Embarrassed about your smile? Trust me I’ve been there and I know it all too well. You’re afraid to laugh too loud without your hand in from or your mouth. You maintain a no-teeth smile at all times and especially in photos. People ask if you’re okay because you look sad because you’re not smiling. You’re afraid to eat certain things in public because you worry about getting it stuck in your teeth.
There’s nothing worse than trying to hold back or covering up something so genuine or authentic as a smile.
Having the ultimate freedom to laugh and smile as I please is something that is so liberating I can’t even begin to contain my excitement about wrapping up my Invisalign treatment with Lawen Dentistry. Not only were they a pleasure to work with, but I finally have a confident smile.
Let’s backtrack a little here because while I wish I could tell you that Invisalign is all sunshine and rainbows, of course, nothing worth having ever is.
The first week with my Invisalign was a learning curve, not only did I stain them REALLY bad by drinking too much black tea, my boyfriend’s mom threw them in the garbage because I put them in a napkin on the kitchen table.
I would also be lying if I didn’t tell you that I also felt some pretty intense doubt about how I would cope with them while doing what I do for a living; which requires me being in front of a camera and speaking a HUGE chunk of the time.
While I quietly said to myself “what have I gotten myself into” more than once in the first few days those feelings quickly passed because I saw some great results really fast. As well there’s a digital projection that shows where your teeth will end up, so it’s pretty good motivation when you can see your actual results.
And in true Kayla fashion, I definitely over-reacted initially lol It really wasn’t a big deal at all. I just needed to find my groove for cleaning them (I found great results with soaking them in water when they weren’t in my mouth and removing them for eating).
Read about my full journey with these previous posts:
Overall I have to say that my Invisalign journey was definitely worth it. I’m really happy with my results, and I still honestly can’t believe how fast the time flew by. I really was done before I knew it.
REAL TIME UPDATE: Currently I’m rocking a permanent retainer on both the top and bottom since I already had braces once I am a likely candidate for my teeth to move back (did you know your teeth have memory?). And while I definitely had a lisp at first (and of course filmed a tv segment with it lol you can watch that here) it’s gone now, and I honest to goodness really don’t even notice anymore.
AND what’s really cool about my retainer is that the wire is squiggled (c/o Dr. Lawen’s genius), so I can still floss! Again it’s one of the many amazing benefits of working with Dr. Lawen because he’s always working to ensure (a) results but (b) ways to make your life easier.
Any of you who have a permanent retainer know the struggle of threading the floss through each space to get in between each tooth and let me tell you I am not about that life. I’m just so thankful for the kindness and thoughtfulness of Dr. Lawen and his team. Before he will ever rule anything out he’ll take the time to weigh out options. When I finished my Invisalign we weren’t 100 percent about my bite which we were aware of before going in since I technically should get my jaw broken to see perfect results for my over bite (and again I’m not about that life). But we were concerned about the alignment of my teeth and the pressure on some teeth being heavier than others.
Because I wasn’t open to having the surgery (ain’t nobody got time for that) we weren’t really sure about the next steps, so he took some time (which I appreciated) to figure out some viable options for me. And when his staff was held up because of bad weather and no one made into his office he made a personal call to me to talk about what to do next.
Dr. Lawen gave me three options and walked me through all the pros and cons of all options. We (mostly me) settled on opting for a permanent retainer (top and bottom), and a custom mouth guard to wear at night to prevent any damage from clenching or grinding because let’s be honest #thestruggleisreal.
When I tell you Dr. Lawen is a stand-up guy I’m not lying. Heck! I’m not that clever I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried! He and his team have gone above and beyond for me on so many occasions I really have nothing but amazing things to say about each and every one of them.
Thank you Lawen Dentistry for not only giving me my smile back but also my confidence!
If you’re interested in learning more about whether you’re a candidate for Invisalign book your free consultation here. Did I mention it also comes with free whitening and a power toothbrush?
Hope you enjoyed today’s post!
xx
Kayla
DISCLAIMER: In exchange for sharing the details of my treatment I received partially complimentary services. All opinions expressed are my own.
1 Comment
I had braces as a teenager, too, and I’m STILL wearing a bottom retainer (and a night guard on top) because otherwise my teeth will “remember” their old crooked spots and move back. The squiggly permanent retainer sounds amazing.