Affordable Orthodontic Treatment With Your Smile Direct

I was listening to my favourite podcast, My Favourite Murder, a few months ago when I first encountered an ad for, and the concept of, a mail-order orthodontic treatment service. Immediately, I was intrigued, as it claimed to offer straighter teeth at a fraction of the price of traditional orthodontic treatments, fewer to no trips to the actual orthodontist and fast, efficient service. Then, funnily, in the weird way that the universe works sometimes, I got an email a few days later from the Irish sister company, Your Smile Direct. They were discussing working with bloggers on promoting their service and, as my retainers were too unbearably painful, my teenage orthodontic work had since all but reverted. I jumped at the chance to fix this and to try it out. I had considered seeking out a company and treatment option like it myself, anyway, and they were offering me the chance to trial the service, free of charge...what impeccable timing.

The process begins with a home impressions kit, which costs €99 and takes moulds of your teeth to help figure out how to proceed with your treatment. Or, if you can make it to their Stillorgan Clinic, you can get a scan done in-house, instead, for the same price. I opted for the latter and the whole experience was perfectly pleasant, considering. 

Upon arrival, my orthodontist spotted me looking for the building in confusion, guessed that I was a patient and brought me up to the clinic. As I sat filling out the forms, he brought me a cup of tea (the first I'd had that day - the saviour!). The forms themselves were not overly long or complicated and the setting of the clinic is minimal, stylish and office-like (as opposed to hospital-like) enough that it makes the experience seem less intimidating for those who may be nervous of such things. The only thing, in fact, that put me ill at ease throughout the entire experience was the consent agreement that I was told to read and sign. I'm perfectly aware that such things present the worst-case, highly unlikely scenarios and I've signed plenty before (for my laser-eye surgery, for example) so I wasn't overly concerned but it was a wee bit alarming. As I say, however, it was the only blip in an otherwise smooth visit. 

Once the forms were all signed, I went into an office where my orthodontist chatted to me politely to put me at ease (even going as far as to put on a K-pop playlist to distract me) and then the scanning process began. This process involves wearing a mouthpiece to keep your mouth wide open for a half hour while all of your teeth are mapped to produce a 3D model. It isn't exactly great fun but isn't unbearable or overly uncomfortable either. They've done a good job in making it as painless as possible. 

Then, I headed on my merry way and, a week or so later, I was sent a treatment plan detailing how they hoped my teeth would look at the end, how long it would take (5 months) and how long each stage of the treatment would last. When you are sent your plan to review, you can either accept and go ahead or decline to pursue it. If you accept, you make your first payment and they send out your first aligner. Then you receive each of your following aligners accordingly, as promised in your treatment plan. Each aligner ensures a certain amount of movement so that, as you get each one, your teeth are straightened bit by bit. You must wear each one throughout the day, unless you are eating or drinking anything but water. In this case, you simply remove and then replace the aligner. At the end of the whole process, you receive a retainer to maintain the treatment. 

The treatment itself costs 70% less than traditional methods and works out at 4 installments of €399 each or one once-off payment of €1499. So, as you can see, it is quite the bargain.

So far, I have to say that I have been incredibly impressed with the staff and service and am really delighted by the results we are aiming for. If my teeth look anything like it by the end, I'll be really happy. I'll continue to update you all throughout the experience so I hope you'll stick around for this journey with me! Check out Your Smile Direct if you're interested in trying it out for yourself.

Now

The end goal - no more gap!

(This is not an ad or sponsored. My treatment is being provided free of charge by Your Smile Direct but all opinions are my own.)

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