Is Invisalign Right For You?
What’s in a smile? Quite a bit actually, though many people take this for granted. Of course, one thinks about smiling in pictures, feeling confident, not needing to hide your teeth, and other personal issues. But what if the condition your teeth are in can have an effect on other aspects of your life? Beyond issues around self-consciousness, your teeth could be influencing the level of success you’re having in your professional life.
Eye of the beholder
Seems kind of crazy, doesn’t it? That the way your smile looks could be impacting your career sounds outlandish, but it makes sense if you think about it for a minute. While it’s obvious your entire career isn’t hinging on your personal appearance, human beings are creatures of first impressions. We have subconscious responses to visual stimuli that can affect the way we make decisions. With so much going on daily, we often resort to certain cues to make quick assessments and move on, even if we don’t necessarily mean to.
Studies have been done on the phenomenon of first impressions, some dealing with dental health in particular. It turns out that both your personal and professional life could be suffering due to crooked, discolored, or broken teeth. What it comes down to is comparisons and perception. People naturally perceive those who have straight smiles to be more successful, smarter, and desirable. And, as you know, perception often translates into reality. Two in five Americans would not go on a second date with someone who has a crooked smile. Even more (about half) believe that if getting a job came down to two people with equal skill sets, the person with the more attractive smile would end up getting the job over the person with the crooked one.
Has this been your experience? Has your professional and personal life suffered because you have a crooked smile?
If you’re a professional who is tired about how you are perceived because of your smile, it’s time to start thinking seriously about Invisalign.
Braces as an adult?
It’s never too late to go for the smile that you’ve always wanted. The issue is often what one is willing to do to get that smile, especially as an adult in the middle of a career. Of course, braces are always an option. The question becomes, do you actually want to go through the process of traditional braces at your age? When we’re adolescents or teenagers, it’s common to go through a period of wearing braces. That’s not to say we’re not self-conscious about them at that age, but many people go through it so it feels better. As adults, we may be more hesitant to commit to braces. Not only do they have the perception of being for young people, but they’re also fairly pronounced. While braces have certainly gotten more subtle looking with time, there’s still no mistaking when you have them. You may feel just as self-conscious about your braces as you do any crooked teeth that you have.
That’s why Invisalign is by far the most popular teeth straightening treatment for professionals. It really is practically invisible and doesn’t draw as much attention as traditional braces would. The last thing you want to think about in a business meeting or on a date is if the other party is focusing on your mouth.
Why Invisalign?
Invisalign is an unobtrusive, natural looking treatment for mild to moderate crooked teeth, gaps between the teeth, crowding, underbite, or overbite. Only your dentist can tell you if you’re a good candidate for this treatment, but the good news is most teens and adults are as long as they don’t have extremely misaligned teeth. Because so much of success is based in perception, and we have established that first impressions are everything, Invisalign accomplishes a couple of things that help in that department. It corrects the issue that people could be judging you about, and doesn’t draw additional attention to it. It’s really a win-win solution.
How does Invisalign work?
Invisalign is a whole system designed for effective teeth straightening and correction. Depending on your individual circumstances, you’ll wear the clear plastic aligners for about 22 hours a day over the course of nine months to a year and a half. Throughout the treatment process, you’ll get new aligners to gradually adjust your teeth until they are in the desired condition at the end.
Make an appointment
If you’re concerned with the appearance of your teeth and you want to find out more about Invisalign treatment, contact us today. The team at Confident treats professionals in the Miami area every day who are expecting innovative, safe, and effective dental care. Stop living with self-consciousness and the fear that the condition of your smile is holding you back in life. Schedule a consultation today and we’ll help you get the smile you want.
