The Planets Have Begun to Invisalign

For most of my adult life I have been unhappy with my smile.

I wouldn’t say that it has caused me self esteem issues, because I feel as if I have a strong enough sense of the things that are actually important in life. I know enough to realize that something like imperfect teeth make no difference in who I am as a person or what I have to offer in life or bring to the table.

However, that being said, it’s still something that has bothered me for years and caused me to be more self conscious than I normally would be.

Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I’m a very happy person and spend most of my time having fun and laughing. But whenever I see my smile, I personally don’t feel that it reflects that same joy that I’m feeling inside. And I find that it causes me to not smile at times. Or, if I do, I try to adjust my smile into one that doesn’t feel natural or genuine in order to hide the imperfections. And in doing so, it perverts the happiness I am feeling and stifles me from being the happy person that I am.

It got to the point where I felt like my constant lack of a real smile was only drawing more attention to the problem, so nowadays I try to at least muster something resembling a full-tooth grin, but never feel comfortable or happy in doing so. And if pictures are being taken, then once I see them, all I can notice are the imperfections in my smile.

Like I already said, I know it’s not something that determines anything about who I am as a person, and I am probably the only person on the planet who even notices it enough to care, but it is something that has bothered me for well over a decade, so I’ve finally decided that I am going to do something about it.

Last night I had an Invisalign consultation with an orthodontist from whom a friend of mine received her Invisalign treatment. They discussed everything with me, walked me through the procedure and showed me examples of previous patients who had similar teeth issues as I currently have, some crowding on the top row of teeth and a slight underbite.

I agreed to go ahead with the procedure, and spent the rest of my consultation filling out paperwork, having tons of pictures taken of my mouth from every possible angle, getting panoramic x-rays of my mouth, and having molds/impressions made of my teeth. And while it’s going to be pretty expensive and I’m a little concerned right now with how I’ll manage to scrape up the cash to pay for it all, I’m optimistic that once treatment is over it will have been worth every penny.

This does mean the Disney Vacation Club I was working toward will have to be put on hold for the time being, and while that does sadden me, I know that this is a more important investment to me at this point in my life so I’ve made my peace with that decision.

I’m a born worrier; a trait I got from my mother, so naturally in the back of my head there are concerns. What if it’s painful? What if my treatment ends up lasting two or more years? What if I spend all of this money on it and (gulp) it doesn’t work?

I’m confident that I will see at least some good results though. The doctor I am seeing is considered one of the top Invisalign specialists in the country and he handles some of the most extreme cases that there have been. So I know I’m in good hands.

Now I just have to sit tight and wait about six to eight weeks for the doctor and Align (the company that makes Invisalign) to examine my x-rays/pictures/impressions and agree on the best process for getting my teeth where they need to be. Once that happens, they can make the actual aligners that will do the job and then I can start the whole treatment. I’m a very impatient person, so I wish it didn’t take so long, but I’m trying to remind myself that good things come to those who wait and that it will all be worth it in the end.

I’m toying with the idea of chronicling my Invisalign journey in the blog with updates and pictures as the treatment progresses, but I haven’t made any decisions on that yet. I’m not sure the entire world needs or wants to see the inside of my mouth.

Although, once I finish treatment and have a smile that I am finally proud of, I have a feeling I’m going to be showing everyone I meet.

The world is going to be sick and tired of seeing these chompers if it’s the last thing I do!