My Dental Journey!

Hey guys,

Happy Monday. I hope you all had a nice weekend?

A lot of you may know by now that I am having my teeth done. I have talked about it here and there on Snapchat (@sosueme_ie) and on my social media platforms, but a lot of you have requested a blog post detailing my journey and so here is the low down.

Two years ago ago I wore Invisalign clear braces on my lower teeth for 6 months. My wisdom teeth had arrived and completely moved my bottom teeth, which left me with crocked lower teeth ( you can check out the video here.) After wearing Invisalign for a 6 month period and perfecting my lower teeth, I was over the moon with the results – I couldn’t believe the difference they made to my smile and confidence.

I don’t know about you guys but the first thing I notice about a person is their smile. It’s just one of those things that automatically catches my eye. I suppose that’s why I have always wanted to ONE day achieve that perfect Hollywood smile.

After perfecting my lower teeth, I then started to really hone in on my upper teeth and decided to perfect them too. Most people will look at me and say ‘Sue, you have perfect teeth’, and yes while they appear perfect, there are a few flaws that you guys don’t know about because I choose not to show them. One in particular is the large gap I have on the back left hand side where it looks like I have a missing tooth.

I first ended up with that gap there after I took one of Carla’s dresses and she wasn’t too pleased ……. ah no, I joke, I joke! The reason I have a gap there is because the tooth grew sideways and not downwards leaving me with a toothless appearance and I HATE it.

People always ask me why I smile with my right hand side of my face and so that is the answer.

As I am doing more and more TV work now, I have become very self conscious whenever the camera is on the left hand side of my face. At times when I have watched myself back on TV, I notice the gap straight away. I know most people might not spot it, but for me it’s a big deal. I suppose we all hone in on our own flaws!

Onto my second concern, I actually already have x2 composite veneers that I had placed on both of my teeth either side of my centre big teeth. About 6 years ago, I went to a dentist to have tooth bonding placed over these two teeth because they were crocket. Basically bonding is a short term, more affordable solution to straighter teeth, almost like a veneer, but they do need to be replaced every few years.

I started to notice they had almost reduced in length, like wearing of the tooth and they were quite short looking in comparison to my other teeth, so I wanted to see about having them replaced by porcelain veneers.

So, I decided to do something about it, I started to look online for a good dental practice that could help me achieve that hollywood smile. I know almost every practice will do veneers, but it can be a pricey procedure so I wanted to do my homework first, and not only make sure I was in the best possible hands, but to ensure that I wasn’t being ripped off either. Through online research and speaking with friends who had veneers applied, the one name that kept cropping up was MyDental.ie.

Their prices were really good! I can’t lie, I’m always a little sceptical of prices that seem too good because I really believe in the old saying, ‘when you buy cheap you buy twice’, but I knew from reading reviews and speaking with people who had been to MyDental that their work was top quality.

My First Appointment

For my first appointment, I had a consultation with Dr Carmen, and from the moment we started chatting, I felt totally at ease with her.

She asked me about my concerns and so I told what they were.

I showed her the gap at the side, the two teeth on my right side (pic below) that had more gum than the others and the x2 teeth I had bonding on a few years ago that I wanted replaced. I also explained how I would love to have longer teeth as I have TINY teeth.

The gum that comes down more on two teeth (it was much more noticeable in person)

Dr Carmen then asked me for my end goal so I explained that in an ideal world, I would love to achieve that ‘Hollywood Smile’, she smiled and said it’s everyone’s goal 🙂

We discussed my options and agreed to first veneer the gap as she agreed it was very obvious from the side. To rectify the two teeth with more gum than the others, she told about a procedure called Gingivectomy, which would involve lengthening the tooth so that there wouldn’t be as much gum. She also advised veneering the two teeth I had previously bonded.

Next, Carmen took impressions of my teeth so she could have a my a mock up mould made for me in the lab. On my next appointment, this mould would show me how my veneered teeth would/could look like.

Afterwards, Dr Carmen told me a little bit about veneers, the type they used and asked me to really think about what I wanted to do and what I would be comfortable with. She also tried to convince me to opt for braces as she felt it would be an awful shame to file down my teeth considering they were so healthy etc.

So I left with a lot of decisions to make and so I got thinking about what I wanted to do.

My Second Appointment

On my second appointment Carmen had some good news for me. Rather than filing down my teeth for veneers, instead she was opting to use a type of veneer shell that could be fitted over the tooth…like a false nail for the tooth! It also meant that if I didn’t like the veneers in years to come, I could easily have them removed.

I was relieved to hear that it wasn’t necessary to file my teeth, and the more we discussed the veneer shells (that’s what I call them haha), the more I began to get an idea of what my teeth could look like.

In the end, to achieve the perfect smile I want  – we I decided to veneer 8 teeth in total so they all have the same appearance, length & colour etc.

Carmen had my mould mock up back and I was OVER the moon with how they looked. Perfectly straight, longer in appearance but still extremely natural looking! I got so excited and I couldn’t wait to finally get the ball rolling on my ‘Hollywood Smile’ journey.

