invisalign lite braces | perfecting a not-so-crooked smile

16th March 2016

At first glance no doubt you will think I am mental for deciding to get braces and put myself through what is perceived to be a drastic and difficult ordeal, when my teeth already look the way that they do. To the untrained eye my teeth are great, in fact even to the trained eye my teeth are great, if I do say so myself. But I have a confession which may not just shock you but also explain my reasoning behind the treatment. For 14 years, from the very moment the doctor put the stethoscope to my Mum’s tummy, the distinct sound of little me could be heard sucking my fingers and that sound didn’t cease until I was well into high school. Luckily the damage was not too extensive but both my top and bottom teeth had been pushed out of align, with my bottom teeth starting to grow into area’s that they shouldn’t causing discomfort as well as lop-sided bottom teeth. Having corrected my discoloured teeth, I now found myself focusing on the other area’s of my teeth that weren’t quite right and decided I wanted to look further in to cosmetic dentistry options, starting with straightening my teeth. I decided to speak to my Dentist which I had recently registered with, a stones throw from my home, Claydon Dental, which is a new concept practice who have worked tirelessly to develop an environment and ambiance that feels more like a Spa than it does a dentist. Although I have never been one to be scared of the dentists, even I appreciated the calming and friendly atmosphere that they have created, every time I visit. Due to the subtle nature of my case we discussed and settled on the Invisalign Lite series which costs around £3800 for the entire treatment. My dentist Neil started […]

At first glance no doubt you will think I am mental for deciding to get braces and put myself through what is perceived to be a drastic and difficult ordeal, when my teeth already look the way that they do. To the untrained eye my teeth are great, in fact even to the trained eye my teeth are great, if I do say so myself. But I have a confession which may not just shock you but also explain my reasoning behind the treatment. For 14 years, from the very moment the doctor put the stethoscope to my Mum’s tummy, the distinct sound of little me could be heard sucking my fingers and that sound didn’t cease until I was well into high school. Luckily the damage was not too extensive but both my top and bottom teeth had been pushed out of align, with my bottom teeth starting to grow into area’s that they shouldn’t causing discomfort as well as lop-sided bottom teeth.

Having corrected my discoloured teeth, I now found myself focusing on the other area’s of my teeth that weren’t quite right and decided I wanted to look further in to cosmetic dentistry options, starting with straightening my teeth. I decided to speak to my Dentist which I had recently registered with, a stones throw from my home, Claydon Dental, which is a new concept practice who have worked tirelessly to develop an environment and ambiance that feels more like a Spa than it does a dentist. Although I have never been one to be scared of the dentists, even I appreciated the calming and friendly atmosphere that they have created, every time I visit.

Due to the subtle nature of my case we discussed and settled on the Invisalign Lite series which costs around £3800 for the entire treatment. My dentist Neil started by taking a selection of images of my mouth before booking me in for a thorough hygiene appointment. Following this appointment I was invited back to watch a computer generated video showing exactly how my teeth will change over the next four months. Once I had decided that I wanted to go a head with the treatment I had moulds taken of my mouth, both top and bottom, before sending them off to have my braces made. With Invisalign you change your braces every 2 weeks until the end of the treatment, which push and pull your teeth ever so gently into their final, straightened position with each new set of trays.

I received my first set of trays a week ago now and due to the sheer volume of requests which flooded in from Snapchat, I decided to document my 4 month treatment on a monthly basis. The start of the treatment was quite tough, I had some issues talking due to some sharp edges on the trays which I had to endure whilst in Paris before rushing to the dentist, fresh off the Eurostar, to have them filed down. But once that was all smoothed out, lol, and the dull ache of my teeth from the first set of trays had subsided, I have really gotten used to them and settled into my new routines.

I think the thing that has shocked me the most is how absolutely no-one has noticed that I got braces. Not one single person, and in my mind I thought that everyone would know and it would be extremely embarrassing but it has been quite the contrary. People only know when I apologise for myself for “sounding funny” but again every single time I have been met with blank expressions of “what are you chatting about Lydia?” because honestly no one has noted any change in my speech. Changes I have noticed are only when I remove the trays to eat or clean them, the inside of my mouth feels strange, almost foreign, as If there is already substantial movement.

I thought this was going to be an extremely difficult and testing treatment but so far I’m taking it all in my stride and am eager to report back next month.

To register with Claydon Dental or discuss Invisalign treatments visit their website here.