Growing up, I always knew I had quite horrendous teeth. All the girls around me seemed to have braces on their teeth, but somehow I never really felt the need to ask for the same because I knew how expensive they were. So I convinced myself that I was fine the way I am. I was sensible then.
Fast forward 10 years, work has brought in a rather steady stream of income, even if a small stream. I decided that it was now time to do something about my teeth, so I started saving, and looking at my options. I read about this relatively new invisalign treatment available and consulted with a few dentists. A few of them said that not everyone would be suitable, and most others simply refused to opine, blizzare. One of the places I went to was smile pod, a small dental outfit in canary wharf which claimed to be qualified invisalign practitioners at one of the lowest prices I could find in london. The consult went well and their patient list looked rather long, but the dentist seemed unsure abt the suitability and wanted to consult another invisalign specialist. Alarm bells went off, and they never came back to me until 2 months later anyway.
So I googled again for a good clinic. Harley street has always been a forbidding place, given its reputation. But one of the few orthodontists I found online with almost no negative comment was Dr Raj. Decided to make an initial appt to see what he says and how comfortable I would be with his working style. To cut the long story short, I was sufficiently impressed/swayed and signed up immediately.
A few weeks later, my aligners have arrived! I just started wearing them on Monday night, and I might say it's been tough getting used to it. First of all, it does feel extremely tight on the teeth, and particularly difficult to take off. It's a good thing dr R gave me this fulcrum like tool to help me pry the PET mould away from my teeth when I've had enough. When they're off, the teeth are still tender and sore, making biting quite a struggle. Nonetheless my love for food and eating far is complimented by my rather high threshold for pain. So eat I will. And eat more I must, because I have precious few hours in a day to do so.
I never quite thought it through properly before signing away a year of my life, and a lot of money with it. The last week in the office has been quite a struggle, and I've become super conscious of myself. I now speak with a lisp and I now try to avoid phone calls and chatting. Which is quite uncharacteristic and rather painful for me. I hope I learn to speak properly soon or I might just give up.... I have declared to my team mates my inability to speak, which has made things slightly easier.
On the brighter side, the very laborious process of having to brush and floss every single time u put your aligners back on has kept my teeth very clean. I love feeling how clean my teeth ate whenever I take them aligners off. The other positive is that I've been forced to have a proper breakfast at home before going to work, rather than at work. And I do eat a hearty breakfast knowing I can't eat till lunch. And likewise for lunch knowing I'll starve until dinner otherwise. I think the regularity of meals might do me some good, and the lack of ability to snack might do something for my weight :)
It's only been 4.5 days and already I can't imagine still being almost paralysed in speech and deprived of snacks 1 month on, much less 1 year. But I shall persevere. And I shall have straight teeth. Go, me!