I finally got them!

[Spring1onu]

You have beautiful teeth and congrats on starting your journey! I didn't even notice the pontics

[Avalon Rose]

yay!!!!!!!!! I think you already have great teeth, so it doesn't look like it will take long.

I get braced in 2 weeks!!! Yay!

[gappedmouth]

Thank you all for the kind words and the advice. I am adjusting to the braces. They do not hurt that much now, unless I dare to knock against them or hold a pen in my mouth etc. Eating anything other than soft food is still problematic. My current problem is my cheeks and lips getting stuck in the brackets. Also, I haven't adjusted yet to wearing the retainer, so my speech is still affected. I'd rather have speech problems than the gaps though because I work in a very unforgiving environment. I hope I am brushing well enough. I curse the floss!