Are you thinking about getting Invisalign? We know you have many questions on your mind like: Is it painful? Will I talk funny? What’s it really like to have Invisalign? We asked our patient Kristen to share her Invisalign journey:

The only time I ever felt pain during my braces and Invisalign journey was way before the first bracket went on my tooth. I was 10 and Dr. Hutta had taken x-rays of my teeth. Through his x-ray, he was able to estimate how tall I would be. I was excited as I sat in the waiting room, awaiting the results. I adored the supermodels of the 90s; Cindy Crawford, Kathy Ireland and Naomi Campbell were my idols and I had far-fetched dreams of walking the runways in Paris or saying the words “Easy, breezy, beautiful Cover Girl” at the end of a commercial. How tall would I be? 5’9’’! Maybe 5’10’’! The verdict: 5’4’’. My heart sunk. Okay I’m not going to lie. At 10, I was a little devastated that my dreams of supermodel stardom were categorically over. But my life as a writer and marketing executive has worked out pretty well. (Plus, I really like food. I would never have had the discipline to eat salads for the rest of my life.)

After my x-rays, I went through many phases of orthodontia treatment. First a palate expander, then braces, and a herbst appliance to correct my overbite. Years later, Dr. Hutta took off my braces to reveal a smile I was so proud of. He made me an awesome retainer that looked like a watermelon and told me it was important to wear it every single night to keep my teeth from moving. “Teeth have a memory,” he told me as he put my cool, new retainer in a pink case. I promised to wear it and at first I did! I wore it every night. Then at a sleepover I forgot it at home. Then I started wearing it just during the week and not on weekends. A few nights each week turned into only a night or two and by college, the retainer didn’t fit and I gave up all together. “Oh well,” I thought. “I have permanent retainers. My teeth will stay put.” I was wrong. One morning, I looked in the mirror and Dr. Hutta’s words came back to me: “Your teeth have memory.” He was right. They did. And I shook my head at my 16-year-old self for forgetting to wear my retainer all those nights.

I knew that at 27, getting traditional braces again was just not something I wanted to do. So I called Dr. Hutta’s office and scheduled my free consultation for Invisalign. At my appointment, Dr. Hutta and his wonderful staff put me at ease and said Invisalign was absolutely a possibility for me. And better yet, it would take only a few months to straighten my teeth! I was elated and scheduled my appointment to make my trays.
Once the trays came in, Dr. Hutta’s staff placed a couple tiny, white brackets on my back teeth to keep the trays in place and popped the first one in. I was surprised by how great the trays looked on my teeth. I was so worried they’d look like I was wearing a big, bulky retainer. But you could barely even tell that there was anything there.

The first few hours of the first day were a little awkward. I felt like I was talking different (I wasn’t) and that people were looking at my trays (they weren’t). By day two, I was good to go. Invisalign really did become completely invisible to people around me. My husband, co-workers and friends could never tell when I had the trays in or when I had them out. And most people never even noticed! I once spent a long-weekend with my in-laws and had to point out at the end of the visit that I was even wearing Invisalign. They had no idea!

There was very little pain with Invisalign. Every two weeks, I’d switch my trays to continue to slowly move my teeth into the right spots. The first day of each tray was the only time my teeth were sore, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. Every month, I’d go in to see Dr. Hutta and have him check my status and within a few months, I was completely done! My smile looked amazing and I couldn’t be happier with my results. Invisalign was so incredibly easy and virtually painless. It was also really affordable. Your smile is one of the first things people see when they meet you so I knew it was an important investment worth making that has paid dividends.

I’m so happy I chose to do my Invisalign with Dr. Hutta. He and his staff truly care about their patients and their results. They take the time to get to know you and your smile goals, they are kind and make you feel extremely comfortable when you’re in their office. I highly recommend Dr. James T. Hutta to all my friends and family and to you! So if you’re thinking about getting Invisalign, stop dreaming about it! Call Dr. Hutta’s office at 855-8800 to schedule your free consultation. And one last word to the kids: WEAR YOUR RETAINER!