So, like many others on this site, I've decided to share my story to help others and myself! So here goes!
My story begins when I was younger and my brother had really bad teeth. My mom could only afford to get braces for one of us, so I went without braces. My dentists bothered me for years to get braces, because of a lot of crowding in my lower teeth which makes them hard to clean.
So, at age 25, I've finally given in. I'm currently doing my Ph.D. in Psychology, and I didn't want to be a professor teaching classes of 500 people with braces on, so I decided to get them now before I finish grad school!
I go in for my spacers this Thursday (April 7th, 2005), and then I will get my full braces on April 11th 2005. I am opting for metal braces on the top and bottom, and I'm trying a "controlled arch" procedure. My dentist says that this procedure moves the teeth quickly without having to do any extractions. However I will have a little extra hardware in my mouth compared to most people, as I will have a wire bonded to the INSIDE of my teeth on the top and bottom (like a non-removable retainer), plus the brackets on the outside. I will also need to have some material put on the tops of my back molars to open my bite a bit, otherwise (because of my 'deep bite'), I will bite the braces off!
![Shocked :shock:](./images/smilies/icon_eek.gif)
My total estimated treatment time is 18 months which isn't too bad. I'm a bit worried about how I am going to feel/look afterwards, but reading input on this site has really helped me out!
Here are some pics:
This is me last summer (the most close up pic I could find):
![Image](http://img215.exs.cx/img215/333/bethany3du.th.jpg)
I know that my teeth don't look extremely crooked, because my problem is mostly with my bottom teeth.
Here is a closeup of my teeth before braces:
![Image](http://img101.exs.cx/img101/8932/smallteeth34ty.th.jpg)
And a close up of my bottom teeth before braces:
![Image](http://img101.exs.cx/img101/5007/smallteeth22xm.th.jpg)
Here are some top and bottom views of my mouth:
![Image](http://img101.exs.cx/img101/543/smallteeth50ud.th.jpg)
![Image](http://img101.exs.cx/img101/7815/smallteeth45fw.th.jpg)
Finally, here is my profile before braces:
![Image](http://img101.exs.cx/img101/7171/smallprofile7ym.th.jpg)
Suposedly after the braces have done their job my arch will have widened and my upper lip will look more "full".
I will post more pics once I actually get the braces on! Hopefully I can manage to keep everyone up to date on my progress as I go along--wish me luck!
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)