my experience with invisalign

So lovelies, I have something to talk about today that is a little different than my usual beauty or fashion post. I want to talk to all of you about my experience with Invisalign! I was really excited to get this opportunity to blog about Invisalign because I was already planning on sharing my experience with all of you when my treatment finished. Some of you starlet smiles lovelies might not have interest in this, and that is quite all right. I promise I have lots of great beauty and giveaway posts lined up for you soon.

Others of you lovelies however might be more like me, always conscious of which side to stand on when getting your picture taken, making sure to smile with your lips together, and generally self-conscious of your teeth and your smile. 

That was me for as long as I can remember. I hated my smile, and always wanted braces growing up but unfortunately we couldn't afford them. Middle school wasn't so bad since everyone else's teeth had metal all over them, mine didn't look so bad by comparison. When we got to high school however, seemed everyone traded in their brace face for beautiful straight teeth that I envied, and my insecurity about my smile was at its worst.

Just in the same way that I think it's important to recommend great beauty products to each other, I think it's important to recommend other companies that we have great experiences with too. And even more, I think it's important to be real with all of you. I have issues just like everyone else. Things I am insecure about and wish I could change. Invisalign did change one of those things I had been insecure about my whole life, and on top of that didn't add the extra insecurity of having metal braces on at age 23. 

For the past year and a half (pretty much the entire life of my little blog here) I've been wearing Invisalign. I'm wearing them in pictures on my blog, and in videos on my blog, and I'd bet you didn't even notice! That was the most wonderful thing about Invisalign! 

Once I got older and could afford braces (with the help of my loveliest mom of course, thanks mom!) I was really "put-off" about getting them because I felt I'd be just as insecure if not more for having metal braces on at 23 years old. Some people don't seem to care about getting traditional braces later on in life, but because I work in a field where I talk and interact with customers all day long I really didn't want metal braces. 

I of course had heard about Invisalign but thought it was only for simple cases (like people who already had braces and neglected their retainer too long) and that it would be too pricey. However my mom encouraged me to go to a consultation, and once we got all the info, found out my teeth were fixable through Invisalign, that they weren't any more expensive than traditional braces, and typically didn't take as long for treatment we signed on the dotted line and started the process. 

This is what I referring to when I say "set". 

Plastic retainer like molds that snap right onto your teeth. 

I am officially in my last "set" of trays and waiting for the final word from Invisalign to complete treatment. I am so happy I took the plunge and went with Invisalign because other than my close friends and family, no one even knew I had been wearing braces for almost 2 years. Co-workers, friends, and family I am not very close to sometimes would see my case or hear me mention something about my braces and be totally taken aback by not noticing. The process was incredibly simple and practically pain free, something I imagine is not the case with metal braces. 

I went in about every 2 weeks to my orthodontist for my new set and the visits were quick and painless. The only pain I ever experienced was actually more of a discomfort, when a new "set" was especially tight on my teeth and that feeling wore off within a day or two (or was subdued by a few ibuprofen). 

I included a few pictures of my smile before Invisalign although there aren't many, and the few that I have aren't great quality because like I mentioned I was extremely conscious of where I stood, and how I smiled in pictures (even my best friends knew the right side was my spot in pictures). My left canine tooth (those vampy little pointy ones) was extremely high, in pictures it even looked many times like I was missing a tooth there. Invisalign has brought that tooth down so much (as well as bringing down my other canine and straightening everything out) that I could care less what side I stand on in pictures now.

It takes a lot of guts to share such up-close pictures of my before smile. 

Only for you lovelies!

 Invisalign has completely changed my teeth and smile and I am so much more confident now. No more needing to stand on the right in pictures, or smiling with my lips closed. I love my smile, and I loved how easy and discreet the whole process was (not to mention no food restrictions!). I probably never would have gotten braces had it not been for Invisalign, and would still be hiding my smile. I honestly don't know why anyone, kids included would ever choose traditional braces over Invisalign these days. 

For any of you local lovelies you can check out where I went for treatment HERE, and the rest of you can locate a provider HERE. 

Do any of you lovelies have Invisalign, or have you? 
Are any of your considering it or want braces now that you're older? 

For more information, please visit Invisalign. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.