My Invisalign Treatment Begins - Single Mother Survival Guide

(This is a partnership between Single Mother Survival Guide, Invisalign, and Bright Smile Dental).

When I was about 13 years old, an orthodontic surgeon told me that I would need an operation to bring my jaw forward. He told me I had a disfigured face. The operation would involve entering through my mouth, peeling my face up, breaking my jaw, moving it forward, and then sewing my face back down.

Will it hurt? I asked, eyes wide open.

You will feel like your head has been run over by a truck was the answer he told my frightened 13-year-old self. And then he chuckled.

My parents, thank goodness, told me it was completely unnecessary. But the damage had been done. My self-esteem? Shattered. Disfigured.

My teeth and jaw have been a constant struggle for me my whole life. When I got all my adult teeth they were extremely crooked. I also had a receding jawline and absolutely HATED my profile.

At school, I was one of the first in my year to get a plate. I got it when I was about nine years old. I chose a very unsubtle colour of turquoise green. Unfortunately, the plate looked almost black when it was in my mouth. The plate was used to attempt to bring my jaw forward before I was supposed to start orthodontic work to fix my crooked teeth. From age 9 to 16 I constantly had a plate or braces. When I finally got my braces off at 16, wires were glued behind my top and bottom teeth to keep them straight. And those wires have been with me up until a few weeks ago. Twenty years!

When I was in my early twenties I had a genioplasty. A genioplasty is a surgery to improve the appearance of the chin. My parents told me I had to wait until I was at an age where I wouldn’t regret it. And I never have. That surgery was one of the best things I did for my self-esteem. It improved my appearance dramatically and made me feel so much more confident.

My constant orthodontic work whilst growing up left me a little traumatised, so you can imagine my absolute horror when my teeth started moving again a few years ago. The problem was, I was resting my tongue behind my top front teeth, and slowly, over the years, it was pushing my top teeth forward and I have now been left with quite a bad open bite.

View this post on Instagram

OMG! Yesterday was a huge day, HUGE! After chatting about it for years with my dentist, I finally started @invisalign_au treatment (see my stories). After receiving all sorts of orthodontic treatments in my childhood, I was left with pretty perfect teeth. But over the years, slowly, my bite started to change. Question: where do you rest your tongue when you’re not using it? I’ve been resting mine behind my top teeth. *DON’T DO IT!* Over the years it has slowly pushed my top front teeth forward and up, & I’m left with quite a bad open bite. Whilst I’ve tried to ignore the problem, It’s been gradually getting worse over the years & it’s now at the point that it’s affecting my speech, and ability to eat things like pizza and toast 🍕whilst looking like a civilized person & not a #cavewoman 😬 It’s also left my face with a slightly lopsided look when I talk because I try to overcompensate by jutting my jaw forward. I put it off for so long because I didn’t want to be (I thought) selfish. I didn’t want to do this for ME when I had a child to look after and entertain. So for me? It was a total mindset shift that had to happen. I had to remind myself that it’s okay to do something for me. I also felt resentful that I even had to get more treatment after years of dental and orthodontic work. I found the whole thing a little traumatic. I was also worried about pain & (vainly) how it would look. When I made the decision that I would go ahead, I felt such relief. And so excited! 😁 I trust my dentist Statila Pyke @brightsmiledentalcoogee completely. She has always looked out for my best interest & I’m so glad she’s managing this process for me. We talked a lot about different options too, and I’m thrilled that I’ve gone ahead with @invisalign_au because I trust them completely too. They have done so many studies, so much research, the quality is impeccable and the technology is mind blowing. I’m so excited to share journey with you and the process to get #myinvisalignsmile and then, the final result 🥳😁 #watchthisspace ❤️ P.S Apparently, the best place to rest your tongue when you’re not using it is on the roof of your mouth. Where do you rest yours? 🦷

A post shared by Single Mother Survival Guide (@singlemothersurvivalguide) on Jul 24, 2019 at 3:23pm PDT

I tried to pretend the problem did not exist. It was easier for me to ignore it than acknowledge that I needed more orthodontic work. My dentist (who I discovered about six years ago, and is hands down the best dentist I have ever seen) has been gently trying to encourage me to get the problem sorted out.

Appearance-wise, it doesn’t bother me too much. However, gradually my bite has been affecting my speech and my ability to eat. If I don’t speak clearly and am lazy about saying my ‘s’ sounds, I sound like I have a lisp. And for someone that has a podcast, this is not a desirable outcome for me.

Pizza I can currently only eat with a knife and fork. Otherwise, it slides right out of my mouth (there is no grip), and I risk eating in a very unladylike cavewoman fashion. The same goes for toast, and anything else that is flat and that one would generally take a bite out of.

I felt incredibly resentful about the thought of having to do more orthodontic work after already spending years of my life with a plate, braces, or wires.

However, about a year ago I started to accept that the problem was not going away. In fact, it was only getting worse. And I really had to do something about it. At around the same time, my dentist brought Invisalign to my attention as an option. I had no idea it could be used to fix an overbite. I thought it was to straighten teeth only. But I felt immense guilt about the thought of spending money on something for me when I could use it for something that would benefit both my daughter and me.

So I looked at some other alternatives. I am so glad that my dentist talked me out of it because I now feel confident that I have the absolute best option available on the market. My case is complex. It’s not straightening one or two teeth, it’s moving all my top teeth back and down. I feel confident that I am using a product with cutting-edge technology; the world’s most advanced clear aligner treatment system. And that once and for all, my teeth will be fixed and that this will be the last treatment I will need (though I will get my wires back in and use an aligner at night). And the best part? The whole treatment is anticipated to be completed in 48 weeks. How good is that?

Coming to terms with needing orthodontic treatment once again has been a roller coaster for me. But now, with Invisalign? I am so happy. And I am excited. I cannot wait to see the result at the end and to share them with you. And, I don’t feel guilty anymore. My teeth are important. My speech is important. My eating habits are important. My confidence is important and my happiness is important. And I want to show my daughter that if there is a problem, she can fix it too.

In fact, a few days ago she said “I can’t wait until I can get Invisalign, mum”. Considering all my orthodontic work growing up, I nearly fell off my chair. She doesn’t even have all her teeth yet! But if my daughter ever does need orthodontic work, Invisalign is what I will look at and use for her, if I can. I am confident she will enjoy the process and feel rewarded by the end of it. And I trust it. And when it comes to teeth, nothing is more important.

P.S DID YOU KNOW?

Thrive Tribe – the global membership experience for single mothers – will be opening again soon. Join the waitlist here.