My normal smile
Trying to show top & bottom
Gotta love those silver fillings...ugh!
Side view **Created 5/24/08--Moved blog from my fotki acct in order to post pics and text together**
I've been told that my gap "is cute" and that I shouldn't have it fixed. I tried whole heartedly to brainwash myself into being comfortable with my black hole, but have always remained self-conscious about it when smiling at someone or taking pictures. Then, quite noticeably, my teeth began to shift about a year ago and food would collect in the spaces on the sides of my mouth. I've never been one to pick in or "suck my teeth," so this was quite annoying. There's nothing like having a lunch meeting at work and a big chunk of chicken is chillin in your chompers; all the while you're trying not to blatantly display you're dental disasters. It's painful, annoying, and embarrassing to try and maintain proper table etiquette while a rep attempts to sale you on a product. So, that experience led me back here to document.
FIRST...Ok long story short: I had a consult, then the doc took x-rays, photos, and impressions (casts) of my mouth to send to Align Tech for my case workup. It took about a month to hear back & see my ClinChek, which is a computer model program detailing my course of treatment and showing my teeth gradually fill in and straighten. The video was probably like 8 seconds long. (I tell you it almost brought a tear to my eye.) The doc approved my case and gave the OK to Align Tech to proceed with making my trays (aligners). They should arrive in a week or two!!
PRICE...This is the part that I was terrified about. I've read how some folks had to shell out between $2000 and $8000. As far as I understand it, this is based on where you live, length of treatment, and how money hungry your doc is...sad, but true. Well, I live in Tx, near Houston and I'm estimated to have the bottom straight in 5 months and the top squared away in 8 months. My doc's charge was $4000 total, which includes the Zoom whitening when complete, any additional aligners, cleaning products, and a retainer. He required a $1000 down payment and the rest paid monthly based on treatment time. So I guess you all know who will be cashing my Economic Stimulus check...lol.So at this point I'm waiting for the aligners. I've taken a ga-zillion pics to compare now and later, but I've only put up a few to give a general idea of what my grill looks like in this preliminary phase. I'm thrilled and can't wait for it all to come to fruition. I've become almost obsessed with teeth (mine and other people's). It's crazy! I'll be posting when the first set comes. God bless...
2 comments:
Hi, thanks for your videos and blog. I'm thinking about getting invisalign myself. Quick question: I noticed you had that little piece of "meat" (for lack of the correct term) hanging between your gap. Did your dentist cut that off? If so, at what point in the process was this done?
who is your dentist? i've been looking to get invisalign and $4000 seems pretty reasonable...
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