This post is sponsored by Smile Direct Club, but all opinions are my own!
I was pretty lucky with my teeth growing up: they were never perfect but decent enough that I escaped the dreaded braces phase that most kids or preteens went through. When I hit my early 20s however, my teeth finally decided that now was their time to shift around and I ended up with a snaggle tooth in the very front of my smile that really started to bug me.
Why couldn't my teeth shift around when I was young enough for it to actually be socially acceptable to have braces?!? I know a snaggle tooth is a minor flaw in the grand scheme of things but it really started to bug me. It was one of the first thing I noticed in pictures that were close up of my face and I finally got tired of it and wanted to do something about it.
I knew I did not want to go the traditional braces route, so I started to look at other options. I had seen advertisements for Smile Direct Club all over instagram and finally met someone last fall who had been through the treatment with Smile Direct and had a great experience so I decided to give it a try. I really liked the fact that the aligners were not permanently attached to your teeth: you are supposed to wear them pretty much all day except when you eat or drink but you can take them out when you need to.
It was also a really easy experience to get set up with. To get fitted for your aligners you either have to visit a SmileShop to get a digital scan of your teeth (they have locations all over the country!) or you can also do an at-home impression kit.
I do have a promo code for Smile Direct Club: you can use code "REBECCASMILES" for 50% your at home impression kit OR a free scan at your local smile direct shop. I had a great experience visiting my SmileShop in Philly: everyone was super nice and the process was really quick and easy.
After my scan was done the digital reading was sent to a dentist that Smile Direct Club works with who designed my "smile plan." After a few weeks all of my aligners were shipped right to my door! I was actually pretty surprised at how affordable the program was: there is an option to pay upfront and get a discounted rate or pay monthly for 24 months for $80/month.
I got my aligners in January and my plan had me set up to be wearing them until July. At first it was an adjustment getting used to wearing the aligners...but I have to say looking back on it now it was 100% worth it and I'm so glad that I decided to do it! Only 7 months later and my smile has completely changed!
You are supposed to wear your aligners all day and night, and only take them out when you eat or drink. You are also supposed to brush your teeth after you eat or drink anything prior to putting your aligners back in. You can't chew gum while wearing the aligners which definitely helped me kick my bad gum chewing habit. I seriously used to chew like 12 pieces of gum a day which was way too excessive. Having to brush my teeth after eating every single time also definitely helped my dental health - hah! And speaking of dental health: I visited my regular dentist for my normal cleaning while wearing my aligners and my dentist was 100% supportive of my treatment. He was impressed with how well it was working!
The aligners were also completely invisible - no one could tell when I was wearing them. My boyfriend didn't even notice! It was still comforting to know though that they were not permanently installed so if I had a really special event that I would prefer not to wear them during I could just take them out if needed.
It's amazing how fixing something so small such as a snaggle tooth could make such a HUGE difference in my confidence level. Going through my weight loss journey did huge things for my confidence and it frustrated me that after literally losing 100 pounds I still was frustrated with what I saw in some of my "after photos" because of my snaggle tooth. If only losing 100 pounds was as easy as fixing my smile - I would have done it years ago!!! I am so, so glad that I decided to try Smile Direct Club and am so pleased with my results.
All I see in my "after pictures" now is a happy, healthy girl. No more snaggle tooth can get in the way of my confidence OR my smile anymore!
Remember: if you want to try Smile Direct Club for yourself code "REBECCASMILES" gets you 50% your at home impression kit OR a free scan at your local SmileShop!
Check out this post on the Smile Direct Club blog as well!
Check out this post on the Smile Direct Club blog as well!
