I Tried Out Smile Express to See if It Would Refix My Teeth
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A smile is one of the first things I notice about a person. I think it always manages to tell a story of who they are faster than words ever could. It lasts a lot longer and stays with you. There’s energy felt in a smile. It’s one of the reasons I begged my mother for braces while in high school. She eventually gave in and spent the thousands of dollars it cost to straighten my teeth and give me a smile I wanted to parade around. After four years of wear, I was now a freshman in college and like most young adults who think they’ve got everything handled, I started to wear my retainer less and less — my permanent bottom row retainer broke and I never got it fixed either. So let’s just say now almost six years later, my teeth have shifted a bit — they’ve moved enough for my retainers to cause a headache when I put them on.
Now that I am a fully grown adult living in a completely new state, paying my own bills, I feel my teeth are unfortunately my problem to fix. But I do not have the thousands to spend on braces again the way my mother did, so I spent some time figuring out what would be my second best option. I came across Smile Express and decided to see if this could be an easy, affordable option to shift my teeth back to their original post-braces places. Smile Express is designed specifically for adults who are looking to refresh their smile—moving teeth just a little here and there. Because you’ll be under the care of an orthodontist, they can advise you if more robust treatment is the smarter way to get your best smile ever. It totals out to about $125 a month (for ten months) after insurance, which can be a bit steep depending on your budget, but if it's something you’re hoping to improve then it’s possible to make space for it. For me personally, that looks like giving up 4 Ubers a month which is totally doable.
My adventure first started with a long trek to New Jersey to visit Rothenberg Orthodontics. Before you can start your Smile Express process you have to see a licensed dentist, which was a bit scary for me. I am always worried they’re going to yell at me for not keeping up with all the routine things you’re supposed to. I was wildly surprised and proud to know that my teeth weren’t too messed up after opting out of wearing my retainers for the last six years. I had two small gaps on the backside of my front row, but other than that, the doctor said I was in good shape, so Smile Express was actually the perfect option for me. It was a stark difference from when I was 17 and my orthodontist told me my teeth were too messed up for any sort of Invisalign and that braces were my only option.
I will admit I have always been the odd person that loves braces and anything of the sort. I wore my braces proudly because I knew at the end of it my teeth would be perfect. Correctional beauty splurges are my absolute favorite, so plopping in these clear retainer-like products for 20 hours a day didn’t seem like it would be a challenge for me. After all, I wore braces for four years — between the ages of 15 and 18.
I unfortunately was proven to be gravely incorrect. If Smile Express is something you’re interested in, you’re really going to have to remember to make it a part of your routine. There would be mornings I’d wake up, take them out to brush my teeth, eat breakfast, get ready for work, and then I’d leave the house and only remember I’d forgotten to put them back in while I was on the train. So, it takes a lot of muscle memory to add them into your daily life, especially when you have to take them out at work for lunch.
Outside of the memory struggles in the beginning, the actual wear of the retainers are nice and easy. They don’t feel too constraining and each two week switch out for new ones fit snug enough that I felt secure wearing them but also wasn’t concerned about headaches. I think the biggest struggle for me personally was the new found lisp when wearing them. If you work a job that requires you to talk a lot during the day or during meetings, that’s something you’ll have to take into consideration because I did find myself struggling. There is a package that they offer though that is specifically for at-night use, so if you’re not willing to spend a few months at work like that then that can be an option for you. We’re also more aware of ourselves than we think because while I could hear the lisp, many of my coworkers told me they didn’t notice it (some did notice but said it wasn’t something to worry about).
Overall, I’m about halfway through my journey and while my teeth were in a very good starting spot, I’ve enjoyed fixing the small issues I had so that I can feel extra confident in my smile. And it’s nice to know I can solve some of my problems without needing to ask my mother to shell out thousands of dollars again to do so. If in 2025 you’re looking for an affordable option to spruce up your smile, I’d put Smile Express on the list of products to try out. It’s rather easy to use and won’t break the bank.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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