Candid Before and After Photos {6 Month Update}

It’s been 6 months and I’m done with my Candid treatment! I am sharing Candid Before and After Photos, and detailing my experience using these clear aligners!

I have been meaning to write this post for like, 4 months, so sorry for anyone that has been waiting to hear the final results of my Candid Co clear aligner experience!

If you’re new here and want to see my experience from the beginning, check these out:

• Candid Co Impression Kit Review
• Candid Co: 10 Takeaways from my 1st Month
• Invisible Braces – 3 Month Update

Candid Before and After Photos

A lot of people have emailed me to ask about my experience and see final photos, so I wanted to share my Candid Before and After Photos:

The treatment plan was over 6 months, so these photos, paired with the treatment plan photos show the progression of my treatment over that time.

My Candid Co Experience

My teeth had crowding issues, with my front two teeth overlapping, and my bottom teeth also crowded. I was approved in January for treatment, and started shortly after.

My treatment finished in July 2019, right before my wedding, which was perfect timing!

Overall, my entire experience with Candid has been extremely positive. I had crowded teeth, that had always made me self-conscious, and now they’re straight. I can say that, in my experience, Candid definitely works!

The Pros of Candid

I chose Candid clear aligners, as opposed to regular braces, for four reasons:

• They’re invisible
• The treatment time was less than braces
• They’re cheaper than braces
• I could do it on my own (no ortho appointments)

At 35, I just didn’t want to have braces. Especially at work. I honestly just felt way too old to have a mouth full of metal. The biggest reason I went with Candid is because the aligners are invisible, so no one knew I was straightening my teeth, unless I told them about it.

Clear aligners also appealed to me because of the treatment time. I think the treatment time for braces runs about 24 months on average, and my treatment with Candid was only 6 months, 1/4th of the time.

While money wasn’t a huge determining factor in straightening my teeth, I did appreciate that Candid aligners only cost me $1,900*, while traditional braces can run $5,000 – $6,000 on average.

Finally, I really liked that my whole treatment process, from impression kit to each change in tray, was done in the privacy of my own home. I didn’t have to take off work to go to any appointments.

The Cons of Candid

There were two main cons I experienced while using Candid:

• They didn’t accept my insurance**
• The aligners can be uncomfortable

The biggest con I had with Candid is I anticipated being able to use my Dental insurance to cover half of the cost, and then I found out half-way through my treatment that I couldn’t use my insurance.

The Candid representatives were apologetic about not being able to use my insurance. It was also my insurance’s fault, since they don’t authorize clear aligners in their plan, so I don’t blame Candid for it. But, I wish I had known earlier in the process that I would be covering the entire cost of the aligners.

Second – the aligners can be uncomfortable, especially at first. Since I had no previous experience with braces, I was wholly unprepared with how painful moving teeth can be. For the first several weeks, I took ibuprofen to help with the discomfort. There was also had some jaw soreness.

I became acclimated to the aligners, and found them much more tolerable. I want to do my due diligence and warn anyone looking into clear aligners. There is a considerable amount of discomfort in those first few weeks.

Caution! Your Teeth Will Shift if…

My treatment was done shortly before my wedding. Then I got married and spent two weeks out of the country on my honeymoon, and I wasn’t using my final aligners or retainer.

And, predictably, my teeth shifted during those two weeks. I ended up going back to the aligner that was the most comfortable – step 11 – and spent 2 weeks in those aligners before moving back into step 12 aligners. My teeth did straighten back out, but just a warning to be diligent about wearing your retainer.

Would I do it Again?

Yep! If I had the choice to do it all over again, I would absolutely make the same decision to go through this process. It’s a wonderful feeling to smile with confidence, after spending so much time feeling insecure about my smile.

It was worth every dollar and every month I spent, to get the smile that I’ve always wanted.

Want to try it? Save 65% off the purchase of your Candid Starter Kit with code NEWYOU65

*As of 2/10/2020, Candid’s pricing is $2400 and includes Dental Monitoring. For more information, visit candidco.com.

**Since my treatment, Candid has updated and expanded their insurance offering by partnering with a few providers, so definitely check that out to see if your insurance qualifies!