You may recall we were curious about this treatment that has celebrities, teens and people from all walks of life, skipping the horror of metallic braces. We sent Rescu. reader Jennifer Wilson on her own Invisalign journey, which started in May of 2015.
After 15 months, the results are in, as are her personal experience with this procedure.
The upside
I’d finally made it to the end of my 27 aligner journey. And whilst in the beginning I thought this would be a pretty hard slog (and the first few weeks certainly were a little tenuous), the time flew by and the changes are nothing short of miraculous.
The way I smile has changed too and I feel that the shape of my mouth is also different. Nothing dramatic and really hard to put your finger on exactly what it is, but is just…better. I’ve also found that a number of people I haven’t seen in some time think I’ve done something different with my hair, or make up – those wonderful comments like “wow, you look great – what have you done”?! Which makes perfect sense considering when I used to put my top and bottom teeth together – they were way out of alignment. And my bite is totally different now too so my jaw sits differently.
The downside
It’s funny how some weeks seemed to be easier than others – and this all comes down to what particular movement is being required and worked on at different times. But as you progress with Invisalign, you are so used to the process and what it involves that I think the second half of the process is just naturally easier. And your teeth are also used to their ‘training’ of being moved – so they seem somehow less resistant and don’t seem to put up quite the same ‘fight’ that they do in the beginning of the treatment.
Verdict?
The funny thing about the final consultation however, is that after going through so many months of improvement – you want the final result to be absolutely perfect. And the wonderful thing with Invisalign is that you have the opportunity to fully discuss with the orthodontist the exact ‘look’ you want. And together, we both decided that a ‘refinement’ was going to be necessary to nut out a few tiny imperfections. There are also no extra fees are incurred for any revision / refinement work. We felt that a couple of teeth could still do with some assistance and extra movement to attain the perfection I wanted!
The final result truly does give me the Julia Roberts / Amal Clooney smile that I was looking for. Not only are my teeth now straight – but my smile seems more even as well.
And so it was with my straight teeth and a wider smile – my first stop was to Mecca for new lip shades – and I now smile widely when it comes to picture time.
Before/after
Before
After