Decision.

April 21st, 2010 - Today is a big day!

I made my final decision yesterday after calling my dentist for the past few days and asking her tons of questions!

Worries now at ease, I took the plunge!!

I made the first payment this morning over the phone. So, soon I will be getting a phone call to make my next appointment for the first set of trays!!! Nervous.

I'm really excited though, so much so, I went out today and bought myself a dry erase Year-at-a-Glance calendar. So I can keep track of my dentist appointments and just generally see an overview of the next year. Basically I bought a calendar dedicated to my invisalign treatment.

I'm still finding it hard to believe that I am doing this. I can't even image the road ahead. I'm glad I am finally doing something about my teeth. Side note: When I told one of my managers this morning about my decision to go ahead and take the plunge, she said it inspired her to do something about hers as well. I thought that was nice!

So now I am waiting for my callback (when my dentist gets my trays, she is calling me back to schedule my appointment), which should be in 2-4 weeks. Too long...

Before Photo's

Before Treatment

APRIL 2010

Second Consultation.

April 9th, 2010 - So I went to my appointment yesterday. All I can say is WOW!!!!

I got to see my teeth before and after in 3d on a computer. I never realized how crooked my teeth were. It was very enlightening. (during the 1st consult , she took impressions of my teeth, that's how she got the 3d version of my teeth). Then I got to see what my teeth would look like after treatment.....CRAZY!!! My entire mouth changes. She would even fix my broken tooth and even out the edges of my teeth once they are straight (because they were worn down crooked, once they are straight they won't be the same length and will be pointy).

I swear I looked at the playback like 10 times from every angle; it was so interesting to see what the possibilities could be for me. The treatment would take 1 ½ . Afterwards I would wear a wire retainer. I'd have to wear the aligners for about 22 hours a day (the aligners are like a mouth-guard that will straighten my teeth). I can't wear them while eating, and have to brush my teeth after every meal before putting the aligners back in. I can drink whatever I want with the aligners in (thank god).

As far as cost goes, bleh, it would cost me $6200 for the entire treatment, including cosmetic fixes at the end and the wire retainer. There are 2 payment methods. #1. is directly through the clinic, $2500 upfront, then 10 equal payments for the next 10 months (which would be for me $370/month). With no interest charges. Choice #2. is with Banque Nationale, pay whatever type of payments I can afford, for a longer period of time, but their would be interest charges. Personally I would rather take option #1, because I can do the first payment over the phone AND, 2 weeks later my first set of aligners would be ready for me.

So now I am trying to decide whether to do it or not, I'm 80% sure I will do it, I just need to think about my finances. I'm looking into changing my health benefits at work, to include orthodontics, that way it would help me pay for it.

First Consultation.

March 12th, 2010 - Curious.

My very first consultation…. I was very nervous. But it was a breeze, nothing to worry about.

During the first consult, the dentist or orthodontist checks the alignment of your teeth, checks your jaw joints, inspects the condition of your teeth, and then proceeds to make a mold of your top and lower teeth as well as your bite impressions. Lastly she/he does an x-ray of your mouth. None of these were bad in any way!

I choose to make my appointment with a dentist who is a Premier Provider (which means she’s had hundreds of Invisalign patients). Before my appointment, I did tons of research, on websites, forums, you name it! I wanted to be prepared and I wanted to know as much as possible about Invisalign, the good as well as the bad!

So by the time my appointment came around, I had a pretty good idea what to expect. My appointment was March 12^th, 2010 at 12:30 pm. I was nervous, I can’t lie. But the dentist explained every step and everything she was doing. This made it all that much easier for me.

After all the molds were taken and the x-rays were complete, she had me watch an “informative” video on Invisalign. It wasn’t so much informative as it was an ad to sell Invisalign. Regardless, I watched it, after which I had the opportunity to ask her questions.

My main question to her was this: “With your experience, do you think I am a good candidate to get Invisalign?” This was my concern; I knew that my lower jaw was much further back in my mouth, and that it could possibly cause some problems when straightening my teeth if it wasn’t surgically fixed. I appreciated her answer, she was upfront with me. She basically told me that getting Invisalign would be a “compromise”, that I would never have a perfect bite unless I had surgery. But if my main worries were the alignment of my front teeth, Invisalign would be an option for me to consider. But we would only know for sure once the results came back from Invisalign.

So now my next appointment is April 9^th, 2010 at 12:30 pm. I am really excited to see my teeth in 3D, and to see what my teeth may look like after Invisalign.