KitKat has always had a beautiful smile. She is confident and kind, and smiles openly and frequently. But she has spent many years being self conscious of her smile. When her teeth came in, it became very clear that she was going to take after her daddy’s side of the family. She was cursed with a huge gap between her two front teeth and canines that didn’t want to leave her mouth.
Last year, she met with an orthodontist, who immediately told her that she needed braces. In addition to the space between her front tooth, she had recently had those two stubborn canine baby teeth pulled. The adult teeth had grown over the baby teeth and stuck out at odd angles. I went home with a detailed orthodontic plan…..and a lot of mommy guilt. There was no way that I’d be able to pay for her braces unless insurance decided to cover it.
It didn’t.
KitKat has been a good sport about her teeth. While she was excited about the prospect of getting braces over the summer, she didn’t complain when I told her the news that it wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. I think she was a little worried about how she’d look wearing braces, anyway. I know that her smile still bothers her, and I hate to think that she may hold back her smiles because of the way her teeth look.
Last month, KitKat started high school. She is an honors student and a member of the Women’s Ensemble. When she performs with her choir, I want her to enjoy herself without being self conscious, and smile confidently while she sings. It’s hard as a mom to not be able to provide everything I’d like to provide for my children. It’s especially difficult when those things have such long-term effects and consequences. Today I found out about Invisalign. I love the idea of Invisalign Teen – an alternative to braces that fits a young high school girl’s lifestyle perfectly. They fit KitKat’s lifestyle as a busy, confident, hard working, and happy teen.
I want her to ALWAYS smile like she means it.
Did you have braces? What did you love or hate about wearing them?
This post is a contest entry. Here are the details: Invisalign Teen is a proud sponsor of Blogalicious Weekend 2010, and is offering the chance for one blogger to win a new smile for your child or yourself. The winner will receive one free Invisalign Teen or Invisalign treatment valued at no more than $5500, and will be announced live at Blogalicious Weekend. Contest rules here.
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I had straight teeth but wore braces to correct how far my top teeth went over my bottom teeth, I used to breath with my mouth open. Got them on freshman year and off junior year, back then it seemed that 3 years was the norm. Straight teeth are very important to how a person is looked at, I can honestly tell you I get compliments to this day about how nice my teeth are and they are not bleached out to the blinding white everyone else seems to have…they are just straight. It is a form of first impression and a key to confidence. Not sure how well Invisailign teen will work :) but it’s sure worth a try. My advise would be to visit a few more orthodontists and see if there are any other options. Yes having you teeth fixed as an adult is also a possibility. As far as do braces hurt, we all know beauty knows no pain :) they aren’t really that bad. The results are worth it!
I’ve never had braces nor known anyone but my daughter’s teeth are similar and she is 8 years old. We may be in similar boat .. no way can I afford braces if her insurance doesn’t cover them. So happy you won for your daughter! That is a great surprise/gift etc! Joanne over at Barely Domestic Mama sent me here as she linked to her on her blog post!
I had braces my Sophomore and Junior year in High School, we live a 2 hour drive from Mexico so I had them put on there for $2,000. I would go once a month for a check up and give them $100 payments. My little sister had her braces the same way.
I was lucky with my daughter my husband was Active duty in the Navy she had a serious overbite at the age of 5 and had braces and headgear from the age of 7 till 12 years old, The military insurance paid quite a bit but we still had some heavy payments, as they didn’t cover all of it.
How wonderful, I was just coming over from my email – to tell you to put a donate button up.
You made me cry…I hate not being able to afford braces for my daughter too. And it was sad that we “started” the process, but then realized it was way to costly for our budget.
As a mom, this broke my heart. And my sweetie just went right along-and said nothing about not getting them. But I think secretly she wishes she had them.
I had them. I loved them. And happy that I was able to have them. Hurt? yes! But well worth it-for me!
I just read your post and your mention of me and KitKat. Thank you!! I hope you’ll be able to get your treatment done eventually. Your smile makes such a difference!!
Eventually, when we have money, we’ll have to do several more ortho treatments with the younger kids….but for now, KitKat WON the Invisalign!! I can’t wait to get started.
I can’t wait to show off her “after” pictures…..because we won! Yay!!
That sounds like my husband. His teeth are constantly shifting. SO much for that work we had done… ;)
PS–We won!! :)
WE WON!! KitKat is excited but nervous. I think it will be great for her, though!
What a horrible experience! As a parent, I would have been livid if that happened to my daughter!
PS–did you hear we won??
I hope you and Kitkat win!! I just had lunch with a girl recently I used to work with who just started with invisalign and she seemed very excited about the whole process. I had braces as a young teen myself and although I didn’t love them, I was happy with the end results.
