My Journey Towards The Perfect Smile: Choosing The Right Clear Aligners For Me

 After noticing my teeth shifts in my adulthood, I decided to get clear aligners. Here are the three contenders - SmileDirectClub, Candid, and Byte - and why I chose the company I did to help me achieve my perfect smile.

Like many children of the early 90s, I flaunted those traditional (but sadly hideous) metal braces for almost two years when I was young. I remember dreading the orthodontist visit every month or so when my doctor would tighten the braces and cause incredible amount of pain. In addition to the pain that kept me awake, I also disliked not being able to indulge in my favorite sweets - caramels - because they would get stuck all over the teeth.

After two years of metal braces, I graduated to a less conspicuous, but still bothersome, retainer that I had to wear every day except when eating. It was such a nuisance, and I inevitably lost the retainer a couple times - finally I decided to forego the retainer altogether and convinced myself that I was old enough that my teeth would stop moving - oh, how wrong I was!

Though you can't see it happening, your teeth are always on the move. In fact, your teeth will continue to shift ever so slightly throughout your life. My teeth were no exception. I have always had a slight overbite (who else sucked their thumb when they were little?) but it became more pronounced as I got older. In addition to my "bucktooth," my teeth were also getting more crowded. While I wanted to fix my teeth (again) to achieve that perfect smile, I also didn't want to go through yet another years of metal braces. And that's when I found out more about clear aligners.

Clear aligners are transparent dental braces that slip over the teeth. While clear aligners are not as effective as metal braces, they are far less intrusive and also a better fit for me personally given my teeth just needed a relatively minor adjustment. The best known clear aligner brand is Invisalign, but there is also a high price tag that comes with it. After research, I narrowed down to three candidates: Smile Direct Club, Candid, and Byte

SmileDirectClub

SmileDirectClub has been around the longest (founded in 2014), and offers regular clear aligners that you wear 22 hours a day as well as nighttime clear aligners for 10 hours of continuous wear - both priced at $1,950. You can either visit a SmileShop for an in-person scan or use the at-home kit to create impressions, which will be then inspected by a licensed dentist or orthodontist to create a custom treatment plan.

Candid

Similar to SmileDirectClub, Candid also offers the option to get impressions of your teeth at home with a starter kit or by visiting one of their Studios. One unique benefit of Candid is that they only work with orthodontists who specialize in tooth movement, and provides remote monitoring technology that makes it easy to track your progress and send scans of your teeth to an orthodontist, all from home. It also has the highest price tag at $2,400.

Byte

The final contender - Byte - does not have the option for an in-person scanning, but it offers an easy-to-follow impression kit. Byte boasts the shortest average treatment time, thanks to its HyperByte aligner seating technology that helps to improve the accuracy of teeth movement, reduces discomfort when switching trays, and straighten the teeth in up to half the time. There are two plans to choose from - the All-Day ($1,895) or At-Night ($2,295).

...and drumroll please!

After carefully assessing the pros and cons of SmileDirectClub, Candid, and Byte, I decided to go with...Byte! In addition to Byte being the most cost friendly option (for the day aligners), I also liked that it has the shortest timeframe due to the HyperByte technology. While it would be easy to just walk in to a studio to get my teeth scan, especially since the studios are readily available in NYC, I also appreciated the convenience of doing it at home and not risk COVID exposure.

On top of everything, I read through many raving customer reviews and testimonials - ranging from satisfaction with the treatment (look at these before and after photos!) to exceptional customer service. I also love the company's mission of making the inaccessible, accessible, and providing customers with an easier and affordable way to get the smile and confidence they dream about.

Impressive Dining Experience At Oiji, A Contemporary Korean Fusion Restaurant In East Village

 Embark on an unforgettable culinary journey by dining at Oiji, where you can indulge in mouthwatering dishes that are pleasant to the eyes and the mouths.

One of New York City's standout restaurants since 2015, Oiji specializes in "Refined Authentic Korean" cuisine that fuses traditional flavors and dishes with modern cooking techniques and ingredients, artful plating, and portion sizes. The restaurant is helmed by the co-chef and co-owner team of Brian Kim and Tae Kyung Ku. Originally from Korea, both chefs have robust culinary experiences under their belts, having cooked at places like Bouley and Gramercy Tavern before starting Oiji.

In light of COVID-19, Oiji has set up arguably one of the most comfortable dining experiences in New York City that ensures both warmth and privacy for its diners. Oiji also offers indoor dining in its stylish restaurant with all the safety measures like more than 6 feet distance and barriers between all tables that are sanitized thoroughly for each seating.

