and so far so good! I will post pictures when I switch in a couple of weeks.
Halfway Through 16th Set
Hey there - Sorry for being so slack. So far so good . . . I'm posting a pic. BTW my teeth are not yellow like they look in the pic ha! Yikes! Need better lighting.
Almost Done!
Hi guys - Just an update - I am putting in my last aligner next week. I'll post pics when finished. So far so good!
Service has been excellent thus far but this is a do it yourself project to some degree so the ratings below are not the most accurate.
5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5 stars
