Braceface in my 30s

I am currently nearly 40 weeks into my ‘Invisalign’ treatment with 2 weeks left (hopefully); I cannot wait for this to be over.

So my teeth were never crooked until I fell off my bike when I was 18. I hit the pavement face first and knocked the left side of my face. I knocked one of my front teeth behind the other, and pushed some of my top teeth on the left side forward. It was not very bad at the time but unfortunately teeth move, and I felt that my front tooth was getting further behind and wondered how well I was cleaning the tooth that was slowly disappearing behind the other.

My own dentist recommended the orthodontist she had used - another bike accident had knocked her teeth - bikes are dangerous!! And I went to see her, an obviously decided to go for it. At the time I was also seeing lots of adverts online for invisible braces but teeth are so important & if something goes wrong then you want to be able to go and see someone directly. I mean I know you are paying for the braces, and the treatment at an orthodontist is definitely more expensive than just buying the braces online but the support of someone nearby should I need it, the fact that at the end of my original treatment (28 weeks) the orthodontist was not happy with the outcome so new pictures were taken, and a new set of braces were ordered (covered by the original treatment price), checkups every 6 weeks to make sure everything is going to plan.

There are loads of videos online about the braces but these are the additional (less obvious) things I have noticed!

Pros

Other than straight teeth at the end, what are the other pros? Well if you have a tendency to snack all day, you will definitely lose weight. Having to take your braces out to eat and drink is a royal pain. You eat less.

The clear braces are really not that noticeable. Most people don’t even realise I am wearing braces and that includes 2 elastics that I am wearing to improve my ‘bite.’ Do beware of the flash on the camera though - not often but occasionally the flashback has made me look as though I have a set of gold teeth!

The fact that they are removable is good. Even though you have to wear them for about 22 hour a day, if I have an occasion where I would prefer not to have them then I can leave them out for the day!

Since my accident I have suffered with pain and problems with my TMJ - my jaw locked and clicked a lot, and I often had a lot pain talking or chewing. The orthodontist also told me that my jaw moved to one side really obviously when i talked (I spent the next two weeks talking behind my hand as I was so self conscious) but the braces and elastics have all but eliminated this problem.

Cons

The fact that you can remove them means you can lose them. Many a time an unsuspecting waiter/waitress or even my boyfriend has cleared a serviette with my braces in them. Only once I didn’t get them back, and this can be an expensive mistake. I was lucky as was changing my braces that evening anyway…

I feel bad about the environment. Each new set of my plastic braces comes in another tiny plastic bag… it just feels wrong. And of course, they are not recyclable… I feel I am selling another part of my soul to the devil every time I open the next set.

My boyfriend loved the imperfection of my overlapping teeth. I mean he still loves me but initially he did not love the idea of me having straight teeth.

Invisalign usually require you to have what are called buttons or attachments on your teeth to help the braces push your teeth. These can come off and you may have to have these redone at your checkup sessions. I don’t want to lie, or scare you but having these on and off is the least pleasant part of the whole thing. Especially taking them off in the end - I didn’t enjoy that at all. But it is worth it in the end!

Cooking is harder. You cannot taste sauces or dishes like you would do normally! 22 hours of the day is a lot - so you really only want to take them out when you really need to (unless you want to extend the time you have braces - i didn’t want)!

Edit: it is almost 6 months since I have been brace-free. I updated the picture as well so you can see the clear before and after. I am still so happy every time I see my teeth when I smile either in the mirror or in a picture. I love my straight teeth!

My jaw remains much better than it was - I still have occasional pain but it is nowhere near as often or as bad.

And regarding that jaw swinging to the left when I talk - which was absolutely horrifying - this also seems to have been resolved. I think that having to wear the elastics has forced my jaw to be better aligned so the TMJ pain has gone, and also my jaw isn’t swinging when I talk. I think I would have worn the braces and elastics to solve that problem alone!

After the braces were finished, I had a small metal wire put behind my front teeth on both the top and the bottom. I also had molds taken and have a brace that I am supposed to wear every night. This is a bit different to the Invisalign and was very uncomfortable the first few nights, but aside from the severe lisp it gives me (that hasn’t lessened at all over time) and the drooling in my sleep (eurgh I know - but it’s the truth AND it has improved loads) I barely notice it at all now, and I wear it every night.

For me the whole process has been totally worth it. I would totally recommend Invisalign, and having straight teeth has really improved my own confidence.

Just want to have my teeth whitened now…

Let me know if you are thinking of having this done, and have any questions! Happy to answer what I can.

Sho xxx