Scallops "Hwe" and Mushroom Salad

The carefully curated menu encourages diners to explore all the fresh, quality ingredients that the land and the sea offer. My journey began with the Scallops "Hwe," which features thinly sliced layers of scallop crudo on top of snow crab and jellyfish mixed in Korean mustard vinaigrette. The scallop is topped with baby tomato slices and edible flower, and surrounded by refreshing cucumber broth. Oiji gives a unique twist to what I typically consider to be a "boring" dish with its Mushroom Salad. Three different types of mushrooms - maitake, shiitake, and woodear - are dusted in savory powder and crisped to perfection, and served with a melange of pine nuts, radish, raisins, and romaine in creamy dressing.

Oiji Bowl and Soy Trout

Possibly the most photogenic dish, the Oiji Bowl is also a fan favorite for those who love the creaminess of sea urchin together with sweet shrimp and spicy cucumber salad on top of savory seaweed rice. One of the newer items on the menu is the Soy Trout featuring slices of raw trout with golden smoked trout roe, English peas, and quail egg with rice.

Truffle Seafood and Chili Lobster

Continuing onto my seafood journey, the Truffle Seafood is the perfectly warm, hearty dish for the colder, winter days. The seafood broth with truffle is poured table side into a hot metal pot filled with clams, shrimps, calamari and bok choy. Balancing out the temperature is the Chili Lobster featuring chilled ramyun noodles in thick scallion garlic sauce, and topped with generous portion of succulent and spicy chili lobster, nori bits, and sugar snap peas.

Oxtail and Wagyu Wrap

Finishing off the journey on a heavy note, the Oxtail is another hearty dish with tender and meaty oxtail braised in soy-based broth and served with glass noodles and various root vegetables. Finally, the Wagyu Wrap highlights mouthwatering pieces of barbecued short ribs that are layered with mushroom and thin fried potato. The dish is served with scallion kimchi and pickled daikon that you can use as a wrap.

Moving In The Midst Of A Pandemic - How I "Survived" My First Move In NYC

 While it's common for most New Yorkers to move to a new apartment every few years, I moved for the first time after living in the same place for the last 6.5 years. Here is my personal experience on what it was like to move during a pandemic.

I moved to New York City - arguably the best city in the world - in 2014 with a small U-Haul packed with minimal furniture, a couple suitcases, and a bicycle. While most of my friends moved to a different apartment every few years (and some even every year), I stayed in the same 3 bedroom apartment with roommates for nearly 6.5 years due to its proximity to work. However, when the unforeseen COVID-19 marred the world and I spent more time than ever at home, I decided to take the plunge and moved to a new place on my own.

Because of a mass exodus of people out of the city and into the suburbs during the pandemic, the housing market was in my favor. Many landlords, whose apartments have been vacant for as many as 4 months, were offering crazy deals and discounts. After scouring through endless listings on StreetEasy and seeing about 10 apartments in my desired neighborhoods, I signed a lease on a small but cozy 1 bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village.

I have never moved once in 6.5 years, so I accumulated a lot of items during those times. I had some serious decluttering to do! After consulting with a few friends who consider themselves "moving pros" and doing my own online research, I decided to make the move as stress-free as possible by working with a moving company to help guide me through the process.

Next step? Choosing the moving company that's right for me. I read online reviews and one company stood out to me as "the one" - Rabbit Moving and Storage. Not only did Rabbit Movers have one of the best reviews (4.6 stars on Google and almost 600 reviews on Yelp), but it also has a unique mission of employing the creative types - from artists to musicians to writers - who are as passionate about art as they are about reducing as much of the customers' stress as possible.

The onboarding process began with a free estimate from the website. You have the option of getting a quick quote by simply putting in the from and to addresses or - for a more accurate pricing - record your inventory by marking different items you have. Shortly after filling out the information, I was assigned a "Relocation Consultant" who followed up with me for additional questions and confirmed the date and time of move. As easy as 1, 2, 3!

While Rabbit Movers offers packing and unpacking moving services, I decided to tackle this task on my own. In order to ensure I had enough time to pack all my belongings, I asked Bunny, my Relocation Consultant, to deliver a total of 25 boxes ranging in sizes (small, medium, and large) 5 days before the big day. Rabbit Movers also confirmed a few details of the move, including a 2-hour arrival time window.

On the morning of the move, I received a text message from one of the movers - Nick - that he was on his way. The two movers (both named Nick!) arrived right on time. Nick asked some questions to confirm which furnitures and boxes should be moved, and they were quick to get to work. Nick and Nick were extremely efficient at moving boxes and dissembling bigger furnitures like the bed frame. Additionally, they did an extremely thorough job of wrapping fragile items and corners of the furniture to ensure all the pieces get moved in one piece.

The entire process on Move Day - from arrival and loading to drop off and re-assembling of the furniture - took a little less than 4 hours. I was impressed by the movers' respectful, careful, efficient, and professional treatment of my belongings, and further amazed by how Rabbit Movers helped to make my first moving process so easy! I will be spending the next few days unpacking and organizing my belongings, and am so excited to settle down in my new apartment.