If you follow Zoe George (@thesubtlemummy) on Instagram, you’ll know she’s always on the move. A travel lover, content creator and former Big Brother Season 12 housemate, Zoe shares her life online with honesty and humour.
After her bonded retainer broke during COVID lockdowns, her teeth slowly shifted. What started as something small became something she noticed more and more in photos and videos.
Zoe chose orthodontist-led clear aligner treatment at Urban Smile to restore the smile she felt most confident with. Here’s her experience in her own words.
Why did you want to straighten your teeth?
I had a bonded retainer for years, but it broke during COVID and I couldn’t get it fixed during the lockdowns. My teeth moved much more than I expected. I would look back at photos and notice things shifting, especially my lower teeth. Once I realised how much they had changed, I knew I wanted my old smile back. Not just a tiny tweak either. I wanted the proper, full result.
Looking back now that you’ve finished treatment, can you tell us a little about yourself and what your smile journey has been like overall?
I’m actually so surprised at how quickly it went and how easy the whole thing was. I remember being so impatient to start and here we are at the end already!
You’ve been in the public eye before and now share a lot of your life online. What role did your smile play in how you showed up on camera before treatment?
I actually used to edit my photos to try and fix this one front tooth all the time. I know it’s in my head and we are so critical of ourselves, but I was so tired of noticing it in every video and just wanted my straight teeth back. Which I now have!
How has clear aligner treatment fitted into your busy, travel-heavy lifestyle?
Anyone who knows me knows how much I travel. Greece, Bali and pretty much anywhere I can explore. I honestly thought treatment would be annoying. I imagined taking the aligners in and out, worrying about appointments or dealing with discomfort while travelling.
But it hasn’t affected my life at all. I have been genuinely surprised by how easy it is.
I keep my aligners with me everywhere, and I always have my case handy so they stay clean and safe. The real game-changer is the Dental Monitoring app. Every week I scan my teeth in front of the mirror, send it off, and the team lets me know whether to move to the next aligner or stay on the current one.
Even while I was overseas, I was able to stay completely on track, just through the app. Travelling the world while keeping my treatment going has been so simple.
What ultimately made you decide that now was the right time to straighten your teeth with Urban Smile?
I saw a friend who got her teeth done and then the universe sat me next to one of the Urban Smile ladies at an event I was at and we got to talking.
It came at a moment where I told myself to stop overthinking it and just do it. The longer you put something like this off, the longer you delay feeling good about your smile.
As soon as I booked the appointment at Urban Smile Hawthorn, everything happened quickly. The scans, the preview of what my teeth could look like, the first box of aligners. Seeing the projected results was incredibly motivating.
You’d had orthodontic treatment in the past. How did that experience shape your expectations and how did this journey end up being different?
The visits! It was such a dream being able to just upload my scans with my phone at home.
How did it feel seeing a visualisation of your smile transformation before you even started?
I found that quite encouraging. It really helps you trust the process.
What did your weekly routine look like with your aligners and the Dental Monitoring app?
Friday morning was my day. I get up and scan and then wait patiently to see if I passed and get to move on to the next aligner or if I needed more days on the same one. Waiting for that message to come back was always so exciting. It felt like passing a major test.
How did clear aligners fit into your lifestyle — especially events, social moments, and being on camera?
I don’t know if people were just being polite but no-one ever commented on it and I rarely noticed it in my videos. I would just take them out if I was recording work to help with my pronunciation but other than that they really are almost invisible.
What surprised you most about the result or journey?
How perfect they look at the end! My teeth weren’t bad by any means to begin with but I didn’t imagine that would be as perfect as they turned out to be.
What would you say to someone who is thinking about starting clear aligner treatment?
Just do it. The sooner you start the sooner you’ll get them off. It’s nothing!
What are you most excited about now that your treatment is finished?
Last night after dinner I prepared myself for the usual tongue scan over my attachments to see if I could remove any food that remains stuck and there was nothing!! I had forgotten how little food gets stuck in your teeth when you have no attachments.
If you’re considering clear aligner treatment in Melbourne and want to see what your smile could look like before you begin, book a consultation with Urban Smile. Your transformation might be simpler than you think.