My Dream to Look and Feel Beautiful

(Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Growing up, my older sister was the pretty one.

The label I was given?

The smart one.  Even though she was the one who got to skip a grade because they recognized early that she was ‘gifted’.

Guess they figured she couldn’t have both titles.

With her blue eyes and long, light brown hair, she really was pretty. She still is.

And I suppose I can agree with them—I am smart.

But I don’t think I have ever felt pretty.

I don’t say that to get pity, and I’m not fishing for a compliment.

When I look in the mirror, I see the girl my brothers teased, like brothers do, and called fat.

I see ‘that ugly dog’, an insult a boy in junior high school used to describe me when his friend said he was going to ask me to a dance.

So what if that was 30 years ago, and countless others have told me in the many years since that I am pretty.  Beautiful in fact.

It’s hard to shake off those hurtful words I took to heart decades ago.

I think I’ll always struggle with my weight.  I blame that a little on genetics and a lot on my love for dessert, combined with my strong dislike for regular exercise.

And there are other things I would change if I had a million bucks or could work a little magic.

I’d certainly make myself a couple inches taller—long and lean.

I’d keep my curves, but they wouldn’t be nearly so, well, curvy.

And I would fix my teeth.

Actually, that’s a project already underway.

And it didn’t take a million dollars to do it.

Yep. Last year, I finally made myself a priority and paid for braces.

But as a woman in her 40’s who still wants to look and feel beautiful—even during the process of fixing my teeth– I didn’t really want to draw attention with metal in my mouth, so I went with Invisalign braces.

Invisalign’s braces are like clear, plastic mouthguards that slide over your teeth, helping guide them to where they should be, little by little.

The trays, as I call them, are created based on molds or scans of your mouth (I had molds made when the braces originally went in, but my orthodontist has since switched to a high-tech method of creating the trays by scanning my mouth with a little wand that sends images to a computer, which then creates the trays I’ll wear to adjust my teeth until they’re perfect).

You swap out the trays every other week.

Your treatment plan lasts as long as is needed—in most cases about a year.  My teeth were especially bad and I’ll need the trays another couple months before I’m finished.

I was already thrilled with the results after the first few months, and I know that I have a way to go still, but will get there.  That’s the thing: Invisalign is just as effective in treating complex teeth issues as it is with minor, more cosmetic problems –and again, you don’t have to sport wires and brackets.  Advancements to the Invisalign patented technology continue to increase the complexity of issues that can be treated — underbite to crossbite, deepbite to overbite and overly crowded (that was my issue) to widely spaced problems are typically treatable with Invisalign. Minor, more cosmetic issues may be corrected using the Invisalign Express option (something I hear has become very popular with brides-to-be hoping to create the perfect smile on their wedding day).  You can take the Invisalign Smile Assessment  to see if it’s the right fit for you.

My braces cost me almost five grand.  Yes, that’s a lot of money, but I had no problem forking it over when my children needed braces.  Why didn’t I deserve a nice smile, too?

I admit, I do feel a little prettier with the confidence I now have flashing a smile these days, compared to before I started treatment..  Now, if it was just as easy to stretch myself into that long, lean lady I always wished I could be!

You can find out more about Invisalign by following these links.

• Invisalign Website
• Invisalign on Twitter
  
• Invisalign on Facebook
  
• Invisalign on Pinterest
  

Good luck!