Sunday
26Oct2008
Sarah's Question #2: To Invisalign or Not to Invisalign?
Little dark this time! Welcome to my gloomy kitchen. Also I realize that I yapped for over three minutes again. SUE ME. Actually, don't. I won't have the money to pay you and that crackerjack lawyer of yours if I lose.
Also, I know that in the video I said that I'd add links to who else was talking about my previous Facebook question, but I did a crappy job of bookmarking them and sort of lost interest after my tenth glass of wine. Kidding! Sort of. Want to help?
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Reader Comments (35)
It must be a pain though to continually take out the things and brush and floss each time you have to eat. Sounds more like retainers than real braces.
I personally was a bad retainer person, I stopped using my retainers after only a fortnight. And now I live a normal life pretending that my teeth are perfect, when I'm sure they have gone slightly downhill since I took of the braces, but definitely not enough for me to really care.
My question for you, to end this entirely longer than I expected comment, is are you a bad 'invisaligner'? Meaning do you ever find yourself so annoyed that you just take a couple hours without having them in when you should or whatever? If no; do you think you will be in the forseeable future?
Your FanRob
The whole production of taking them out, eating/drinking, flossing/brushing, putting them back in sounds kind of a pain.. but no pain no gain right?
Pretty obvious observation (almost tautological) but she makes a good point. If you are bothered by something (whether for completely vain reasons or legitimate medical concern or some grey area inbetween) you can either suck it up and deal or take the steps to fix or alter the situation.
Plus, in your line of work there is a different standard for dental quality than for everyone else. If you, as a web/television personality, are concerned about the look of your smile then you should alter it if only to protect your main source of income, i.e. your looks/character.
The only danger lies in a runaway sort of "Oh my god I'm hideous and must surgically alter every part of my body until I am perfect" mindset. That's where the outside opinion starts to matter more. Then again, you will be the worst judge of whether or not you're going a bit nuts, so I guess the danger won't be apparent until it's right on top of you.
Either way, good luck with the Invisalign. Have fun brushing your teeth like, a billion times a day.
-JP
As for yourself, I say go for it, as you know it is not forever.
They are all services that are provided in clean environments (hopefully) by licensed professionals. I don't see any problem with any of them (I just received my invisalign two weeks ago) as long as people are willing to pay for the service.
In the case of invisalign and braces they can be very necessary for complete dental hygene. The marketers of Invisalign and braces are marketing to our vanity, so we are manipulated in that respect. I don't feel bad(either should you), Invisalign or braces would help me and I don't want to look like a teenager with braces again!
If your teeth are moving, they are definitely going to keep moving so even though I think your teeth look great, if you only have to have invisalign for 5 months, it's worth it. My husband had his for 13 months and his teeth are much better. He still has to wear his trays every now and then like a retainer. The benefit to having straighter teeth is that they are much easier to keep clean, which leads to better dental health, less bone loss, etc. I think having to brush and floss more frequently could be a good thing too - it was for my husband.
http://slapadenko.com
Cindy
I see NOTHING vain or ridiculous about preventing costly or expensive work down the road - I never thought your teeth looked bad but if they are going to go bad on you in the future, DEFINITELY take action NOW! The best offense is a good defense!
Plus, how cool is it to have a selectable lisp! LOL! Honestly, no vain woman would point out dental appliances let alone remove them on camera!
You're in my thoughts and I wish you a VERY short turnaround! Move to the next gig and go get em'! :-)
You do look great now, but being in the media does mean that, whether you like it or not, your appearance is likely to have some impact on the work you get in the future. The cost of Invisalign might be justified in that respect.
If you have to make some financial sacrifices to buy Invisalign than it would be worth while to think twice about.
If you were constantly using appearance and physical enhancement treatments than that could point to an underling emotional problem. How many boob jobs, tummy tucks, etc have you had. :)
Is it vain? I don't think so. It would be a lie for us to say they were not aware of our appearance. We are consumers and make decisions on all of our purchases, thus we have no choice but to think about why we pick a shirt in this shade of blue over that shade of blue. Even if it is based on solely price, you still are analyzing options to an extent which encompasses the application of the product. In regards with clothing- you by default take things like fit into consideration because it's purpose is to be worn.
Really all of this is about what makes us feel more comfortable, more confident, and more who we want to be. Who else should care? No one is affected by your choice to wear invisiline. Or get breast implants.
Even the "purist," the nature-loving, not-self-absorbed feminist who seem to be most opposed to things like this have a certain look. Dreadlocks and flowy skirts anyone? Criticism of any kind will always be hypocritical because we are all consumers.So eat it.
PSThis is the first opportunity I've had to use the word "psych-ache." Thanks!
And if it makes you feel more confident well then that is a major bonus!!!
Please don't stop interacting with us.... Were still here for you...
Essentially it's gonna save me 15% on the $2500 out of pocket which is $375. Plus, I'm using a credit card and getting 1% back, so there's another $25 back. All in all, my Health Savings Account will reimburse me the $2500 to my bank account in order to pay the credit card bill and then I pay back the $2100 over the course of a year through my paycheck.
Keep us up to date on the pain, any cleaning advice, etc as a coworker said she had them and took several Motrin a day for the pain and it ruined her stomach lining.
Regarding vanity: I started going gray (very gray) at the age of 27. For the longest time I just accepted the fact I was going to be silver haired early. But around 33, I would look in the mirror and my reflection did not match how I felt or my appearance otherwise. So I started coloring my hair its original hue. I felt more energized and confident. People think I'm 27-28 and I'll be 35 next week. Is it vain, well, its relative. Does it make me feel good, hell yeah.
My opinion, as long as a person is not making inhancements solely on behalf of another person (like boob job for the boyfriend) and they spend money on the necessities of life first, then go for it!
Hang in during the transition. And knowing it will be beautiful, keep on smiling.
Plus, it's hard to put a price on feeling confident.
Just kidding!
Invisalign is a good choice. Just don't try Clear Rite or superglue.