In the beginning… there were my teeth. English teeth. Teeth that have got me through 35 years, self confidence reasonably intact, and even through 9 years of modelling- in the days when perfect teeth were a nice bonus but not strictly compulsory in the modelling world.
The thing is though, that I have never been happy with them. They aren’t bad enough that I put my hand up to hide them when I smile, but they aren’t good enough that I would consider smiling naturally. People probably assume that I was born with this strange lopsided grin. I wasn’t, I cultivated it slowly over my teenage years as the most effective way of hiding my wonky, and less than beautifully white teeth. Just because I cultivated it doesn’t mean that I like it, however.
And so, at the age of 35, perhaps as a mid life crisis, perhaps thanks to the grace of new technology I have decided to fix my teeth. My objective isn’t perfection. At 35, and at the point from which I’m starting, it is unlikely that perfection is possible. What I want is good enough. Good enough for people to think I have “nice teeth” but perhaps not perfect teeth. Even just good enough for people not to think I have “goofy teeth” as I once saw a potential client had noted on the bottom of my model card.
So, I shall record my journey here and see where we end up in my pursuit for a Hollywood smile.
My orthodontist is 
Hi! my name is Kami, and i am about to start invisalign treatment- i have had a really bad experience though so far though i havent even started the treatment- with a dentist i found through one of my Coupon websites, and though i have had my impressions done, i have been so scared to go back to this guy- and wished i would have read your blog sooner so i knew what i should be doing! i was dumb enough to think that any dentist would be able to do the same thing, and price drove me to this guy because at 27 yrs old- OOPS, 28 in a few days- i really have wanted to straighten my teeth for more than half of my life and i really have felt that it lowered my self confidence some- i too was an aspiring model- but with “wonky teeth” as you call them (haha! i love that term- though i wish it wasnt my reality as im sure u felt for some time!) and i gave up thinking i would never have money to fix them… well, thanks to having a baby and getting a better tax refund, im finally doing something for myself! i just want to thank you for opening my eyes to the invisalign process- and realizing that a good doc is more important than giving up a few things to be able to pay these babies off!!
i am afraid the dentist that i went to was giving me unnecessary fillings and deep cleanings- which i later read on YELP that he has done this to MANY people and people are actually reporting him to the ADA!! how did you find a good dentist? how do you know they arent a crook like the last guy? and how do i know what is a good deal for my particular case. im not rich- but i have to get this done now. i want to have straight teeth if i ever get married one day!!
i cant wait to see how your teeth come out… i have been told in the past my case could take about 11 months- id post a pic, but i dont know how to send u one!
Hi there,
Sorry for the delay in replying- I didn’t see your comment before. The way I went about finding my guy was to look through the Invisalign website. They rank providers by experience. I went through and made a shortlist of all the most experienced orthodontists (not dentists- I only wanted a specialist working on my teeth) and went to see them all for quotes. I think this is the best way to find a good one. I wish you luck with it, I know how hard it is to pay it off, especially when you have children to pay for too!
Good Luck!
Hi,, regarding the list of orthodontist/dentists listed on the invisalign website I think might be a bit misleading as the top tier invisalign providers may not be the best orthodontist to see I think these are categorised primarily by the amount of invialign they have sold?
I think listing them as most ‘experienced’ although may be true but is a bit misleading as I have heard of many dentists and orthodontist pushing invisalign onto patients who it may not be auitable for simply so they can sell more to make more money and become a platinum seller, subsequently these patients have had poor results. It seems like this level is might be more of a marketing/sales thing so I am wary of the so called high level gold/platinum providers putting profit above patient care.