San Diego Mom and Tech Blogger

Disclosure: this post was sponsored by Invisalign. All opinions are my own.

I didn’t have them.

My husband didn’t have them.

Our parents didn’t have them.

I know nothing about them.

But my daughter needs them.

BRACES.

Little CEO had her first orthodontic consult a few weeks ago.

For me, it sort of felt like that first day of work at a brand new job. You know, where you feel like everybody knows what the heck is going on but YOU? You don’t understand the buzzwords, or the processes, or anything else.

Your eyes kind of…glaze over. You make mental notes to look up this word or that.

And for Little CEO, it was one of the most terrifying experiences of her life. I don’t know who she’s talked to or how it happened, but she’s deathly afraid of braces. She’s afraid of the pain. She’s afraid of people laughing at her. She cried at the thought of not being able to eat popcorn. She’s.freaked.out.

The orthodontist we saw was very nice and welcoming. Upon his recommendation, we’re not jumping into braces right away. He advised us to give it a little time to see how some of Little CEO’s permanent teeth come in.

That gives me time to understand this process a bit better. And hopefully, for Little CEO to work on her fear!

What I also learned was that every orthodontist has his or her own approach to treatment. Some are more aggressive, recommending treatment early; others are more conservative and take a wait and see approach.

We’re not sure what’s on the horizon for Little CEO, or when she’ll officially start with braces, but it’s good to know what my options are.

In six months, when we have our next orthodontic consult to see where Little CEO’s teeth are at by then, I’ll be asking some more questions about whether she’s a good candidate for Invisalign Teen invisible braces when she’s a bit older.

I’ve learned that Invisalign Teen can be a good alternative to traditional braces – in all the ways that matter to my daughter.

She won’t have a list of prohibited foods – which is a big deal for my picky eater. She can brush and floss like normal, and it’ll be easier for her to care for her teeth without metal brackets on. She won’t have to go through that nasty impression process with that smelly, goopy, sticky gunk – Invisalign uses a digital imaging technology to scan the teeth and make much more accurate impressions.

But most importantly, she won’t have to suffer from being self-conscious, because Invisable aligners are virtually invisible. She’ll look like her everyday self. She won’t worry that people are laughing at her. She can smile her regular, beautiful smile and nobody will know that her teeth are being aligned.

And for a little girl who already struggles with self-confidence, this is a really big deal.

Little CEO is going to have to learn self-confidence from within, that’s for sure. And she’ll have to learn to ignore the kids who might tease her. But if I can help that process along the way just a little bit, you bet I will.

You can learn more about Invisalign at the Invisalign website. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

If you know someone who’s had a child use Invisalign, I’d love to hear about their experiences!

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