I am a nOOb here so I hope all is forgiven 
Hello all, my name is Crystal and I just turned 32. I am a stay at home mother of 2 small children. My story about braces begins back in Aug 2007 when I had to take my son to an emergency dentist appointment. We were shopping at the mall, we had stopped to let the kids play on this huge boat with a slide, its a small play ground inside the mall, great for letting them get rid of some of their energy, when he came crying. I didnt notice right away but soon it was very apparent that his front tooth was broken at the gum level. I was very upset and sad for him. I must say he was such a tough little guy, he was 3 and he was really just pushing the tooth in and out with his tongue. I tried to take him to our reg dentist, but they said they were "too busy" I was pissed at that point. So I just decided to drop in a dentists office and hope they took our insurance and that they would squeeze him in. Well much to my surprise, it turned out to be the best dental office I or my husband had ever been to. They took him in and made him a priority. My son had to have his tooth completely removed. While I was there I went ahead and made an appointment for myself to get a cleaning and I was due for x-rays all that good stuff. After the dentist looked at my x-rays he said you really need to have your wisdom teeth out, they are impacted pretty bad. So I had to make another appointment with an oral surgeon. So the date to have my wisdom teeth out was set for Oct 30th. Bummer for me since Halloween was the next day and I really enjoy that day. But anyhow I get my wisdom teeth removed, ALL 4 at once. I was in bed for 10 days for real. I cant take very many meds so I was on MS Contin which is the pill form of Morphine. I noticed about three weeks after my surgery that my teeth no longer would go together. I would spend many hours a day just trying to force them to fit, which had horrible consequences, severe pain in the whole right side of my mouth. Time goes on and I get real tired of hearing from just about everybody "oh it will get better in time" it was not getting better. My next step was I called my insurance co. to see how much they covered on braces. When I got off the phone I was in tears, they said because I was getting them at such a late age that they covered "0". I was very upset and asked why, I was told that at this age it is all cosmetic which is total crap. I can't bite down properly and I was in bad pain. So now on from there. I call an orthodontist in my area and get a consult. I also got the amt it would cost. I did not even hesitate to tell them lets just do it. The cost would be $4300 and I needed to pay a $1400 down payment due that week. They were awesome they did all my x-rays right then and did all the molds and bite down things everything but the bonding. It was a done deal, I was to get braces Jan 7 2008. So from the time I called the ortho office to when I was bonded was only 7 weeks or so. It all went so fast. That much I am so glad for, as I read so many other posts here about all the waiting and waiting. On Jan 7 I went in and I got uppers and lowers all metal, I have heard of so many people complain that the plastic brackets break easier than the metal. I didnt want any issues that were preventable plus I really dont care if others can see my braces. I was very fortunate to not need any spacers they just put all the brackets on and then, the wire. Everything was done all in 2 appointments. My smile will be under construction for at least 24 months, maybe longer. My orthodontist is a young woman who is very nice. I can see how lucky I was in getting it done so quickly. The first day I had nearly no pain, the second was a little uncomfortable, but OMG the third was the worst. Now here I am 2 weeks with my braces and I am doing so much better. I am here to meet others that are adults with braces and to have someone my own age to talk about all of this with.
Sorry about the long post others will be much shorter.
Look forward to sharing my journey!!!!!! Very Happy
If anyone can tell me how to make a signature I would be very appreciative!!
as I stay home, but he is fine with the whole thing, he wants me to be as healthy and happy as possible, I have been blessed with a wonderful husband who doubles as my beat friend. We have been together for 10 years. 
