Metal Mouth Message Board

On Monday, I'm planning to call a highly recommended orthodontist about a consultation for lingual braces. I'm entirely unsure of how the process goes. Will they be taking molds/x-rays on my first visit, or will this require another appointment? What happens after the molds are taken, and how long does it take before the braces are ready to be put on?

The reason I'm so curious is because I'm 18 and going off to college in about 2-3 months. I was wondering if I'd have the braces on beforehand because I'd like to get used to speaking/functioning normal before I go off to school. I have an open bite and really can't wait to fix it. My parents have been unwilling to buy me braces despite recommendations from my old orthodontist and my current dentist. I have about $7500 saved up and will hopefully be able to convince them to pay off the remainder if it costs more than that. I think that they'd be willing to fork over $3000-$4000 if they saw that I wanted them this much, so hopefully that will be enough!

Well my process went as follows:

Made the initial consultation, they said to get an x-ray done. Provided the x-ray is fine they will suggest seeing a hygienist. Once that's done they will take the molds and send them off to the company that makes them (in Germany) which takes them 4-6 weeks to actually make the brackets. Once they're back they'll schedule you in to have them fitted. If it's upper and lower you get they will fit either upper or lower first, leaving a month between the final visit to have the other set put in.

As you can see it takes a while for it to all come together but could easily be done in that 2-3 month time frame.

Oh and good luck! they take a bit of getting used to but way better having invisible braces!

Just so you know, if you have an open bite, you will probably need elastics. They typically go on the outside of your teeth so you're treatment won't be so hidden. I reccomend looking at my lingual braces blog to get an idea of the process.

Mine cost $9,000 and that was cheap compared to many of the other orthodontists in the area.