How Plaque Buildup Led Me to Try Smile Aligners
I have a deeply embarrassing yet all-too-relatable confession: I went five years without going to the dentist. I know, I know. For the first year or so, my reason was simply laziness; I thought missing a would-be appointment or two wouldn’t affect my dental wellbeing in the long run. But when that laziness started to manifest as plaque buildup, the reason transformed from laziness to palpable anxiety over the potential discomfort of a dentist scraping it off my teeth. The anxiety and plaque compounded, both worsening as a direct result of each other until, finally, my husband made an appointment with a new dentist on my behalf because he knew I probably never would.
At first, I was annoyed with him, but ultimately, I had to thank him for taking the initiative I should have taken years ago. I had no good reason to let such a key aspect of my health — and if we’re being honest, my appearance, because it looked pretty icky — deteriorate any longer, even if it meant some painful dental-block injections and grating sounds that would make my skin crawl.
The good news: I made it through alive. I shivered uncontrollably throughout the appointment and rolled my eyes (at myself) when the dentist identified a couple of shallow cavities, but the resultant clean slate was totally worth the tribulation.
However, there was one side effect of my now pristine teeth I never expected: Once the plaque had been fully removed, there were very apparent spaces between my lower front teeth. Noticeable gaps! All the work my braces had done when I was a tween had been undone by five years of avoiding a professional cleaning. “All that plaque made your teeth shift,” my dentist said.
I had no idea such a thing was possible. Appalled, I spoke to a few other dentists about how this could have happened, and they explained that it’s not quite as simple as plaque buildup forcing my teeth to push apart. In fact, it’s even more disconcerting than that.
“Plaque buildup that is allowed to harden (commonly known as tartar) creates a cascade effect. You get gingivitis, which is inflammation of the gum. If left untreated, that can cause the loss of supporting tooth structures, specifically bone leading to what is called periodontitis,” says cosmetic dentist Lawrence Fung, DDS, founder of Silicon Beach Dental. “Periodontitis is what contributes to loss of gum tissue and is the common culprit for creating tiny black triangles that form between teeth.” Those black triangles are the spaces I was now seeing where my teeth used to be flush with each other.
So am I destined to have these gaps between my teeth forever? Luckily, no. “Aligners are awesome to straighten teeth,” says Florida-based general dentist Bruce Lein, DDS. However, he says it’s vital to make sure teeth have ample bone support. “Moving a tooth with mobility will like result in loss of that tooth.”
Dr. Fung echoes that, saying, “Depending on the amount of space between teeth, once the periodontium is healthy, aligners can help to place teeth in a better alignment.”
Thankfully, in my particular case, the damage done had not reached the level of potential tooth loss; after the deep cleaning that revealed the spaces helped get me back on the right track for periodontal health, it was apparent that I was a great candidate for aligners.
I had already been considering aligners because of some crowding that occurred among my upper front teeth after my wisdom teeth grew in, and this new development was the push I needed to actually go for it. But I was still reluctant to wear aligners 24 hours a day, as is the norm among the growing number of brands that provide clear, plastic molds that promise to straighten teeth in a matter of months.
Serendipitously, right around the time I found myself staring into the abysses between my lower teeth, SmileDirectClub announced that they were launching Nighttime Clear Aligners, an overnight version of their original aligners that add only about four more months to the approximately six-month straightening process. So, basically, 10 hours a night would lead to a noticeably straighter smile in 10 months.
SmileDirectClub was kind enough gift me my aligners, which start off with a visit to one of their SmileShops. If you don’t live near one, you can order a remote impression kit, but I have say, if you can get to a SmileShop, do it. It’s like walking into the future. In just a few minutes, they did a three-dimensional scan of my mouth, in which you can see every nook and cranny of my teeth and gums — a weird and fascinating experience. And the best part? None of that gooey, gag-inducing, “fruit-flavored” impression putty that those of us who had braces were subjected to. (My eyes still reflexively water when I think about that stuff.)
It wasn’t long before I received a box of aligners — they were approved by and will be monitored by an actual orthodontist, whose name is right there on the packaging — not to mention other goodies like whitening pens, lip balm, and clever little tools that help you correctly put on and remove the aligners. I’m now on week three of what has been a surprisingly easy and shockingly comfortable process, and I’m already seeing a subtle difference.
And there are more benefits to these aligners than the eventually straighter teeth (which I’ll be sure to share with you later this year). “Once lower front teeth are properly aligned, they can be easily and adequately cleaned, and bone levels can stabilize,” says orthodontist Heather Kunen, DDS.
And you can be sure I’ll be visiting the dentist’s office far more often to keep up with the cleanings.
