Lake Life Review
Say CHEESE!
To say I was a bit self-conscious about this review would be a major understatement. I mean, doesn't everyone love close up photos of their face...let alone their teeth! I guess that is why I got recruited to do the review, Susan didn't want any close up photos of her face. I guess I will take one for the team!
I must not be alone. There are a ton of people that are self-conscious about their smile. And thanks to Pearly Smiles, and owner Carter Nicol, there is a new option to brighten that smile in the Lakes area. Pearly Smiles is a cosmetic teeth whitening clinic currently located two weekends a month in Dixon Chiropractic, at her home, or for parties of 4 or more, Carter is willing to come to you!
I think back to the months leading up to my wedding and I wanted a whiter smile for those photos that will stick around for the rest of my life. So I marched my way into Walmart and found dozens of different whitening strips, pastes and mouth lights. Did I know what I was looking at, NOPE! So, I grabbed one of the packs of whitening strips and made my way back home. Let the process begin, struggling to get the strip on my teeth, remembering to set a time to take it off, it slipping and sliding around on my teeth, not knowing if I was even doing it correctly...what a process! Not to mention the amount of money you spend on those strips, it was costing me a fortune!
This is NOTHING like that! Thankful for the expertise that Carter provides, she welcomed #along Fran and I into her room at Dixon Chiropractic and gave us a brief on what was about to happen. Little did I know when I got volunteered for this that I would practically be playing "Watch Ya Mouth!" You know the one I am talking about? Where you put the mouth guard in your mouth and try and say different words and phrases? Some people are more successful than others, and not to toot my own horn, but while I was sitting in the chair with that guard in my mouth, I was talking like a champ. #along Fran on the other hand, she did better just staying silent. She was too busy trying to fix her chair; she seemed to be sitting almost straight up most of the time, but if you are leaned back the drool doesn't pour out as bad. Poor #along Fran. Getting the brunt of all of the drool jokes from here on out!
Back to the process. Since Carter is not a dental professional, the process is done by you! Isn't that better than some stranger sticking their fingers and hands in your mouth! I thought so. Carter starts by measuring what color your teeth are on the shade guide. Not going to lie, I thought I had fairly white teeth, but I started at a 12—plenty of room for improvement. I figured a shade or two would be achievable for sure.
The first step is applying a moisturizer to your lips and gums to help them from drying out while your mouth is open to the light. Next, you apply a gel-like paste to your teeth, and this is what helps your teeth whiten and brighten so I really loaded up my teeth! #along Fran and I got all painted up and then put on our safety goggles and reclined our chairs for session one. Carter pulled the lights up and situated to our teeth and set the timer to 20 minutes. As I was sitting there not so patiently waiting for the timer to go off, I had a whole list of questions I wanted to ask. So through my mouth guard I started my own game of "Watch Ya Mouth!"
I was curious what made Carter start this business—she is a full-time Kindergarten teacher and the thought of that is enough to wear me out. I couldn't image doing something on the side. But she explained how passionate she is about a good smile and helping others feel confident in their smile—this was her way of doing so.
Though this is a new venture for her, she said the interest has been very high! I kept asking questions and #along Fran kept drooling, somehow her chair kept inching its way into the upright position, so out came the drool. By the end of it, Carter just set the box of tissues on #along Fran's lap to she could sop it all up.
After the beeper goes off to signal the twenty minutes is up, we started round two. Before applying the second layer of gel, Carter measured our color again. I went from a twelve to an eight; IN ONE SESSION! Holy cow, those results, I'm hooked! After our second session of gel and twentyminutes under the light, we rinsed with water. The final step is applying a blue sealant to protect the teeth. The hardest part about this last step was sitting for the last five minutes. The forty minutes prior seemed like a breeze.
One last rinse and some ChapStick provided by Carter; we get to see the final results. In the second session, I went from an eight to a six. All in all, six shades lighter than I started, in less than an hours time. If that doesn't want to make you smile nice and big, I don't know what does.
Carter mentions to avoid food for about an hour after the process and to remember that some drinks will end up staining your teeth again, such as coffee, red wine, and other dark drinks, but the process of this cosmetic whitening should last three to four months. What a great investment in your smile!
With the wedding season right around the corner, think about how you could brighten and whiten your smile for your special day, or a gift to your mother of the bride/groom. What a thoughtful way to boost some confidence and smile even bigger for those special moments in your life.
Contact Carter for single session or double session bookings via Facebook or Instagram. You can also call/text her at 712-986-7228, or email her at pearlysmilesokoboji@gmail.com. Visit pearlysmilesokoboji.com or just scan the code and see how big and bright you could be smiling after just one session. If you don't believe me, check out our before and after photos and say 'CHEESE'!
