My parents didn't have much money but they would have gone ahead with it if I had been willing. (My younger brothers later both had braces.) I think I was trying to save them the money - after all, my teeth weren't that bad, I thought. I also didn't want to mess with braces.
I made it through middle school and high school, marching band and prom, college and my wedding without braces, and I considered myself lucky. Then it became more of a stubbornness issue - I've made it this far! My teeth are fine!
When I switched to my current dentist a couple years ago, he was all over me to get braces, but I'd have to have my (partially erupted) wisdom teeth out. At the time they were giving me no problems and I didn't want to mess with the expense and recovery from the surgery for nothing (plus it was a convenient excuse to not get braces!).
Well, this summer I had stuff get caught under the gum flaps over my lower wisdom teeth - leading to serious inflammation and pain for days at a time - three separate times, usually when I was out of town (go figure). The third time was the last straw, and I scheduled the extraction with the OS my dentist recommended. Once they were out, I knew I might as well look into braces, so at my next cleaning I asked my dentist's office for a referral to an ortho.
The recommended ortho turned out to be down the hall from my dentist's office (convenient!). I went for a consult on August 30th. The ortho and the "treatment coordinator" (assistant?) were both extremely pleasant, competent, and willing to talk with me/answer questions. I felt very comfortable with them both. Always a good thing! I was impressed enough with how far technology has progressed and how up-to-date the office was and what options I was given that I decided to seriously consider going ahead with it. I had until Oct-Nov when the open enrollment paperwork for next year's insurance was due at work.
Well, that time is now and I have decided to go ahead with it.
I am both dismayed and glad I waited this long for braces. Dismayed, because if you've seen my teeth up close, you know they're pretty bad. (Oh, healthy and clean, just really, really crowded, especially on the bottom.) I'm wishing I'd stuck to the treatment recommended when I was much younger, and gotten braces when I should have, because by now I'd have had nice, straight teeth for a while.
OTOH I'm actually glad because by waiting, I have reached the point where there is technology to make the whole process much faster/smoother/less painful. I also avoided having braces in band (hit by a flagpole would not have been fun, and playing an oboe with that itty-bitty embouchure...), for prom, college, and my wedding.
Honestly, if I'd gotten braces way back in middle or high school, it would probably have taken 2-3 years and they would have removed teeth (possibly as many as 4). I also may or may not have had to use a palatal expander, since my arches are so narrow and constricted.
Now my ortho wants to use the Damon system - his office is one of only 2 in the area to offer it. He's pretty confident that treatment will only require 18-20 months. I will most likely not have to have any extractions. And no expanders, spacers, or surgery. I'll only have to go in every 8-10 weeks for adjustments/wire changes. He was actually pretty excited to see me, as the system is fairly new to him and he said I was a "prime candidate." I think he's happy to have found a good "example" case, but I don't feel like I'm being manipulated - he honestly thinks this will work really well for me. After reading up on it and doing extensive research I'm excited and think it will, too.
The office also uses OrthoCAD iQ, which is computer planning for bracket placement and the brackets come in trays that slip on to my teeth, are bonded, then they peel the tray away. Quick and precise. I thought it was pretty cool. I'll also get to see the projected outcome of my treatment when I go in for banding. Fun times.
I actually didn't get any estimates from other orthodontists because after doing my own research I was so impressed with the combination of Damon system and OrthoCAD, I didn't feel the need. Also since their office is right down the hall - maybe 20 feet - from my dentist, having the wires out for cleanings and whatnot will be super easy.
The actual brackets I get will be a combination of the solid-metal Damon 3MX brackets (all lower and side-upper teeth) and the mostly clear ceramic Damon 3's on my upper front 6 teeth (the most visible). I like the Damons because even the solid-metal brackets are pretty small, and there are no bands/ligatures to stain and collect food particles/plaque/bacteria (unless I end up with powertrains, but my issue is crowding, not gaps). They're supposed to be easier in general to keep clean. And hey - if they really do reduce my treatment time and/or pain - bonus! If not, well, I'll deal.
So. Before pics:
You can see how my top arch (upper left in photo) is constricted into a "house" or "tent" shape. My canines came in ABOVE my baby canines, so they're high in my gums and stick out a bit.
My lower arch (upper right) is really constricted and bows in, making all four of my lower incisors plus my lower canines jumbled and twisted. My canines are rotated about 90 degrees. Here's a pic I took that shows the lower teeth better from the front:
The bottom consult pics show my deep overbite (90%) and I think I have maybe a 4-5 mm overjet. Also you can see some of my molars don't match up.
I have some gum recession, especially on the lower teeth, that my ortho wants to watch carefully. I think that's partly genetic and partly a result of overbrushing. Trying to compensate for my crowded teeth by brushing really, really thoroughly.
My appointments are made as of yesterday: x-rays and impressions on January 3rd, and the braces themselves (!) two weeks later on the 17th.
That's mainly to comply with the way my payment is set up (through a flex spending account for calendar year 2008, since I don't have adult ortho with my dental coverage). Side benefit of waiting till the new year: I can binge during the holidays and enjoy them, at least. Expect to see me going for a lot of my favorite and soon-to-be-verboten foods (I think sushi qualifies *sigh*) over the next couple months.
Pics and updates in January once I'm actually braced!
(Only about the 12th attempt to post over the past 5 days...kept getting thwarted by the "debug" error.) 
I hope mine are not delayed. I heard one of the orthos comment that they had approved the plan on the 29th, so it was likely due to the holidays.
