The Journey Begins

Early last Summer I was invited out to Smiles Orthodontics in North Vancouver to check out their state of the art location! I was greeted by the most amazing team, who have become fast-friends.

I met Jocelyn - who had planned for me to try out their amazing Zoom Whitening that day, but the appointment took a turn when we realized that my teeth were already quite white on the scale. That was where my Invisalign journey officially began!

We switched gears and Jocelyn decided to show me what Invisalign was capable of doing to transform my smile. I was floored at how easy it was for Jocelyn to scan my teeth … and then how COOL it was to be able to move them into place. As a graphic designer, it reminded me of how I’m able to move artwork around or create a logo. Only in this case, it was the perfect smile we were creating with my very own teeth!

I had been so used to seeing my teeth on crooked angles, I had no idea that they could even look so nice straightened!

I had thought about getting veneers in the past, but that is destructive and the scan (and Miss Jocelyn!) convinced me that this is so much healthier for my teeth in the long run. I have a small chip on the front tooth which we can fix at the very end. I can’t wait!

I was convinced … so we went full speed ahead and the next appointment was arranged for me to officially begin.

Watch the 90 Second Video

Located at 125 Lonsdale Avenue in North Vancouver, The Smiles Orthodontics office is a beautiful and welcoming environment. Riju, the Operations Manager happened to greet me at the front desk on my first visit. She and Jocelyn have become fast-friends of mine, making it feel as though I have two caring friends in my corner through the process. They are easily accessible by email and even text, if needed.

I have contemplated Invisalign for years now. When the opportunity came up to work with Smiles, my only hesitation was the distance, as I don’t live in North Vancouver. However distance is a non-issue with the help of their convenient app. In the photo above, I’m going over some helpful information and learning about the app – ‘My Invisalign’ – which allows you to track and submit your weekly progress to the Orthodontist and team at Smiles.

Dr. Mackenzie created my treatment plan and a number of trays were created to step-by-step get me to that mega-watt smile finish-line I had seen on the screen during my first scan appointment. (As seen in the video)

I’ve looked at options to straighten my teeth before. The timing was just never quite right. Some reason always seemed to stand in the way. And yet, every time I look in the mirror, or see myself on video… it’s been staring me in the face. It’s time to do this for myself… and I am so excited to begin this journey with Smiles Orthodontics.

In the photo above, you see Dr. Lam installing some ‘buttons’ on various teeth using dental material similar to a filling. These will help the Invisalign trays take hold of my teeth in order to better move them into place. This process was completely painless.

The following photo was taken at home directly after the appointment. I am not wearing the Invisalign trays so that I can show you what the buttons look like on the teeth. At first, they felt foreign in my mouth - and even a little gritty when the trays were off. Over the first week, normal ware smoothed them out. Now I don’t notice them at all and anyone I mention them to says they didn’t see them visibly.

I had the option of the regular plan which will take about 10 months to a year or the accelerated treatment which utilizes this fun little vibrating bite tool called ‘Propel’. Use of propel speeds up the movement, shaving a couple extra months off, allowing you to move to your next tray in approx. 4 days rather than every 7. Initially I chose to go at the regular pace.

One surprise was that in my particular case, I was going to need to wear orthodontic elastics to assist in movement and correcting my bite. They were another element that would need getting-used-to, but eventually not be noticeable at all. As my treatment progressed, I was told I may not need them full-time.

I went home equipped with my first 18 trays, a cute ‘n handy compact-style case, elastics and a few other things to help my transformation along. I always feel best about things when I get organized and find systems that work for me – such as creating a space for the items and establishing routines.