Good luck
amber :)
I had braces and they ruined my teeth. Sorry, I hate to be the dissenting opinion.
I have two brothers one has perfect teeth the other had extremely bucked teeth. I was the baby and the ortho. told my Mom that although my teeth were straight at the time that they wouldn’t stay that way. Frankly, I think he saw dollar signs.
Anyway, he didn’t watch the seal on the back of the braces and my front two teeth got cavities under the bands on the back of my teeth. I have had fillings in those teeth since the day I got my braces off. It was absolutely 100% the orthos. fault,since there was no way I could see that area to know that the seals were broken.
First words out of my mouth to the ortho were “Well, I assume you are paying for the fillings AND giving my parents a discount!”
I wore big metal braces to correct my bite and my gaped front teeth from ages 13-15. I wore my retainer halfheartedly throughout high school. By college, all my teeth shifted and my wisdom teeth came in and crowded all my teeth. I now need braces again, but insurance only pays for kids under 18 to get them. I guess I’ll wait!
I had braces as an adult (24) and it was the single.best.decision of my life. I had teeth similar to your daughter’s but worse. I still have the photo of my ‘before’ and I LOVE showing people how far my smile has come.
I had braces for almost four years. The only thing I didn’t like was the pain. Every kid where I lived had braces, so there was no awkward “I have braces” issue. My mom, my brother and I all had them at the same time. I remember my parents meeting with the ortho to work out a payment plan. We didn’t have any dental insurance.
My oldest has them now. They still work out payment plans. My other two will need them and I have thought about invisalign for me to restraighten the teeth that have moved a little.
Awwww. I know how your daughter feels. It is hard having a different kind of smile that makes you self-conscious, especially in high school. And my parents had the same problem when I was younger, they wanted to help but the costs were just crazy (especially for me because they wanted to reset my jaw.) The great thing about Invisalign it won’t be a huge lifestyle adjustment for her. What a little beauty she is. Good luck to you and your daughter on winning the contest.
As one commenter said above, definitely shop around. With this economy I bet there are some deals out there. Bummer about your 5yr old but thank goodness it isn’t now that he needs them. :)
Thanks! :) I’m very proud of her, not only for how beautiful she is, but for the kind of person she is. I wish I could give her everything!
Unfortunately, my oldest daughter is not my only child who will need some kind of orthodontic treatment. Even my 5 year old was told by the dentist a few months ago that he would definitely need braces one day because of the angle of his top teeth. Darn!
That does worry me….the idea of a child “rebelling” and not following through with treatment. Eek! It’s so nice, though, that there are alternatives to those braces of our childhood.
I am so glad that your daughter had such a good experience with her braces. It really is sad that they are not covered by many insurance plans.
I’ve thought about getting braces (or even better…Invisalign) for myself, and it’s nice to know that it’s never too late.
Your daughter is beautiful! :)
I hated having braces as a teen but it was one of the best things my parents did for my teeth. It definitely gave me a huge boost of confidence during high school, especially given how much I struggled with how I looked. We had endless battles with our insurance company over it. I do wish we’d had InvisAlign back when I needed braces. :D
I was an orthodontic assistant for 12 years and I am very familiar with invisalign. I have had braces 3 times and the first time I was 19. (being in the field you become very picky – hence the 3 times.) They do make ceramic/semi clear braces, as well, which I had. They are less noticeable. The only draw back to braces is that you MUST brush your teeth after you eat (food can get caked in them if you bite into stuff) but actually with invisalign you have to do the same. Good luck and I totally understand the fees associated with orthodontic work. It can be expensive, unfortunately. My son will need them someday, too.
I wish my parents would have waited and found something which better suited me than the big metal braces of 15-20 years ago.
Braces corrected my crossbite, but the rubber bands were painful, and by the time I graduated to my retainer, I was in full rebellion mode. And still have a little crossbite.
Talk to her about it. Make sure your Mom Guilt isn’t taking over!
my daughter is a senior this year. She had braces from 9th – 11th grade and she said it was so worth it. Even later. She LOVES her perfect smile now. It’s sad to me that ortho is not covered by most insurance carriers as this is a huge self-esteem and confidence builder for kids.
I had Invisalign just recently to correct my back teeth and a small overbite. I loved it, and am glad I did it.
If this doesn’t work out, I have heard about some dentists that have “sales” on braces. I have a friend who just (at 40) got them put on because she could finally afford them. It would be worth it to call around and ask.
Also, a retainer is much much cheaper, and could help a little. Definitely wouldn’t fix everything, but I bet it would make her feel a little better about her smile.
Good luck!!