The First Day

This is me in grade 9, baby. I had braces then but I was a bit self-conscious, so I took my high school picture with my mouth closed. Not the best look for me, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Most of us go through that particularly annoying teenage milestone of having a set of braces slapped on our teeth when we are in grade 8 or 9. I’m sure many of you will recall that brilliant day when the brackets were finally removed and the amazing free feeling of having smooth teeth once again. Of course, there was the added bonus of being able to sink your teeth into a juicy raw apple or to again experience the pleasure of chowing down on a piece of toffee. I, like many of you, made the conscious decision of “Never Again”. My days with braces were over and I would continue life forever with a perfect smile.

Fast forward, oh, 20 years perhaps, and time and nature had taken their toll. A bad bout of teeth grinding in my mid-20’s had caused many of my teeth to become worn and my severe overbite, that had been initially corrected by my first set of braces had slowly returned, pushing at my front teeth and creating a lovely gap-tooth look. I wasn’t particularly self-conscious about my smile but in the age of laser teeth whitening and adult teeth straightening methods, I began to notice that my tooth situation was starting to look a little, well, bleh. My resolve to “Never Again” endure braces began to erode.

Luckily for me, I happened to be excellent friends with George, who, with his business colleagues at BioMers, had been developing a clear wire for the traditional braces system. This may not seem like a big deal, but when my particular dental situation was considered, this kind of development made all the difference. There are many great methods out there for adults who want to improve their smile, but I needed braces to correct my problems. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to wear clear brackets and a metal wire. Then George offered to have me undergo treatment with the BioMers SimpliClear system. This meant that I would be wearing clear brackets AND a clear wire to correct my teeth. The result would be a traditional braces system that was completely transparent. I figured it might be an interesting experience.

For those of you who don’t know, I live in Vancouver, Canada and apparently, I am the only person in this city to have the SimpliClear treatment so far. George had an orthodontist who was wanting to try his product out and all I would have to do was sit in the dentist chair and let them do their thing. It sure was interesting getting the brackets and wires put on and it brought back a lot of memories about my first experience with braces!

What did they do? Well, first they applied a solution to my teeth that would create a bit of abrasion, which would allow the brackets to stick. Then, they popped this tight-fitting clear tray over my teeth that had the brackets attached. After a bit of waiting and flashing a light to cure the adhesive, they removed the clear tray and the brackets were on my teeth. Oh man, memories came flooding back when I ran my tongue over the brackets - I felt like my teeth had grown by three sizes!

Next, they applied the clear wire, fixing it to the brackets with translucent elastic bands. When that procedure was over, the dental technicians in the office were all interested to come over an take a look. I’ve never felt like such a scientific specimen before - everybody was leaning over me and looking analytically at my teeth. The first few comments were along the lines of “Wow, I can hardly see them” and “hmm - interesting”. I was totally stoked to take a look at the braces for myself!

When I finally got a chance to see myself in a mirror, I couldn’t believe how my new braces looked. Or rather, how they didn’t look - because if I stood about a foot and a half away from the mirror, I couldn’t even tell that I was wearing them. I had to step in a pace just to see them. My journey to dental perfection had begun - again. But this time, I was going to have the added bonus of wearing braces that people weren’t likely to notice. I was eager to see the reactions of my friends and co-workers when they found out I was wearing braces. I immediately wanted to test them out - how long would it take before people noticed my clear braces? It was going to be an interesting experiment.

So here we go again. And I am resolved to keep a record of this experience. If anyone wants to try out something new to help straighten their teeth, hopefully this blog will give them some inspiration! I’ll update as often as I can about my experiences with these braces. Talk to you all soon!

Additional:
Some questions you might initially have:

1. This sounds like an advertisement. How much are you getting paid for this?

Nothing. Nada. The orthodontist involved is not affiliated with BioMers or SimpliClear in any way. I'm just interested to document how this clear wire actually works.

2. Why are you blogging about this if you’re not getting paid?

I am a graphic designer by trade and I love the idea of a new product and how it can be marketed. This blog was my own idea, which I passed by my friend George before starting it. I’m not here to tell you that SimpliClear is a miracle product, but rather to give you a weekly account of my experience with it. If all goes well, and the product does what it says it will do, you will hear good things from me.

3. Are the braces comfortable?

Braces are always uncomfortable, especially in the first few days after getting them. However, I’m finding that the most uncomfortable part is the metal spacers that the orthodontist applied behind my two front teeth in order to correct my overbite and not the braces themselves. Because of this, I can’t chew or close my mouth properly. I am hoping that I’ll soon get used to this, because right now I’m pretty sure all I going to want to eat is soup for the next year.

Well, that’s it - hope to talk to you all very soon with some updates!
Cheers, Liz