Do you ever have that thought "I wish I could tell my younger self....". Well lets be real, there is a ton of stuff I wish I could tell my younger self (lol) but one of them would be to wear that damn plastic retainer I got once I had my braces removed!!! I am so excited to being my Invisalign journey with Dr. Brad Turchetta and take you along! If you are local- keep reading because I have a discount code you can use to save 5% off your Invisalign treatment!
Backstory
Would you believe me if I told you I could fit a Cheerio in-between my two front teeth?! I had good old fashion metal braces back when I was in 3rd grade. Oh ya, and head gear... which I never wanted to wear. I remember my dad sitting next to me on the side of my bed telling me that I looked like Britney Spears, lol! I can still feel them pushing those metal spaces between my back molars or tightening them up at each visit. A few years went by and I got them removed, I remember loving my teeth so much!! No more gap, no more overbite, they looked so perfect. Well, I was so over wearing the headgear and being cautious about what I ate I wore the plastic retainer they gave me to "keep everything in place" for probably 6 months.
Fast forward to today & I can still hear my orthodontist in my head telling me "your teeth have memory and will go back if you don't wear this retainer". Ahhh I wish I would have listened!! Today, my teeth are one of my biggest insecurities, especially the bottom. Over the years they have shifted and turned like crazy. When I see photos of me laughing I instantly hate them because of how bad my bottom teeth look.
RI Ortho Group
About a year ago I almost signed up for Smile Direct which offered the "invisible braces" without having to go to an orthodontist. I went to their bus and got my X-ray done and when they showed me what my teeth would look like before and after and I was *almost* sold. The more I thought about it the more I realized that treatment to adjust the structure of your teeth should be monitored by someone, not just what a computer tells you to do. I started looking at offices local to Rhode Island that offer Invisalign services and came across Rhode Island Orthodontic Group which has 5 locations throughout little Rhody.
I came across Dr. Brad Turchetta after reading that he was a top 1% diamond Invisalign provider which means he sees 400 patients a year for Invisalign treatment (!!!) so I knew he could be trusted to get me back to loving my teeth. Invisalign are a series of custom-made, clear aligners is then created specifically for you. They are worn 22 hours a day and are removed to eat or brush. When you wear each set of your aligners, which switch every 1-2 weeks, your teeth gradually begin to shift into place. To monitor your progress, you will also have occasional checkups with your doctor about every 6 weeks.
I loved that Dr. Turchetta had so many options for his patients. In the pic above he is explaining dental monitoring for his Invisalign patients which is a device you can hook up to your smartphone so he can monitor your treatment virtually. How smart is this???!! He said that this is great for college students, people who travel a lot, or people who don't want to be going into the office during these times.
Initial Visit
During my initial visit with Dr. Turchetta, he explained to me what he could fix with my teeth and then I had some X-rays and pictures taken. During that first appointment, I was able to see a before and after of what my smile will look like, how cool!! Dr. Turchetta will adjust the treatment even further once my scans get to Invisalign so this was just a sneak peak but I am already loving the results! I didn't even notice that the side view of my teeth looked like this so it was really awesome to see the before and after at this view.
Second Visit
A few weeks after my initial visit I got a call to come back into the office to see what Invisalign sent back. He explained to me that my treatment would only be 18 weeks long! I have to have 5 clear clips (shown in red) put onto my teeth to make sure that the Invisaligns "click" in and stay secure, which is common. What I thought was cool was that if at the end of my treatment something doesn't look right, you can get a re-scan and Invisalign will create an additional treatment plan for you! Below are my before and after pics that Invisalign sent back.
I am excited to take you along on my Invisalign journey with Dr. Turchetta at RI Ortho Group over at my Instagram, @haleysimao!! Check out my "before pic" which normally I wouldn't share but I can't wait to see how Dr. Turchetta can help me love my teeth and smile again :) Stay tuned for a post treatment blog post! If you are local, you can use code HALEY5 to save 5% off your Invisalign treatment with Dr. Brad Turchetta at RI Ortho Group :)
