Orthodontic treatment watch - October

The picture above is of me, my wonderful sister Angie and my lovely aunt
Vivienne and the occasion was my sister’s recent 40th birthday party.

Social occasions were something I was very concerned about before I had my Incognito lingual appliance fitted. Having researched lingual orthodontics tirelessly for two to three months on the internet the only barriers that stood in my way were ‘speech’ and ‘eating’ and of course the cost.

I had a consultation with Paul Ward and we discussed the first two issues, speech and eating. Paul has a wealth of experience in lingual orthodontics and as treasurer of the British Lingual Orthodontic Society he regularly meets with other leading orthodontists and specialists in this field. I knew his opinion would be one I could trust. He was very reassuring and his advice to me, which I can now confirm as quite accurate, was that for the first couple of weeks speech is 'interesting' but the more you do it the easier it becomes! (I have a reputation as a bit of a talker so I anticipated a fairly swift recovery to full vocal ability.)

On the issue of food and eating, Paul again gave me good advice. Certain foods are off the menu but adjusting your eating habits is quite easy and if, like me, you consider yourself to be a bit of a ‘foodie’ then I promise you will soon find a way to eat what you want. I’ve been experimenting with new pasta sauces, root vegetable mash, slow cooked beef in Madeira wine and fish of every shape and size. The list is endless. In fact, having to change my eating habits has got me experimenting again and re-energised my passion for good food.

Finally there was the issue of cost. We live in a society in which a healthy, attractive mouth is more than vanity; it’s an expectation! I’ve spent the last 15 years wishing I had straight teeth, and I want to spend the next 40 or so smiling with confidence. I considered top and bottom veneers’ but my dental colleagues at Longborough advised me to take the orthodontic route instead. They pointed out that I could achieve a healthy, attractive smile with my own teeth. (And if I keep my oral hygiene routine up to scratch my smile should last for the rest of my life with very little maintenance.) Finally, what clinched the decision was the fact that I was able to spread payment for the treatment over a period of months on the low cost finance scheme offered by Longborough.

It was fantastic to catch up with my family again at my sister's recent 40th birthday party. No one noticed my braces, I could eat all the ‘nibbles’ my dear sister had made and people noticed my smile. No one knew exactly what had changed but there were one or two comments that I looked ‘happy.’ Maybe this was due to my renewed confidence. I am more willing to smile. I am, at last, starting to becoming proud of my teeth.

Alison
Practice Manager