Alexandra Butsko of Suffern, N.Y., will be a smiling bride on her wedding day, but only after her braces come off.
“When I met my fiancé, I felt uncomfortable with my smile,” said Ms. Butsko, a 25-year-old hairdresser. “When he actually proposed to me, the first thing that came to mind was, ‘Oh my God, how am I going to smile at my wedding?’”
Since her teenage years, Ms. Butsko has felt hesitant to show her teeth. “I never smiled,” she said. “It’s really uncomfortable, especially when you meet people.”
Despite “always” wanting braces, she never found time to see a specialist.
That changed just after her engagement last September. She had metal braces applied to her lower teeth and ceramic braces placed on her front teeth. Now she’s looking forward to warmly greeting guests and smiling freely in all her wedding day photos. Before, “if someone took pictures — and I smiled — I’m like, ‘delete them!’,” said Ms. Butsko, who admitted that cameras make her nervous.
Ms. Butsko is determined to fix her excessive overbite, crowding teeth, and poor smile line, before getting married. Her orthodontic treatment, which costs $4,000, is scheduled to be completed just a month before her May 2020 wedding.
“I want to finish my treatment, and then I know I’m going to be happy with my smile,” she said.
Brides and grooms who feel insecure about their smiles no longer have to hide their excitement behind closed lips. Instead, they can choose from a variety of treatments and products to get the smile they’ve always wanted, just in time for their big day.
Options to achieve brighter, straighter, more radiant smiles include braces, aligners, whitening applications, toothpastes, and in-office appointments.
“You definitely want to start planning as soon as you get engaged,” said Dr. Victoria Veytsman, a cosmetic dentist with offices in New York and Beverly Hills, Calif., who notes that timetables vary depending on the objective. “I would give yourself as much leeway time as possible.”
Since 2016, Diamond Braces, an orthodontic provider with locations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, said it has serviced more than 1,200 brides and grooms, including Ms. Butsko. Ms. Butsko’s traditional braces are bonded to her teeth, but most engaged individuals opt for Invisalign, a series of clear, plastic removable aligners.
Invisalign shifts teeth over time. First, a computer digitally scans a patient’s teeth to create three-dimensional models. “Once we have that software model representation of what your teeth are going to look like, Invisalign creates a plastic tray for each step,” said Dr. David Galler, the senior vice president of orthodontics at Aspen Dental Management, a branded dental practice with 750 locations nationwide. The guiding appliances are worn 22 hours each day and removed when eating and drinking. Depending on the patient’s needs, aligners are substituted every one to two weeks. Typically, in-office visits are scheduled monthly to monitor progress.
Dr. Galler, who is based in New York and Chicago, has treated more than 2,000 Invisalign cases over the last decade. Most corrections, he said, are completed within five to seven months, but timelines vary, and therefore, patients with wedding-specific needs should allot seven to 10 months. For Aspen Dental patients, Invisalign costs $3,999, regardless of diagnosis.
SmileDirectClub estimates 30,000 of its customers a year are future grooms and brides. The doctor-directed aligner therapy company has more than 200 SmileShop locations in the United States and Canada that conduct 30-minute appointments that include three-dimensional scans. Impression kits can also be purchased online for $49, mailed to consumers and facilitated at home. Licensed dentists and orthodontists review scans and molds. It takes six months, on average, to straighten teeth and costs $1,850. Upon treatment completion, retainer sets retail for $99.
SmileDirectClub is also in the teeth-whitening business. Its foaming gel pens, containing enamel-safe whitening agents, are designed for use twice a day, five minutes at a time, after brushing. Four packs cost $29, eight packs $49.
Apa Beauty, founded by Dr. Michael Apa, a Manhattan-based dentist, offers a two-step at-home treatment known as the Apa White Duo, for $150. Purchased online, the kit includes one white pen and 10 white films, both containing carbamide peroxide. The 90-minute daily treatment shows results in five days.
For avid after-meal and twice-daily brushers, Hello Activated Charcoal Epic Whitening Fluoride Toothpaste, which costs $5.99, is sold at Target, Walmart, CVS and Amazon. A lighter tooth shade can be obtained in two weeks, but desired results can vary depending on how dark the starting shade is, according to Dr. Lawrence Fung, a cosmetic dentist and founder of Silicon Beach Dental in Los Angeles. He says pairing this regimen with professional in-office whitening can expedite desired outcomes.
In Jupiter, Fla., Dr. Bruce Lein, a doctor of dental surgery, uses Philips Zoom, a professional whitening treatment, at his practice. Dr. Lein, who treats about two dozen brides each year, suggests appointments take place a month before the wedding and that patients avoid curry, Scotch, blueberries, bourbon, and soda afterward. Zoom uses LED light and three bleach applications, one every 15 to 20 minutes. The price tag is $650 per person, which includes trays for bleaching each night for one week and then four times a year following.
Brides and grooms often come in together for whitening treatments, but couples aren’t the only ones looking to enhance smiles before the wedding. Dr. Lein regularly treats parents of the soon-to-be-married couples, as well as their entire wedding parties. While Invisalign and whitening are prescribed most often, treatment requests vary per person.
“One mother of the bride wanted veneers,” Dr. Lein said.
