I recently complete my teeth straightening journey and have been so excited to share my results + also review the whole process for you today! I’ve also filmed a vlog of the process from the beginning for my YouTube channel so be sure to check that out here for real time updates as they happened!
I also have a brilliant discount code for £200 off this already affordable treatment, which you can use + read more about via my link here!
Backstory: I’ve never had braces before and was always relatively happy with my teeth growing up. However since starting a career online (and having to watch myself back for hours whilst editing videos for YouTube) I began fixating on a couple of teeth in my smile that really got me down. I feel like as I got older, some of my teeth starting rotating and I became very self conscious about them – especially as a single woman in her early thirties! One of my teeth was so rotated that to me, it looked happy like I was missing a tooth. For those reasons I really wanted to straighten my teeth before my wedding day last April – I wanted to be fully confident with my smile in my wedding pictures and I’m SO glad I made that decision because I couldn’t be happier with my teeth now.
Why I chose Impress: I came across Impress whilst researching invisible aligner options – Impress are Europes #1 leader in clear aligners, were at a great price point, their treatments are led by top orthodontists and what I really liked about them was that the progress was monitored through weekly scans on a mobile app (rather than fortnightly appointments to the dentist which would have been very time consuming). I had an initial appointment with them where they took X-Rays of my mouth to check my tooth health before treatment, they took a 3D scan of my teeth and shortly after I received a summary video of how my teeth would straighten with their treatment, along with details about the length of treatment I would need and how many trays I would need. Everything looked fab so I went ahead with the process!
The Journey: A month or so after my initial appointment, I received a box in the post with all of my clear aligners for the entire treatment which for me was 20 weeks. Also in the box was a free teeth whitening kit, some chewies to ensure my aligners were in place, a box to keep my aligners in whilst eating and a mouth retractor so I could send clear scans to the orthodontists. I then took my first set of aligners with me to the Impress clinic where I had a 40 minute appointment for them to attach some buttons to my teeth. I was really nervous about this as I was worried about the attachments being very visible but my worry was quickly forgotten as they were only noticeable if I pointed them out to people. I then started my 20 week teeth straightening journey!
The first week was the toughest for me as it took some getting used to, not only the feeling of having something constantly in your mouth, but also getting used to the attachments and also getting used to the process of wearing the aligners for 22 hours a day. I had to try and squeeze all of my meals, snacks and tea/coffee breaks into 2 hours each day which took some getting used to! However I quickly slipped into a routine and after a month I hardly noticed the aligners when I was wearing them and I got very good at not snacking as much (great for a pre-wedding diet!). I was worried about the pain of this treatment too after having read many reviews of invisalign online, however I didn’t feel any pain at all. Some weeks sets felt tighter in certain teeth than others, but to me that meant the aligners were moving my teeth correctly so I was fine with that!
Each week I scanned my teeth using the Impress app and then an orthodontist would check over my scans, ensure my teeth were moving correctly, before I then moved on to the next set. There were two weeks in my 20 week journey where I was busy with work and didn’t wear my aligners for the full 22 hours a day and the orthodontists could tell, so I had to wear a couple of sets a little longer than a week. Half way through my treatment I was booked in to have IPR – which is a very quick procedure which helps repair crowded teeth by basically using a file to gently file between some teeth to ensure they have space to move into the correct position. I was quite nervous about this beforehand being not only painful but also the fear of having noticeable gaps between my teeth, but the appointment was over very quickly and any gaps I did noticed closed very quickly as my teeth moved into their correct position.
After around 23 weeks, I finished my treatment, had my attachments removed and had straight teeth for my wedding day!! After finishing treatment I had another 3D scan of my teeth at the Impress clinic in Liverpool Street and continued wearing my aligners for around 20 hours a day until my clear retainers arrived in the post. I was sent three sets of retainers – it’s a three month process to wean yourself down to only wearing them at night time which is as follows – wear them for 20 hours a day for month 1, 16 hours a day for month 2 and finally down to 8 hours a day from month 3. Now I just wear them every evening when I go to bed – they do feel slightly tight still in the evening when I put them on but they aren’t painful and I haven’t noticed my teeth moving again.
Things that helped: I really recommend getting some chewies for treatment – I think they help to move your teeth quicker as they help manuver each aligner into a correct tight position whenever you put them back in – I still use them now when putting my retainers in each evening. There’s also an app called Tray Minder which is amazing for helping keep count of how many minutes you’ve had your aligners in/our for! This made the early stages of the treatment stress free for me! I also invested in an electric aligner cleaner – it was annoying to have to spend so long between meals washing and cleaning my aligners and it’s surprising how quickly they build up grime, so whilst I was eating I’d pop them in some clean water (occasionally with a dental cleaner tablet) in the machine which used vibrations to clean the aligners in 3 minutes. I also recommend making up a little teeth kit to pop in your handbag whenever you leave the house with – a fold out toothbrush, a mini toothpaste, floss + your aligner case. I took these EVERY where with me as you need to properly clean your teeth after each meal/drink so having them in a ready made kit made my life much easier!
Results: I absolutely couldn’t be happier with the results – I feel so confident with my teeth and my smile now and am so happy I chose Impress for this journey. The staff I met were lovely, their clinic in Liverpool Street is convenient and my teeth now are pretty perfect. My bite has corrected and my teeth look so straight! Here are some before and afters at the beginning and end of treatment, and also some pictures throughout the process for me – it’s so interesting seeing how my teeth move throughout!!
Before + After Pictures
I have a discount code which will save you £200 with Impress if you also looking to embark on a similar journey! Use my link here and it’ll be applied.
If you have any questions do let me know!
Katie x
