My Teeth, Ghenta and Mills, and Teeth Whitening at Home

I have to confess... my biggest insecurity is not my weight... it's my teeth. Shocking? Maybe? Maybe not.

For years, I have hated my teeth.  Being pregnant destroyed my teeth and thanks to David being unemployed, Mass Health only did so much (thankful we had it but still...).  MassHealth believed in preventative only or wait until it had to be pulled out. Unfortunately, when your fetus is pulling your calcium and you're getting brittle teeth, preventative isn't really helping.

I spent years with weird half opened smiles, hoping people wouldn't notice my missing tooth behind my incisor (my hobo tooth as I unlovingly referred to it). I would turn my head  particular way so that the pictures didn't show that side of my face. It really was a huge source of self-loathing that I had. I know it's vain but really, knowing my smile was so terrible was very difficult for me and if you know me in real life you know I love to smile. I'm a really happy person (once you get beyond the social anxiety and general anxiety) and so much of my joy comes out of my face.

David and I were eligible for some really amazing dental insurance though his job last summer and we took full advantage of it. I asked around on Facebook mom groups for recommendations and fell on Ghenta and Mills Dental in Dartmouth, which, specializes in sedation dentistry.  From years of bad teeth plus trauma from years ago with braces and wisdom teeth removal, I knew I needed to be put to sleep to fix all my problems. They were amazing and developed a great plan with me, identifying the work that needed to be done, and then helping me figure out a schedule and a payment plan when the first assessment left me in tears. I hate that dental health is so expensive but the investment is worth it.  At 32, I'm still young and I want me teeth to last me. Plus with the mouth being such a hub of overall health, David convinced me it was important for me to get the work done, even if it would be money out of pocket.  My first few appointments included both Valium and nitrous and I'm happy to report that I can go to the dentist and make through an appointment without either now, and that is huge in itself. I spent a lot of time in the chair in the Fall (so thankful for sick days from work!) and most of the work has been done.  Ghent and Mills has been absolutely amazing in helping me with my teeth, but also with overcoming my fear of the dentist.

So now that my actual teeth are in order, I was thrilled when Smile Brilliant posted about looking for bloggers who would want to work with them.  I figured I already felt so much better knowing my teeth were being fixed, wouldn't I feel even better if they were pearly white?

Smile Brilliant was super easy to get started.  They ship a kit and it includes everything you need to make your impressions.  I was terrified I'd mess it up but I was able to get great impressions my first attempt! I love that they do give an extra set of impression putty just in case though!

 I'll be honest, I didn't expect much. Years and years of damage aren't going to be erased in a couple days, right? And what about sensitivity...

I honestly can't believe how easy it was. I mixed the putty, smushed it into the mouthpiece and got the impression on my first try! For someone who gags like crazy when it comes to dental work, I couldn't believe how "not difficult" it was.  I shipped off my molds and my custom trays came back in under two weeks!

Smile Brilliant recommends doing it at night so that it has extra time to really work overnight.  You can leave the trays in for 45 minutes to 2 hours. I found with my teeth, an hour was just the right amount of time.  If I kept them in longer I'd start to feel some sensitivity.  The Smile Brilliant kit also includes a desensitizing gel that you use after the whitening gel so that sensitivity went away very quickly!

I honestly sucked at remembering to do it and then add in all of our vacations where I missed even more days (because I never remembered to pack it) and after about 10 days, over 2 months, I still got really great results! I can't even imagine what it would be like if I did it for 7 days straight! And honestly, I'm pretty embarrassed to show my before pictures so go easy on me...

It's a super clear difference!

You can check out Smile Brilliant and get in on the whitening! Save 20% off with coupon code: hgifford20

One lucky reader will win their own custom teeth whitening kit!

The giveaway is for a $149 Smile Brilliant credit and open to USA, UK, Australia and Canadian residents. Click HERE TO ENTER!

Honestly, I think all I have left to do now is Invisalign and I'll be smiling even more than I am now!

xo, Heather

Professional Teeth Whitening