Carmen told me she could apply a temporary guard on my teeth that day to show me how they were going to look. I was so excited!!

Granted the guard didn’t last long, a day I think, but it was GREAT to see the length and shape etc. Here is the picture below that I took with the mock up of the veneers over my own teeth. Bear in mind this is only a solution used to create the teeth effect to give you a guide and not how the actual teeth will look. It was more to give me an idea of fullness and length which is ultimately what I really want. That full smile. 

I have naturally small teeth but for as long as I can remember I have always wanted bigger teeth for that Hollywood smile so it seems like the right time to just go for it! I work my ass off and this is MY TREAT to myself. I am SO excited.

My Third Appointment

My next appointment was with the gingivectomy specialist, Dr Andoni, an extremely nice guy who put me totally at ease. I can’t lie, I was a little anxious by the idea of having gingivectomy done because it sounded so extreme. I even rescheduled my appointment because I was having second thoughts. I was SO nervous and I made Dylan come into the room with me so I wouldn’t make the wrong decision.

Basically the treatment involves cutting the gum to expose more of the tooth, but he reassured me that everything would be ok and that he carries out the procedure on a daily basis. He told me it would make a huge difference to my smile by showing my images of my teeth and how they will look after. Dylan told me to go for it and he would be back to collect me in x2 hours. I was absolutely bricking it, but I knew deep down – it was all going to be fine.

During my second appointment, Dr Andoni had already assessed my gums to make sure I had enough tooth and that no root would be exposed as a result of the procedure. So he was ready to go.

I was fully awake throughout the whole thing and it was completely painless. I was numbed up and I genuinely didn’t feel a thing. Sure, it was a little uncomfortable holding your mouth open for an hour, but definitely not painful. I had the two teeth worked on and afterwards I was given a prescription for painkillers and an antibiotic to prevent infection.

The moment I sat into the car following the gingivectomy procedure, Dylan instantly noticed a big difference. Granted, no one looks their best after the dentist chair but there was definitely a massive improvement in my smile. I myself was so happy with the results, but a little shocked too by the difference it had made to my smile – in a good way. I actually snap-chatted you guys and showed you the results and a lot of you began emailing me about the procedure.

Within four days my gums had completely healed and I didn’t even finish my antibiotics (I hope my mother isn’t reading this, she’s a stickler for us finishing any antibiotics ha). My gums were healing so well, I just stopped using it. Probably not the best thing to do, but I knew they were healing perfectly.

Following on from my snapchat updates, lots of people emailed me asking about the Gingivectomy procedure, price etc and the good news is it’s not expensive at all. It ranges from around €120 depending on how many teeth are involved and what is needed. And as I said, it was totally painless.

This kind of procedure can be daunting to go through, which is why a brutally honest review is hugely important. If I thought for one second that the people I were dealing with weren’t professional, I would be bluntly honest about it. I can say with my hand on my heart that I felt like I was in the best hands possible. I had researched other places, but none of them made an impression like MyDental.

My Forth Appointment

Two weeks later I had to go back to Dr Carmen so that she could look at the gums and make sure everything was looking good for the next stage; My Veneer Impressions.

Carmen removed my composite veneers that I had done 6 years ago and took a full impression of my mouth. Upper / lower, my bite – everything! Carmen is a perfectionist and I love how thorough she is as a cosmetic dentist. I think it’s so important.

I also had my teeth cleaned and prepped ahead of the final stage and after she had taken all of my impressions, she replaced some temporary veneers on the x2 teeth she removed my bonding from so I have my current smile.

It’s funny because when she removed those two veneers, she asked if I wanted to some my old teeth and I said NO WAY haha. I forget what they look like and I didn’t want to shock myself, so she just went ahead and replaced them for me until my next appointment.

I am now booked in for end of month to have my new teeth applied and I am really excited. I actually can’t wait!

The Price

The standard price for veneers is around €450 per tooth, but these veneers are different from the usual kind so I will let you know the exact pricing details in the next blog post.

As a disclaimer – I just want to say one thing (because I can already hear the critics)…. I’m all for embracing our flaws, I would love a bigger butt, less freckles and nicer feet….. but if something affects your self-confidence and you can do something about it, well then – why not?

If veneering a few teeth, or having the gingivectomy procedure carried out, can make a huge difference to your smile, and in turn, your self-esteem. It’s not something you should feel guilty about. If you think it will make you happy, then go for it! I don’t feel one bit guilty for improving my teeth and I certainly don’t think there is anything wrong with it either.

As my mum says, if you’re not hurting anyone else, then do what’s good for you… and she’s right. I know when my teeth are done, I will be 100% confident whenever I’m doing TV, and hey, if there’s wedding bells down the line, I know my teeth will be one less thing to worry about! 😉

If any of you guys have any questions, just post them in the comment box. I’m not a professional so I can’t dole out advice on what you should have done, but I can share my own experience with you.

If you want to get in touch with MyDental, here is the website, and their phone number is 01-6673556!

Happy smiling 😉