Before the Begining

Over the last few years I have read a lot of blogs. A LOT. They really helped me understand what I would be in for if I chose Invisalign from a patients point of view, not just the happy, smiley, perky brochures that make it all seem so simple.

So I figured that starting my own blog may be a help to someone else out there as well as a way to track the changes to my own smile.

A little bit of background is probably the best way to start.

I am a 22 year old female living in Australia and have been up and down in terms of liking my smile over the years. In my mid-to-late-teens I hated my smile with a passion and set out to fix that. After many orthodontist visits it was decided that braces really were a no go. After being informed it would be a 3 1/2 year ordeal with a lot of bands and really not a great chance at a nice outcome I had to suck it up and get used to the fact that I had to live with what I had.

Now don't get me wrong, there's a lot more that could be wrong with them. I have some crowding on the lower front teeth, a few rotated teeth on the lower, and one crooked tooth on the upper (unfortunately it just happens to be right next to a front tooth so it's noticeable). Now that doesn't sound too bad does it? Just a little crowded and a few crooked teeth.Simple to fix! However when you throw in a bottom jaw that's bigger than my top and it becomes a whole lot more complicated to fix.

For a while I decided that if I couldn't have straight teeth I would at least have some perfect shiny pearly whites to flash around. I spent a lot of time and money keeping them clean and as white as possible. But deep down I still hated them. 

As I got into my late-teens I was beginning to get a lot of pressure in my cheekbones and my bottom and tom front teeth were pressing against each other hard enough to cause little chips here and there. I was so unhappy that I went back to the orthodontist to see what could be done and got the same response however he did mention that I should check out Invisalign, that it was a long shot but a pro might just be able to help.

My quest was on again! After a lot of research, a lot of blog reading, and 4 orthodontist visits later I finally had an answer. IT COULD BE DONE!  

I was really confident in the orthodontist I had chosen. He had over 25 years of orthodontic experience, almost 10 purely in Invisalign, was a university lecturer and during the consultation covered a whole lot more than any other orthodontist ever had. He mentioned exactly how he would  personally address my case, had X-rays done BEFORE the consultation, told me how it all works in detail (not just 'pop them in, switch them every two weeks and you're done!') even including that there are different shapes of attachments to do different things.

I had found my orthodontist. The next hurdle was money. My health insurance didn't cover orthodontics and I was quoted the hefty price of $7000. Although there were payment plans available I wanted to save as much of that $7000 as possible before starting. I worked my butt off, saved as much as possible.......and then it all came to a screaming halt when a workplace injury put my life on hold for 3 years.

3 years down the line, now a full time uni student, and with more issues with my teeth than 3 years ago I'm starting all over again. Luckily this time my health insurance will cover a portion of the cost and I have most of the money saved.

So that's were I'm at now. $200 off my savings goal and looking at another consultation in a few weeks.

Hopefully things haven't changed too much in the last few years even though I've noticed a few small changes (more of that next times)