My Shiny Teeth & Me

I never thought I would feel so happy after spending just over 2 hours in the dental chair and I have been singing this song in my head since. Over on my instagram, I shared a little bit of the journey that I have been on for the past nine months with my teeth and I'm actually a little shocked at the amount of messages I have received because of it.

I have always been obsessed with my personal aesthetics and my teeth are one that I value very greatly. My parents blessed me with braces when I was a pre-teen. I may have hated them then for it (huge candy fan) but as an adult I couldn't be more grateful. From the pre-teen years to now I can't say I was always the most consistent with those dreaded night-time wear retainers - if you know, you know. I was pretty good with them at first but the older I got and as life got in the way if I missed a day, two, a week, etc, it wasn't the end of the world. Until it was - *the dramatics* I know! But seriously, wear your retainers!

I was fortunate to learn that my teeth actually didn't shift too too much. But there was this one tooth that just bothered me. After all, I didn't suffer all those years with a mouth full of metal to have one crooked tooth. So off to the ortho I went! My orthodontist is Dr. Ross Segal, DMD with Segal and Iyer Orthodontics in Marlton, New Jersey. I can't say enough good things about their practice. As a teen I had a great experience and over the years as technology in the dental world has evolved the office has continued to evolve with the same friendly staff, leaving me with another great experience but this time as an adult.

Luckily for me braces seem to be a thing of the past & the technology that Invisalign's now offer would be all I need to get my teeth straightened again. Due to minor shifting, I only needed about 13 weeks of treatment. If you aren't familiar, Invisalign's are a clear alternative to metal braces that can be used for children, teens and adults. A clear retainer that I would wear every day for practically 24 hours over the course of 13 weeks.

At my consultation, Dr. Segal and the team assessed my teeth by taking some photographs and scans. Then we went over the treatment and payment plan. Invisalign's are super affordable. I was able to put down a deposit and continue with a no interest payment plan through the course of my treatment. Each week I wore a different number retainer. The only time I would take them out would be to eat and brush my teeth. I will note, I had no problem doing so and minimal discomfort the entire time. Keep in mind everyone's journey will be a little different and totally dependent on their starting point. Most people that I talked to when I had my Invisalign retainers in had no idea I was even wearing them. The only thing I noticed was that certain words when speaking would come out funny every now and then. But that's okay because at the end of 13 weeks my teeth would be perfect again.

And they certainly were! I was really thrilled at my results and how quickly I was able to notice them. Every week, little by little I was able to see the progress my teeth were making with my Invisaligns. Seeing my before and after photos at the end, you'd be surprised at just how much of a difference the shifting of a single tooth could make! At my final appointment and fitting for my new night-time retainers (that I plan on being much more responsible with) I was telling Dr. Iyer a few concerns I had cosmetically with a couple of my upper teeth. Specifically, my upper incisors on the both sides of my front teeth. My main issue with them is that they appear significantly smaller than the surrounding teeth. It's one of those things that others wouldn't really notice unless I point it out. But if there's something I can do about it, why not?

She referred me to Dr. Alyssa Nielubowicz, DMD with Zonies-Holgado Dental Associates of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Prior to Dr. Iyer passing along the referral, I had done some research on veneers. I truly love the look of veneers but I didn't really feel it was a procedure that is necessary for me given the current state of my teeth and it is one that would be way more invasive than I'd prefer.

If you aren't familiar, veneers are thin coverings that are placed over the front visible part of the tooth. They look just like natural teeth and are used to correct a wide array of dental issues. There were a few disadvantages to this kind of procedure that helped me rule it out. The first is that I couldn't just do the two incisors due to color matching purposes. I would really need to do all six of my upper front teeth so they would look cohesive to one another. The second is that installing dental veneers is an irreversible process and requires significant shaving of your natural tooth. It also can be quite costly. These three factors helped me decide that this wasn't going to be the right solution for me.

A couple weeks later I made my way over to Dr. Alyssa's eager to hear her suggestions. Dr. Iyer gave me some insight already to Dr. Alyssa's work and has had first hand experience with other patients of her's getting something similar done. After an in-depth consultation Dr. Alyssa went over my options, one of which I already knew being veneers and the other being cosmetic composite bonding where I would be able to just treat my two concerning teeth. She weighed the pro's and con's of both treatments and was in agreement that veneers didn't need to be my first option and the composite bonding would be a great solution. We went over the treatment plan and discussed the cost. Keep in mind anything cosmetic is generally not covered by insurance so this would be an out of pocket expense. I will note that it is significantly and I'll say it twice, significantly, more cost effective than veneers.

One of the steps toward preparing for the composite bonding would be to get my natural teeth to my desired color to allow for a good match with the composite resin. To do so I tried giving Philips Zoom Peroxide Whitening Gel a try as I wanted something a little stronger than the typical whitening strips. This was recommended by Dr. Alyssa and I could tell the quality of the product was great but my teeth were a little too sensitive to stick with it. My favorite whitening treatment that I have had experience using is from Smile Direct Club. I use their LED light which plugs right into my phone to power along with their whitening gel pens. I switched back over to this product for the remainder of my whitening sessions since I already had some on hand.

About a month in between my consult and my check in, Dr. Alyssa brought me back in to assess the color of my teeth and figure out the best match to the composite resin. We tried three different colors and there was one that we both agreed was spot on. During this appointment, Dr. Alyssa used a practice resin with a putty matrix (basically an impression of my teeth that was professionally enhanced to the goal result) to create a mock up. After checking out the mock results in the mirror, I knew at this point I was really comfortable that this was something I wanted to go through with! My appointment to get the bonding was three days later and I couldn't wait. I actually don't think I have ever been so excited to go to the dentist!

Friday arrived and I made my way down to Cherry Hill for Dr. Alyssa to work her magic. I eagerly hopped into the chair and she went right to work. The entire process was painless, like literally painless and required no numbing. Now keep in mind, everyone's experience here can vary as there are a lot of factors that play into your final outcome. Your dentist will know best. I just so happened to be lucky with this one! Two hours flew by. Dr. Alyssa walked me through step by step as she was working on my teeth and was detail oriented throughout the entire process.

The goal was to enhance the size of my two incisors and we decided based on some specific factors with my natural teeth that we would just be adding the resin to the bottom of both teeth versus covering them toward the gum-line. There was no significant or invasive shaving of my teeth required. At the end of the process, I was obsessed. I could not believe how much of a difference just changing the sizes of two teeth would make for my smile. I truly couldn't be happier with the results! See for yourself below.

Disclaimer: I am not a dental professional and all options should be discussed with your dentist to determine the best procedure for you.

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