The Price of Beauty

About 10 or so years ago, I saw a commercial for this wonderful new invention called "Invisalign." The claim: "invisible" braces that you can take in and out! So much better than train track metal! I was sold (yes, I'm a sucker). Of course, at that time, I was in some stage of under-employment and very far from affording such a technological breakthrough. So I vowed, when I had the money, and before whatever imaginary kids I was going to have needed braces I would "fix" the teeth that my parents paid to straighten when I was teen, that reverted in my 20's due to lack of retainer usage, now that train tracks were no longer the only way. Fast forward, and here I am, finally able to afford it (and good Lord, I never realized it was so expensive) and at least 7 years from having to fix the teeth of my very real offspring. I have to say that I was in for a few surprises. The expense, the pain, and the fine print about the "invisibility," but I have gained a lot of insight from other Invisalign users online, and I thought it would be interesting to chronicle my journey on this blog. A little on the process: Invisalign is a tooth straightening system that moves teeth using small incremental movements of the teeth created by the pressure from two tooth-shaped, clear "aligners" that snap on to each set of upper and lower teeth. The aligners come in "trays" that cover the front and back of the teeth, and--if they're good--will blend almost seamlessly into the contours of the surrounding gums and inside of the mouth. They are virtually invisible and must be removed for eating, drinking anything other than water, and brushing. (Although the removal feature seems like an advantage, it's a devil in disguise--more on that later.) The trays must be worn for a minimum of 20 hours a day, with optimal results achieved by wearing them no less than 22 hours a day. Sounds simple? Don't be fooled. If you're wondering why this is called "Invisalife," is because this process is far more high-maintenance than I realized or intended. It will add minutes to your routine, limit the time you have to eat, and keep you on a clock of sorts. If your orthodontist is anything like mine, all questions will be answered AFTER you commit to your Invisalign experience. If I had any idea of some of the things that would change for me (despite no immediate change in my appearance) I think I could have made a more informed choice, and might have made a different one. But who knows, when it's all said and done, I might come away from it saying "I wouldn't have it any other way." Most of what I learned about Invisalign I learned after googling "Invisalign" and "pain!" I thought this couldn't possibly be normal because I'd never heard of it being painful (that's great marketing). But it is, and it's important to know that, I think, going in. Another thing they don't tell you about is attachments. Effin' attachments. Those things that make your "invisible" braces "not really that invisible." They sprung that one on me at the orthodontist's office when I was getting the first aligner. Oh, and by the way, you're getting four attachments later in the rocess. I asked 50 times what attachments were before they told me they were little adherences the placed on the teeth to attach the aligners to for the heavier lifting that braces do better than aligners. That's great and all, by why the [bleep] am I paying almost $7,000 for aligners if I need "visible" attachments to my "invisible" aligners? As you can see from several other abandoned blogs, I have attempted this before, but since I'll have a bi-monthly reminder in the form of new Invisalign trays, I'm hoping this will prompt me to keep this up and see it through until the end. So, these are my stories. I hope I can look back on this one day and laugh--through my awesomely straight teeth. So…here we go!