UPDATED 10/22/20
Upon learning of her father’s passing away, one UK woman decided to put her inheritance toward something a little unique — an entirely new smile.
According to the Mirror, Kirsty Roberts-Millman of Coventry said she had been dissatisfied with the appearance of her teeth for as long as she could remember, even describing them as “horrendous and crooked.”
These days, Roberts-Millman, a 27-year-old accountant, is the face — and smile — of the Invisalign orthodontic procedure she underwent, with her pearly whites even on display at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The inheritance her father left behind helped her pay for 15 months of dental work and Invisalign treatments, which typically cost patients thousands of pounds.
The dental work didn’t come without a price, however. The Mirror reports that Roberts-Millman hadn’t seen her father since she was six years old, and learned of his death in a car crash in 2009 when police showed up at her door.
“Besides fixing your smile for your own self esteem issues, improving a smile can reduce or prevent periodontitis and gum disease. By eliminating overcrowding, it will be easier to floss and brush those hard to reach areas,” said Tracy Reed, professional relations director at Dr. Tom Popp, an orthodontics office located in Chattanooga, TN.
According to the Mirror, Roberts-Millman said her tooth troubles began as soon as her baby teeth fell out. She suffered from an overbite, and her bottom jaw became overcrowded while the teeth on her upper jaw grew in crooked.
After wearing her Invisalign braces for about 22 hours each day over that 15-month period, Roberts-Millman was able to correct these issues; upon learning about her story, Invisalign judges selected her to be the face of the procedure, even flying her out to Paris for a photoshoot. None of it would have been possible, however, without the money her dad left behind.
“I’m extremely happy with the result. It’s even more special to know it’s all because of my dad, even though I didn’t know him,” she told the Mirror.
Orthodontic services can benefit children and adults whose teeth or jaws have not developed properly. In addition to the way they affect one’s appearance, these malocclusions can create long-term health problems. In the field of dentistry, we can define orthodontist as a specialist who employs braces to improve the positioning of individual teeth. We define braces teeth straighteners because of the way they work. Another name for orthodontist could therefore be simply a teeth-straightening specialist. Orthodontic services have been available for more than a century, but for some time the only viable technique was to wrap braces around the teeth that are crooked and allow them time to straighten themselves. Modern orthodontists use the newest technology to help their patients. One of the more popular methods involves the use of Invisalign aligners, which are almost invisible to others but which can often straighten crooked teeth over a period of only 18 months. Straight teeth not only look attractive, but they are easier to clean. Another orthodontist meaning could thus be one who enhances a person’s beauty and health.