A common response I get on diagnosing poorly aligned teeth is, “I’m too old for orthodontics.” It ain’t necessarily so. Ask Sister Margaret.
So around July 2002, I was driving up to Santa Barbara for the next great whale watching expedition aboard the Condor. I was traveling solo because all of my friends, Romans, and co-workers had fallen victim to near-terminal sea sickness on previous trips. Somewhere around Camarillo, I slipped in a CD.
Never paid much attention to Invisalign to that point; after all, only orthodontists had the okay to use it…but all that changed as I listened while I drove. For 8-hours out in the Santa Barbara channel, we were looking for blue whales but I was visualizing the SoCal smiles I hoped to create. I got off the boat and promptly got myself certified to provide Invisalign care.
At first, we were really selective choosing our cases; and some of my ortho specialist bros wondered if my brain and soul had been kidnapped by former Clipper owner Donald Sterling. But later, as our experience and confidence grew, we took on greater challenges and eventually actually wound up being honored for a particular case that changed a life.
And now for Sister Margaret: a common response I get on diagnosing damaging malocclusions is, “I’m too old for orthodontics.” Not so, regarding our favorite patient with upstairs connections.
I love Sister Margaret because she coulda been my mother…if she had been born in Arkansas, got married at age-13, and wasn’t a nun.
Some background: On my terror-stricken first day of Catechism at about 7-years old, the nuns successfully claimed my total attention and respect…and they indelibly still do. And Sister M. is every bit as connected now as she would have been when I begged my parents to please send me to public school (I promised I would be good.) So I don’t dare divulge Sister’s age but I will say she’s been around only a few years less than the United States at the time of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
Invisalign care works for all adult ages. When teeth are aligned shoulder-to-shoulder, dentitions work better, last longer, and remain healthy; the natural result is a great smile (even though Sister M assured me appearance had absolutely nothing to do with her Invisalign choice.)
It was awesome celebrating a great result with a remarkable woman of faith. And I’ll let the before and after photos speak for themselves.
Sister Margaret and I agree (and I think Abraham Lincoln would too); if you’re somewhere between teenage and four score and seven years and beyond and NOT voting for Trump…we can give you the lasting, healthy, functional SoCal smile you’ve always really wanted…with Invisalign care.
