How an at-home teeth straightening kit made me feel beautiful again

All across the internet you’ll see people flashing their pearly whites, boasting about how they achieved the perfect Hollywood smile in a matter of months. But the journey to great teeth is not easy. Quick fixes don’t work and a great smile requires constant commitment and patience.

If you’ve thought about getting your teeth done, you’ll know that private orthodontic work is hugely expensive (unless you can afford a quick trip to Turkey and a risky outcome). For me, the lower cost of digital teeth-straightening was much more appealing. I wanted to put the digital process through its paces – I went with Straight Teeth Direct – and here are the results.

To give the experiment some context, I have suffered with a small palate and overcrowding since a young age, which resulted in protruding, crooked teeth and really prominent canines. Even after an 18-month stint with fixed braces when I was a teenager, my teeth were so stubborn they rapidly dropped back into their original place. I thought all hope was lost.

Straight Teeth Direct had their work cut out to convince me that my crooked smile could make me feel beautiful again.

For being a digital, online-only brand, Straight Teeth Direct was extremely professional and engaging. Nothing felt like stock-text. They virtually walked me through the process, organised for me to have a 3D scan and digital impressions of my teeth taken, which not only helped to model my aligners accurately, but is also a digital imaging process that helped simulate how my teeth would move.

I have an extremely busy schedule, and felt the prospect of teeth-straightening at a traditional dentist was quite daunting. Most dentists aren’t able to offer a plethora of after-work only appointments throughout the week. But like most people, I can’t just take off time in the middle of the day to trek across the city to my appointment.

I was intrigued to see how Straight Teeth Direct could deal with this, and was thrilled to see they use an app-based approach where I could reach my dentist at any time, from anywhere. This was especially useful as a few months after I began my treatment, the first Covid lockdown was brought into force. At this time, I heard a few stories from friends that their aligner-based teeth-straightening was put on pause or offered refunds because they couldn’t attend their in-person visits. I quietly relished the fact my treatment was online.

When speaking to the team about the approach behind their app, they explained the app has been “crafted entirely by a team of dental experts and dentists/finely tuned to cater specifically to the intricacies of aligner therapy and teledentistry. It seamlessly integrates messaging, photos, and videos, ensuring that interactions are not bound by time constraints. This level of flexibility benefits both users and dentists, as communication can unfold at a pace that suits everyone involved.”

So how did this actually manifest in my busy day-to-day life?

On the first day, I put my first set of retainers in with anticipation. I opted for the 3D scan option as the aligners had a snug fit, and I would’ve been devastated if they were a bit off. Straight Teeth Direct did reassure me throughout that should any aligners not quite fit they have the ability to rapidly make changes to the design of any aligner and quickly get it sent out.

To get the best, most long-lasting effects of the treatment you need to wear your aligners for a minimum of 22hrs per day, for two weeks. Given my history with teeth moving, I was sceptical if I would even notice anything! But once I started comparing the before and after photos at each monthly review, the positive change in my smile was evident.

Each monthly review was quick and easy, with helpful guides for how to take your review photos. And if on occasion, like me, you were a few days late to respond, the team would send you a friendly reminder. The dentists would then process the pictures, check on how your routine aligner wearing was going and then let you know what stage you’re at. Passing each milestone was a great feeling. The app has a great interface, with all your photo records, and a percentage tracker to let you know where you are in your smile journey.

During my treatment, I actually experienced an impacted wisdom tooth, which was sliding sideways into my back molars. After emergency surgery to remove it, Straight Teeth Direct adjusted my treatment and aligner wear to accommodate the time spent unable to wear them. They were able to adjust my treatment based on the 3D simulation prediction of my teeth and plan the next steps from there. From then on, whenever I had concerns about the stubbornness of my teeth moving, issues with the aligners fitting or any sensitivity, I would raise them during my monthly reviews. And each time the dentists would work out small adjustments for me, or advice on how to get the best fitting from the aligner and even insight into the science behind how my teeth were moving.

Did you know that your tongue, lips and cheeks can cause your teeth to shift over time? Apparently small forces on the teeth (such as your aligner) cause a compression and stretching of the periodontal ligament, which can trigger blood vessels and attract immune cells, and these cells break and rebuild the bone, gently reshaping the alignment of the teeth.

Given that the process with Straight Teeth Direct is so virtual and tangible, it made communication so effective. I was never waiting for an appointment, and never made to feel rushed out of it. Instead, I could access the team online whenever I needed to and the responses were always prompt, informative and understanding. When you’re constantly busy and on the go, the last thing you want to do is stress about an appointment in the middle of the day. And I never felt rushed to ask my questions during an allotted appointment time, there was always the opportunity to engage in the inner workings of my treatment and learn about my own teeth from the company’s dentists.

I also really liked having the 3D simulation video of my teeth to look back on as it was constantly available to me in the app. Whenever I hit a low patch with the speed of my teeth moving or felt frustrated with a bit of tooth-ache, I’d trace my experience through the 3D scan simulation video. And now, my progress pictures show an immense change, and I am thrilled with the results.

Now that my teeth alignment process has concluded, I was curious to see how Straight Teeth Direct would support me. I heard from friends who’ve used other online-only teeth-straightening companies that the after-care didn’t always live up to the experience.

Interestingly, Straight Teeth Direct has a comprehensive and clear approach to aftercare. Their Maintainer Plan allows you to obtain additional sets of retainers post-treatment, to preserve the teeth’s alignment. And this plan also offers an extended guarantee to address any minor movement despite consistent device wear. Given my tricky, stubborn teeth with their history of regression, this service was a no-brainer for me.

Throughout my journey, my teeth have been stubborn, slow to move and I’ve had some major surgery in my mouth during my treatment – and the team has been patient, adaptable and informative the entire time. I’ve left this experience with a straight, natural smile and it’s perfectly me.

For more information on teeth straightening, visit www.straightteethdirect.com