Love my Smile - Phoenix, AZ

I did invisalign in 2008. I was in my mid thirties and always hated my teeth. Growing up there were 4 of us that all needed braces, but not enough money to go around. Since I had the best teeth in the bunch, I didn't get them.

I have always been self conscience of my teeth. I had two really prominent front teeth with laterals that were short, so I looked like I had bunny teeth. In addition, I had a really narrow arch. I really was a better candidate for braces, but wouldn't even consider a mouth full of metal at my age. I searched for a provider with a lot of experience on invisalign's web page. My regular dentist did it, but I didn't want someone who dabbled in it. I wanted a seasoned pro.

On my initial consult, he said he thought I would be done in a year max. My teeth were pretty jacked up. When my trays came in, I had 21 on the bottom an 18 on the top. I was very pleased that I would be done so quickly. I had 4 attachments, but they were all on lower teeth that couldn't be seen, even better. Well, about 6 months in, I had teeth that weren't tracking properly. I really should have had a mid course refinement, but my dentist said lets keep going.

Well, I finished all my trays and he said I needed a refinement and it should be about 6 trays. I was bummed because I was so ready to be done, but my teeth weren't straight. I waited about a month for my refinements to come in. I had a major breakdown when they did! My refinements were 18 trays and to make it worse, I had two attachments on my lateral teeth. I cried right in the office. It was like starting all over again. To me a refinement was a tweak. 18 trays was essentially where I started!

If I had blogged during this entire experience, you would be getting quite the ear full. It was annoying and I had lots of bumps in the road. BUT at the end of the day, it is one of the best things I ever did for myself. Moving teeth doesn't happen overnight and isn't painless. Overall, the discomfort was minimal and the results fantastic. I love my smile. I always thought I had big ugly horse teeth. My dentist kept telling me what beautiful teeth I had. Now that they are straight, I agree!

There is nothing that makes a person more approachable and beautiful than a smile. I always held back. embarrassed by my "hillbilly" teeth. My only regret, I didn't do it sooner.

As a side, my husband had braces as a teen. He wore his retainers for two years like they said and then was done with them. His teeth all moved and were extremely crowded. You would never know he had braces to begin with. I convinced him to do Invisalign about 6 months ago. I was worried he wouldn't be compliant (I was extremely compliant 22 hours per day) but he has done a great job. I think he has 6 trays left. He says the discomfort is nothing compared to traditional braces. He paid 5k for his.