I never felt prettier than the week I got married. I was slender, young, toned and my hair looked fabulous.
We spent our honeymoon in a scenic, rural area. One day my new husband and I were out seeing the sights and stopped at a country store for a cold drink.
There was a little girl near the ice chest where we were selecting our bottles of coke. She was staring at me, watching me talk to my husband. I gave her a big smile.”She must not see a lot of stylish city women like me,” I though, tossing my glossy mane.
She looked at me, took a deep breath and said: “Yor toof is backards.”
What a gut punch.
I thought I was all Audrey Hepburn in front of Tiffany & Co., and with one sentence that little kid made me feel like Audrey Hepburn at the start of My Fair Lady.
I do have crooked teeth and sometimes it makes me very self-conscious.
I’ve already had my older two kids through braces and I’m very proud I could provide them with something that was beyond my parents’ reach.
My sons had a decent experience with standard metal braces, but there were plenty of problems.
- Brackets broke and required an extra trip to the orthodontist, sometimes at a cost.
- The metal irritated their gums and cheeks to the point of bleeding.
- Food got stuck in their braces and stayed there until they went to brush.
- Sports and playing some musical instruments could be painful, if not impossible.
- I had to constantly check their oral hygiene since slackness in that area while you have metal braces could result in permanent tooth damage around the spot where the brackets are cemented to the tooth.
- They hated not being able to eat what they wanted. Our ortho told us even pizza crusts could be too much for the wires to handle, let alone apples, chips, carrots and anything chewy, like gum or taffy.
- They each had two years when they couldn’t eat popcorn at the movies. No fun when you are fifteen and want to fit in with your friends.
- They wouldn’t smile in pictures. I am chalking this one up to the braces.
I have two younger children–pre-teens who will need braces soon–and I want something different for them.
My research has led me to Invisalign. Invisalign is an orthodontic treatment that uses a series of clear, nearly invisible, removable appliances that gently straighten teeth.
Each tray, changed every few weeks, moves the teeth a little more into the proper position.
Invisalign trays can be removed for eating, important photographs, and make it so easy to thoroughly clean your teeth, eliminating all the problems we experienced with metal braces.
New technology makes Invisalign available to more people that ever since new Invisalign G3 can now be used by patients with a crossbite, overbite or underbite, or with teeth that are severely crowded or widely spaced.
This is a big step forward since one of my kids had a crossbite that required a metal appliance spanning the roof of her mouth, requiring a little wrench to twist it farther apart to move her teeth. Ouch! It was very cumbersome, affected her speech the whole time and made her lisp.
Find out more at Invisalign.com or find an orthodontist in your area experienced with Invisalign who can tell you if it’s right for you or for your teen.
I recommend getting more than one opinion. We went to several doctors for consultations before our traditional metal braces and found services and prices vary enough to help decide on a provider.
Straight teeth are about more than vanity. Teeth that are aligned properly are easier to keep clean and might make the difference in having a healthy smile that lasts your whole life.
And then the worst thing that happens to you after your wedding day will be writing all those thank you notes.
This is a compensated post for Invisalign, but all opinions are my own.
I'm extremely interested in braces for my son, so this post was helpful to me. Thanks, Nota!
One of mine just got braces off (traditional wire) and for the money I spent ($5000), I sure wish he got better results. And now the retainer nightmare- if I can get him to wear it, it makes his speech sound funny. Like a lisp, but not totally. What a drag, especially since they say one is supposed to wear the retainer "indefinitely" or "as long as you want your teeth to stay straight and not shift"… what? Forever? !
Now my 3rd son needs braces, and we had the initial consultation at the Dental School. The cost is a lot less, but they don't offer any options. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. I wonder now….. I'm not sure he qualifies for Invisalign or if we could afford them. Our old babysitter had Invisalign, btw, and her teeth are beautiful. Her grandmother paid the difference for the "upgrade" for her.
If I didn't have SEVEN I wouldn't worry quite so much. 🙁
Amy, Invisalign price can vary based on where you live and who your orthodontist is, but what you paid for metal braces is the average cost of Invisalign.
Susan, I'm glad it was helpful. If you see an ortho, let me know what your experience is like.
Feel free to contact me privately.
Both of my girls will need braces. Right now, we are waiting for a few more adult teeth to come in for my younger daughter. For my older daughter, we were told to wait until she is almost done growing because otherwise whatever is done to her bite may be un-done if she has a growth spurt. Not looking forward to payments!!
That's what we are waiting for–all baby teeth out, all molars in.
My son's wisdom teeth erupted after his braces were off, so we had them pulled then. It was my wisdom teeth that really made my teeth crowded.
Ok, but how do you attach the headgear??!! Ha ha!
No headgear, but if they had it I bet it would be clear plastic.
I'm seriously considering Invisalign as a present to myself before I turn 50. I have two friends who used them. One of them I knew when she was wearing them and the results were fabulous. The other friend has a beautiful smile and I found out later that she had used them as an adult, too. So that's where 'm leaning. This was an encouraging post.
Thanks, Robin. I think invisible braces are a great choice for adults. It would make me feel like I was a kid to have metal mouth for two years.
I think very soon Invisalign will be the industry standard and metal braces will be a thing of the past.
Great post!
I love the results I got from my invisalign. As you age your teeth tend to crowd together at the bottom causing changes in the shape of your face. Invisalign reversed this process and my teeth and gums have never been healthier because of all the flossing I do now.
I loved my results so much that I talked my husband into getting them and he's about 2/3 of the way through his treatment.
I was happy that I didn't have to wear metal braces as an adult. I'm a real fan of invisalign.
I didn't get braces until I was a SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL because my dad thought it was an unnecessary cosmetic vanity. By that time, I had TMJ so bad I often couldn't open my mouth wide enough to eat and had constant painful jaw popping. My orthodonist said I would have to wear braces for at least six years with two years of headgear and that my jaw would possibly have to be broken and reset. Oh, hell, no. I was the best orthodontic patient ever and got those things off in two years with no headgear. Sometimes I wonder if my results would have been as good if I had gotten my braces when I was younger like everyone else and was too immature to follow directions or take care of my oral hygiene. It's exciting to see the progress Invisilign is making in treatment options. I wish they had been an option when my boys had their braces. Finally the orthodontist took them off because they were so noncompliant with treatment the braces were doing more harm than good. Maybe they can have a do-over when they get their own insurance!