Written by Craig Hammond in Beauty on the 24th October 2017

These days a good set of nashers says a lot about a gentleman. If he doesn’t care for his teeth what else is he not looking after, right? We’ve all seen guys who could use a bit of help from the tooth fairy, with dodgy looking teeth and even missing teeth. Unfortunately, I fall into the ‘missing teeth’ category, and since an incident involving a football and a knee (my own) I’ve had a gap in my lower teeth, and it’s bugged me for a while. Enter Your Smile Direct, a company that can turn a set of dodgy dentures into perfect pearly whites. Now, before you panic and think that it involves hours sitting in a dentist’s chair while an overweight moustachioed bloke in a white coat drills, files and prods deep into your cranium, think again. You’re barely at the clinic for an hour, then it’s all down to you. Whether your teeth are overcrowded, twisted, gappy or just plain wonky, this system really can work for you. The cost isn’t bad either, and it’s a lot less expensive compared to their competitors. You can pay just £35 a month or do it all in one go for £1,299, which is about half the cost of one of the other companies.

Visiting the Clinic  

This process is all about realigning your teeth, painlessly, over a course of time, which of course depends upon how much aligning you need. To do this the guys at Your Smile Direct first take a 3D image of your teeth. It’s painless and mine was done by a lovely young lady, no moustache in sight. First, she sprayed my teeth with a fine powder, again painless (you get that this is painless, right?). Then she set about taking the 3D images using a pen which sends the images to a screen. When she was happy that she’d got a good set of images I was promptly presented with those, along with the horrible realisation that the inside of my mouth resembled a badly maintained graveyard. I could see them in full glorious 3D, and move them around on the touch screen. And that was me done. I was sent away with the knowledge that I would soon have a smile to be proud of, and I couldn’t wait. While I swanned off to my next appointment my 3D images were winging their way to their orthodontists. Once they reach the hands of the trusty orthodontists, they were popped into a computer and a customised 3D treatment plan was created. If you can’t be bothered to go to a clinic, or you’re really that shy (probably your bad teeth, right?), you can always order an impression kit and do it yourself at home.

Using Your Aligners 

My box of delights arrived a couple of weeks later and inside were details of how to use them. My packs of aligners were all numbered so to make sure I don’t get confused. My plan is set to take 6 months and I have to use a new set of aligners every two weeks. All you do is click them on your teeth and that's it. You do have to wear them for around 22 hours a day, taking them out to eat and drink anything other than water, and you do have to brush and floss before putting them back in. I thought that would be a bit of a pain in the rear end, but I’ve not found it a problem so far. I have a travel toothbrush and toothpaste on my desk, and after I’ve eaten my ham sandwich and guzzled a coffee, I nip to the gents, brush my teeth, rinse my aligners and I’m done. I’ve created a YouTube video to share my experience, but I’m now five weeks in, on my third set of aligners, and I can already feel a difference. The gap in my lower teeth hasn’t gone just yet of course, it’s not magic, but it is reducing. My bite is a little different too, which feels a tad odd, but in a good way.

I will say that when you use a new set of aligners that they can feel quite tight. This is them doing their thing. For the first day or so when using a new set, they can be uncomfortable, not painful, just a little uncomfortable, but that soon disappears. If you need to, just take an ibuprofen and failing that just man up, it isn’t that bad. If you follow those few simple rules you’ll soon have the straight teeth that you’ve always wanted. Not only that but you can also get whitening into the bargain at a small additional cost. So, what are you waiting for, drop the guys from Your Smile Direct a line and join the smile revolution. Clinics can be found in Adam Street London and Fountain Street Manchester. Clinic visit or impressions kit £99, straightening & final retainer £1299, and they will be releasing a teeth whitening product later this year.

A new Customised 3D treatment plan with Invisible aligners, Craig Hammond Introduces Your Smile Direct.