For as long as Debi Kennedy, 47, could remember, she hated smiling for pictures. “Ever since childhood, a few of my top teeth were visibly crooked,” she says. “When I was growing up, we couldn’t afford braces and over the years, I realized just how much I hated smiling. Before my wedding in 2005, I was doing a photo shoot in my wedding dress and did everything I could to smile without showing any teeth. And then on my wedding day, I did the same thing in all the wedding photos. It’s sad to think that on the happiest day of your life you can be so determined to not show your teeth when all you want to do is smile. And that was when I knew one day I was going to have to do something about it.”
Kennedy considered using SmileDirectClub for an entire year before she ordered her impression kit. “I decided this was the right time because the cost of treatment was so affordable that I felt I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.” After seeing commercials for SmileDirectClub few times, Kennedy decided to do her research. “First I read reviews on the Internet and then I found a Facebook page for SmileDirectClub members that is not affiliated with or supported by SmileDirectClub. I spent about a year reading everyone’s posts regarding how their treatment plan was going and how their results came out. The vast majority of people had nothing but positive things to say. I asked questions and learned enough that I felt confident taking the plunge. So, I went to my dentist for my yearly cleaning and made sure my teeth were in good health before moving forward.”
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“Debi had crowding and a shallow overbite, and her chief complaint was that she wanted straighter top, front teeth,” says SmileDirectClub lead dentist Jeffrey Sulitzer, DMD. “This is a classic crowding situation where we needed to create additional space so that the teeth have a better, more aesthetic alignment. These types of cases are a very good fit for SmileDirectClub’s affiliated doctors to treat utilizing our teledentistry platform. We use a network of state-licensed dentists and orthodontists who will determine their patient’s eligibility for treatment. This includes any necessary X-rays, dental records and required clearances from the customer’s local dentist or orthodontist. We always recommend every customer see their local dentist or orthodontist in person before beginning any remote aligner therapy treatment and suggest that it continue during and after invisible aligner orthodontic care.”
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“I ordered my impression kit from SmileDirectClub online, and the day it arrived, I immediately followed all the directions and made my impressions. Seeing my 3D preview of what my new smile would look like for the first time was one of the most exciting parts of the entire process,” says Kennedy. “My initial plan was for six months. I ended up putting in a request for additional aligners at the end of my plan, so the whole process took approximately 10 months. There is no additional charge for additional aligners if the orthodontist determines you need them, which is a big plus in my book!”
“Re-evaluation at the end of your smile plan is sometimes called refinement” explains Dr. Sulitzer. “These are additional aligners available at the end of the original smile plan, should additional tooth movement be needed to attain the goals outlined during the treatment planning process.” Kennedy did another set of impressions to get the additional aligners need to make her final results perfect.
“The overall treatment was not bad at all,” she says. “I had spent enough time researching this to know exactly what to expect. I would say the hardest part initially was getting used to not being able to sit and drink coffee for hours in the morning because you have to wear them for at least 22 hours a day, and you cannot eat or drink anything other than water while you have them in. But after a month, I was used to my new routine. The pain wasn’t too bad as long as I took an over-the-counter pain reliever, and it would usually only last for two or three days after putting in each set of aligners during the treatment. I found it easy to keep track of when I needed to change my aligners by putting reminders in my phone calendar. SmileDirectClub also sent step-by-step instructions, and each set was labeled with everything I needed to know.”
Now that Kennedy is finished with her treatment, she’s in love with her smile. “As a woman in my 40s, who feels like she is still in her 20s, there is always that struggle to still look as young as you feel. With these aligners, the only people who know you are wearing them are the people you tell. So my advice to anyone who is on the fence about using SmileDirectClub is to go for it. Get your smile back just as I have gotten mine!”
