Thomas’ Invisalign Journey

Uncovering joy and confidence with Invisalign in NYC

It’s impossible to miss — Thomas loves smiling. And it’s all thanks to NYC dentist Dr. Elena Johnston and the team at Shine Dentistry.

After enduring decades of embarrassment and shame about his smile, Thomas was ready to make a change. Using Invisalign clear aligner trays and a personalized plan of complementary cosmetic dental treatments, Dr. Johnston transformed Thomas’s smile into one he is ecstatic to share with the world.

Now Thomas’s smile lights up whatever room he enters — whether he’s at work on the flight deck of a Boeing 757 or hanging out in the Jersey City community he calls home.

“Having this newfound privilege to smile and look at people and honor people, and being able to show off my smile — and really who I am as a person — has been unbelievable,” he says.

Finding the path to a confident smile

Thomas says that before Invisalign treatment, his teeth were an embarrassment. He had crooked teeth as a child, and the changes made by traditional braces gradually faded away after years of not wearing his retainer. In high school and college, Thomas just didn’t have the confidence to smile. An unfortunate accident at his five-year high school reunion left him with a poorly repaired chip on one of his front teeth, too.

“I would travel the world for my job or for pleasure, and it would be so hard to smile next to my best friend,” he says. “There was my best friend with his perfect white smile, and there I was with crooked teeth. I just had enough.”

Thomas got in touch with his childhood dentist, who recommended Dr. Elena and started him down the path to his straight, beautiful smile.

Feeling at home in Shine’s NYC office

“I was so nervous and honestly embarrassed,” Thomas says, remembering stepping into Shine’s Chelsea NYC office for the first time. “I couldn’t bear anyone looking into my mouth and saying, Wow, look at all these crooked teeth.”

But he relaxed the moment he sat down in the chair, thanks to Dr. Elena’s comforting and professional approach. The warm welcome Thomas felt from all of the staff at Shine played a big part in his decision to move forward with Invisalign treatment.

“It was like going to see my family,” Thomas says of the friendly office staff. “Every time I would go in, I would feel more and more comfortable and watch my smile develop into the smile I’ve always dreamed of.”

Making Invisalign part of everyday life

Thomas says he can’t even remember having to adjust to his Invisalign clear aligners. Wearing the aligner trays quickly became a part of his routine, as did taking them out to eat and drink.

Coffee is a big part of Thomas’s life — a fact that is perhaps unsurprising for an airline pilot. But even removing the aligners to drink a cup of coffee was a relatively minor inconvenience that quickly became second nature. And he loved being able to eat his favorites foods — like ribs and steak without having to worry about the brackets and wires of traditional braces.

“Before you know it, it’s like they’re not even there,” he says. “There’s really no adjustment at all. It’s a very seamless process from beginning to end.”

Completing the picture with cosmetic dentistry

Dr. Johnston worked with Thomas to create a treatment plan that included five months of Invisalign plus complementary cosmetic procedures that would bring Thomas’s best smile to life.

When his Invisialign was complete, Thomas chose Opalescence Whitening to brighten the natural shade of his teeth. Then, Dr. Elena fixed the old bonding on Thomas’s chipped tooth and used contouring to remove irregular edges and create symmetry in his smile.

“Now showing off my smile has been such a joy. It’s such a privilege to me,” he says. “I cannot thank Dr. Elena enough for changing my life so much.”

Book your appointment today to plan your smile transformation with Dr. Elena and the NYC team at Shine Dentistry.