Today was Day 1 in my journey to straight teeth.
I was blessed with far too many teeth for my mouth early on. When I was at school, they weren't overly bad, just one front tooth a little out of line and the bottom overlapped a little (you rarely see the bottom though so it was never really an issue). Not enough for me to justify getting braces and the impending social doom associated with it. Teenage Vanity at its best.
As I have gotten older my teeth have continued to move, to the point that I hate smiling in photos and even looking at them in the mirror. My fiance' says I have no need to change anything, they are fine the way they are etc. I suppose it is always more noticeable for the owner of the flaw than anyone else. Our mouths draws so much attention in everyday conversation though that I think a tooth realignment will see a huge improvement to my self confidence.
So after much research on Orthodontic procedures to improve my smile I stumbled upon Invisalign. I read forums and examined all the before and after photos I could to see if anyone had a similar situation to me... looking for any hope to be able to fix my smile with this invisible miracle cure. I realised after a while self diagnosis was never going to work so I took the first step by making an appointment.
I wasn't sure what to expect, only that I may not be eligible for Invisalign and then I would be back to square one and have to contemplate metal braces.
I made it to the clinic without managing to come up with an excuse to cancel or delay my date with destiny. Once there I had a good chat to the Ortho about what I wanted and she took me through all the different options. Traditional metal braces, clear braces, braces fixed to the inside of your teeth, and Invisalign - the clear winner in my eyes.
My Ortho seems to think that Invisalign will be an option but needs to wait for my X-Rays to be returned and consult with another Orthodontist before they will give me the go ahead. There would also be the possibility that I would go through Invisalign to a certain point and may need to finish it off with a 6 month stint of braces. Which I guess would be doable - whats six months right? I guess I will just have to wait and see in two weeks time.
They did give me a quote though, which wasn't as much as I was expecting. $7,500 AUD which would include all aligners, refinements etc. It would also cover the braces at the end should I need them. Considering clear braces would be $6,800 AUD I think that the price is definitely worth the advantage of being inconspicuous.
Fingers crossed I get good news in two weeks time!
