Hello!! My name is Jaime and I am "just a girl in the 'crowd'!"  I am 35 and married, with two teenage stepsons, four cats, a dog, and a bearded dragon. I grew up in Vermont, but now I live in a small town in beautiful Western Massachusetts. I have crowded teeth and I am just starting my Invisalign treatment. I am writing this blog to share my experiences, thoughts, and tips about Invisalign. I hope I can help others understand how beneficial healthy and straight teeth can be by using Invisalign.

I started a new job last year at Rigali and Walder Orthodontics, after working for a dermatologist for over eight years. I didn't know anything about teeth at all!!! I still need a lot of help with the terminology, but I get by well enough. When I worked for the dermatologist, I always had access to skin products and if I or a family member was having a skin problem, I had a doctor readily available to help me. I learned so many things about skin. I went from knowing a lot about skin, to nothing about teeth. It has been an interesting year!

One day I was chatting with some of my new co workers and my friend Basia asked me when I am getting braces. I was almost offended, like "ME? I don't need braces, ugh!" But then I started thinking about it, and wondering if I really did need them. The more I thought about it, the more interested I became. My top teeth look quite straight, but the bottom teeth are severely crowded. Unless you are looking in my mouth, you can't see the crowding, but apparently my teeth are not as efficient as they could be. I never considered braces before, and I realized that if I actually did it, I wouldn't only attain straight teeth, I might learn a lot more about my new job and gain a better understanding of what our patients go through.

The choice to do Invisalign was a no brainer for me. I certainly don't have anything against traditional metal braces, but since I was an Invisalign candidate I figured I might as well go for it. I realized it would be quite an investment in time and discipline. I felt ready for the challenge.

When my aligners came in last Friday, oh boy, I was so excited! I didn't realize how excited I would be! This was the beginning of a huge commitment on my part. Dr. Walder said I could wear them over the weekend to get used to them before my attachments went on the following Wednesday, and that made me even happier.

I am a person that loves food. I love to eat. I go out of my way to cook and eat healthy and delicious meals. I spend a lot of time planning meals each week and shopping for the best deals. I recently decided  to eat foods that are minimally processed or as close to whole as possible and also locally made or grown. It takes a lot of discipline and planning to accomplish this. The fact that Invisalign also demands discipline and planning of meals, makes me even more determined to be successful. Invisalign seems like the perfect choice for me.

I hope by writing this blog I can help others learn about the benefits of Invisalign. I will write new updates on a regular basis and feedback is welcome!!

Here's to Week 1!!!