It's been a long time since I felt happy with my teeth.
When I was 11, I was told I'd need braces but it took until three days before my sixteenth birthday before I actually got them. Every tooth in my head has grown in completely wonky, and impossibly slowly.
It took years of waiting for a tooth to grow enough so it could be pulled out to make some more space before I could finally start on my quest for straight teeth. After years of my dad referring to me as Jaws (to reference both the shark and the Bond villain), I was finally going to have straight teeth!
READ MORE: Former Rapid Hardware shop now a quirky speakeasy and café
I remember getting my braces off, a few months before I turned 18, and being happy with how straight they were, though still disappointed by the serrated edges. Still, it was a vast improvement.
As the years passed, my wisdom teeth started growing in and, surprise surprise, they're woefully crooked and take up too much space in my mouth. The incisor next to my left canine is desperate to scoot back behind my front tooth, and the retainer I've had for years no longer does the job of keeping them perfectly straight.
They'd also become quite yellow and, for the last few years, I've stopped showing my teeth when smiling for photographs. If a friend whips out a camera, I reflexively shut my mouth.
When The Dental Café opened on Lord Street in Liverpool's booming city centre in late 2022, I was intrigued. I was invited down to see what their services are like but, to my complete shame, I hadn't been to the dentist for over seven years. Understandably, I was completely terrified to visit the dentist and worried she was going to tell me my teeth were beyond repair.
The Dental Café is a clean and calming space headed by principal dentist Dr Clare Robinson BDS. It offers state-of-the-art treatments for smile transformations, dental hygiene, and other aesthetic treatments.
The Dental Café offers a walk-in service with a range of treatments to boost people's confidence by improving their smiles. Some of the treatments are displayed on a 'menu board', adding to the café-style of the space.
At my initial check-up, the wonderful, attentive and patient Dr Zarmina Babar checked my teeth and helped put me at ease. I needed filler fixing to the roots of six teeth, where my overzealous brushing and aggressive need to feel clean, combined with grinding my teeth and clenching my jaw at night, had resulted in abfraction.
Surprisingly, my teeth were in pretty good shape considering my appalling lack of dentist visits, but I was still petrified to get filler applied for the first time in my entire life. En route to the sleek venue, I was literally shaking, and questioning all my life choices.
At my first proper appointment, I saw the hygienist for The Dental Café's 'Scale and Airflow' polish treatment to deeply clean and rejuvenate my teeth. The innovative polishing technique known as 'Airflow' cleans and polishes teeth with a mix of water, compressed air and fine powder particles. It is praised as superior to traditional cleaning methods, which can be time-consuming and uncomfortable.
It wasn't painful at all, though there was some sensitivity near where the filler was due to be applied as the second layer of my teeth was exposed in that area. For the fillings, I was happy to have an injection to numb the area, which meant I didn't feel a thing.
It's an odd sensation, it felt like my lips had tripled in size and I was aware of pressure and things happening to my teeth, but it was almost relaxing in a bizarre and unexpected twist. After the filler was complete, impressions were taken of my teeth for the take-home kit which is given after whitening.
It takes around a week for the impressions to come back, so I had my next appointment seven days later. This was the one I was excited about - for the first time in years, I might no longer feel embarrassed by my teeth.
The whitening takes around an hour, though there's set up time around that to factor in, too. A blue setting agent is applied to protect the gums, then whitening gel is applied to each tooth before a light is applied to activate it in three 15 minute intervals.
During that time, I simply had to lay back and relax, while the skilled hygienist played mine and the dental assistant's song requests (we chose a mix of Fleetwood Mac, Miley Cyrus and Beyonce). In all honesty, I could have fallen asleep - the setting is calm and clean, while the light is warming and relaxing. I shut my eyes and felt completely at ease - quite the contrast to the shaking, petrified person I'd been a week prior.
When they gave me the mirror to show me my teeth after the treatment was complete, I was stunned. They were so much whiter, I couldn't quite believe it. I left with the biggest grin on my face, and walked through Liverpool ONE smiling like the Cheshire Cat at every person I saw.
I was given a kit to take home to continue the whitening process, so my teeth will continue to get whiter and brighter. Given how much happier and confident I felt after the initial whitening process, I can't wait to see how they look over the next few weeks.
Feeling happier with your smile can make such a dramatic difference to your overall confidence and I wholeheartedly recommend The Dental Café. I had a wonderful experience and I'm no longer embarrassed to show my teeth when I smile.
You can see The Dental Café's treatments here.
Get the top stories straight to your inbox by signing up to our what's on newsletter
READ NEXT:
- Opening date confirmed for huge new £1m extreme entertainment centre
- Nile Rodgers and CHIC return to Merseyside for huge summer show after 'phenomenal demand'
- A Barry's Bootcamp expert told me how often to exercise for real results so I tried it for myself
- I stayed in Liverpool's new Radisson RED hotel and 'the interiors were stunning'
- Iceland's new low calorie meal that 'tastes just like a takeaway'
