I was amazed to discover how much my imperfect teeth and self-conscious smile had been affecting me psychologically until after I got them fixed the other day. Although my teeth are pretty straight and fairly white, there was considerable cosmetic work that was needed to get back a smile that I was proud to show.
Because of these cosmetic problems, I had not allowed my teeth to show when I smiled for many years. When I tried to hide them, my smile was restrained, unnatural, and awkward.
I was surprised to find out that my smile wasn’t as bad as I thought when I looked at the before pictures the dental assistant had taken. Although I am very diligent about my dental care — I have my teeth cleaned every four months – I never looked at them closely in the mirror. I was too bothered by the imperfections.
Once the cosmetic work was completed, my outlook, friendliness, and joy for living were instantly raised to a level that I had forgotten about. I had learned to ignore the issue quite a bit. But I didn’t do a thorough job because I would sometimes wake up during the night with bad thoughts about my teeth and smile. Had I known how great I’d feel once they were fixed, I would have done it years ago.
The cosmetic work on my teeth was accomplished with bonding over two visits. Although I would have liked to have had most of this work done using veneers, as they are superior to bonding, I could not afford them at this time.
I’ve had several dentists give me proposals for a smile makeover over the years as I’ve moved around. I didn’t feel completely comfortable with them or their abilities, however.
I did a huge amount of online research and I got complimentary second opinions from three other dentists before I decided to go forward with the dentist who did my smile makeover. Not only is he a well-educated and highly skilled DMD, he is also easy to talk to, unhurried, genuine, friendly, and laid-back. All of these things are essential criteria for me when selecting a dentist.
If you are unhappy with your smile, I’d highly recommend that you find a skilled dentist and get it fixed as soon as possible. It changed my life. It may do the same for you. 😀