Hey, Everyone! I am 23 years old and got my top braces put in on Tuesday (two days ago). I remember when I was about 11-12 my mom took us to the dentist (this is the only time I have ever been to the dentist other than last week when I had a couple of dentist & ortho consults!) and he of course recommended ortho treatment. Being that there were 3 of us and my brother was quite young - the dentist said the others can wait, but "this one needs them right away!" We left the office and my mom said I was getting braces. Cue tantrum. I still to this day do not understand why I was so opposed to getting braces - I needed them and its not like I would have been the only one in school with braces. I pitched such a fit that my mom allowed me to make the decision and so I didn't get the braces. Years passed and then it was too late, my mom could not afford my treatment by the time I came around. Ever since I began working full time after high school I have been wanting braces so bad. There would not be a single day I didn't think about wanting to fix my smile. Oh and speaking of smile, I have never known what that is. When I had my ortho consult and they took my picture the ortho assistant asked me to smile. The picture was so awkward because I simply do not smile with my teeth showing - I have even trained myself to have speak without barely opening my mouth because I hate my teeth so much.
SO, I am finally in a position to have orthodontic treatment and took the plunge two days ago. My plan is track my progress here and share my story and concerns/complaints with you all.
The ortho suggested self-litigating braces and told me she was looking at 18 months, give or take 6 months either way. I'm not expecting anything less than 18 months for sure - but looking around here and just researching online it seems this number is pretty low, especially when compared to people who appeared to have less crowding than I do but yet spent a significant amount of time in braces - not just 18 months. Looking at my pictures below, what are you thoughts about the treatment time?
The only real "before" I have:
All the pictures that follow are day two:
P.S. Even after all the researching, I did not have any idea I would be so miserably sore. My uppers hurt so, so very badly. When will it go away???
At least it will be worth it for all of us 
