I have always wanted braces. From the time I was little. I'm not sure why, because this was before I had my adult teeth. Actually, I thought braces were a cool thing to have. I can recall watching reruns of "The Partridge Family" back in the late 70's and admiring Laurie Partridge's metal braces. You might think I was a whackadoodle, but I used to take paper clips and bend them so that they would stretch across my teeth. But I digress. That was a long time ago. I had contemplated getting metal braces when I got a full time job out of college but something held me back. My teeth always bothered me, but I think spending several years of my twenties or thirties with ugly metal across my mouth bothered me more.

The first time I met Dr. Katz was last summer during my interview for my current job. After winning him over with my stellar wit and charm he turned to me and said, "I hope I'm not going to offend you with my next question." Oh cripes, I thought, what horrible thing could he possibly have to say to me? "You're not going to tell me I'm ugly, are you?" was my retort (half joking and half not). He reassured me he wasn't and asked me, "Have you ever considered getting braces?" WOW, I have never been asked that in an interview, that was definitely a first. Were my teeth SO BAD that he noticed how crooked they were in the span of an hour? Was everyone else lying to me when they told me they weren't that crooked all these years? But then I thought this guy is a pro, of course he's going to notice crooked teeth. "Well, actually yes, I have thought about getting braces." I didn't mention my past with the paper clips for fear of losing the chance at the job. Then he mentioned Invisalign. Now, I knew all about Invisalign. I had seen commercials and articles in magazines. It looked like the perfect way to straighten your teeth without looking like a geriatric teenager. The braces are invisible, what a brilliant idea! I was totally down with it!

After I nailed the interview and ultimately got the job, I soon found myself in the chair at Emerson Dental Arts, getting the impressions done for my case. It wasn't a big deal. They put a little gummy substance in a plastic tray that you bite down on until it hardens. A couple of photos were taken plus a panoramic x-ray of my whole mouth. I then had to wait six weeks for my fifteen sets of trays to come in. Every two weeks I would switch out the current trays for the new set. I was so excited to get that first pair. I could not wait to start the process. They finally came in. I snapped them in and looked in the mirror. Amazingly, I really couldn't tell I was wearing braces. You can definitely feel them working the first few nights a new set goes in, but within a day or two they're pretty comfortable. I can't tell you how many times I've been out, and I mention to someone something about my braces and they look at me and say "what braces?" They truly have no idea I'm wearing anything. I don't think I even sound like I'm wearing anything when I speak. Another great thing about Invisalign, is that you have to take your braces out to eat. So if you want to drop those ten pounds you've been griping about, you just eat, brush and pop them back in. You can't eat once you have them in. I've lost a couple of pounds since I've been wearing them. It takes care of that pesky midnight snacking problem I've always had. Also, soda or anything sugary is forbidden when you're wearing them, so if you need to kick a soda habit, this is perfect.

One of the truly nice things about Invisalign is that you can take the braces out, it's an option you just don't have with metal braces. So if you were going out to dinner on a date, you could remove them and pop them back in at home. Imagine how embarrassing it would be to have half your meal left in your metal braces after you've finish eating it? As an adult, Invisalign is perfect, because you don't need to show the world you're straightening your teeth. It's also great for teens because it actually works in less overall time than metal braces. Of course, every case is different and if you're interested, you should go for a consultation. I highly recommend you look into it. It really changed the way I feel about my smile.