Okay... I looked into getting braces about 5 years ago, when I was around 25. I have a lot of student loan debt and a minimal income, so I basically couldn't afford it at that time. I could have gone on a payment plan, but it still would have been very difficult to manage. I was also actively dating at the time and the idea of dating with braces was pretty daunting. Over the next few years, I managed to save up some money but for whatever reason, using the money for braces just didn't really occur to me. I think I was broke for so long that I wanted to hoard all I could in case of emergency!
Anyway, in June (2008), a co-worker was telling me all the gory details about her dentures and I decided then that I in no way wanted to have dentures if I could avoid it! Honestly, as I've gotten older I just accepted getting dentures as inevitable (and maybe it is) but I'd like to put it off as long as possible. Getting my teeth straightened might help with that and it might not, but at least they will be easier to clean. I wasn't given the opportunity to get braces when I was growing up, and we didn't have regular dental care when I was younger either. Add into that the fact that I never lost my baby molars - and you can guess my teeth are not in great shape. My back two molars on each side (and I've already had wisdom teeth removed) are all about 80-90% filling at this point - tops and bottoms. I can't really see how they will last all that much longer, so it seems like I'd end up with dentures. :-/
I remembered from my consultation years before (I went as far as having the records done) that it's best to get braces as soon after a dental cleaning as possible. I happened to have a dental cleaning that same week in June, so I called the dental school around here (Portland, OR - so it's OHSU) and made an appointment. I was told to think carefully about what day I wanted the appointment on because that day of the week would be when ALL of my future appointments would be scheduled (due to having to have the professor and resident there at the same time, which only happens one or two days a week). Even with having money saved up, I still couldn't afford what a regular orthodontist would cost ($5-$7k most likely given my time frame). The dental school charges $3,400 for everyone, so it's a decent deal for me. Treatment time takes, on average, about 6 months longer however.
When I went for the appointment a week later, the (professor) orthodontist gave me a brief exam and wrote down a bunch of stuff. Painless. My 30th birthday was coming up at the end of July and I was kind of hoping to get the braces on right after that (as depressing of a birthday present as that would be). Well, my next appointment - for records - wasn't until a month later.
In the middle of July, I had my first records appointment - where they took the molds and did a few other things. I met my resident for the first time, and didn't like her that much at first. Largely due to her being completely gorgeous and having a perfect, white smile (of course). I think she was a bit nervous - and I wasn't the happiest camper either when she took my pictures for the chart. I don't really smile, and she asked me to smile wider like I do for "normal" pictures - I said, "Well, I don't smile wider for normal pictures otherwise I wouldn't be here." That appointment wasn't bad overall - some of the molding stuff seemed like it was going to go down my throat when she did the top mold so I gagged a little on that, but it was fine otherwise.
Then comes the second records appointment - which is for x-rays only - and it took me another full month to get that appointment. Aaaargh! So I showed up in the middle of August and they did the x-rays. While I was there, I saw my resident walking around blowing bubbles with her gum and I have to admit, it didn't do anything to raise my confidence level in her! Plus, it just seems sort of mean to go around blowing bubbles in front of a bunch of people who can't chew gum!
The next appointment was only 3 weeks later, second week in September, and this appointment was just to go over my treatment plan. My resident presented it to me and I liked her a little more this time. They estimated the treatment time at 2 1/2 years, but that's pretty much what they tell everyone. I was told I'd have to get four teeth extracted (no surprise there), and that I was going to get my braces put on in "sections" (all but my four front teeth top and bottom). I didn't know they did that, so that was unexpected. No headgear, so that was good. No jaw surgery - very good. Then she told me I'd have to have an arch in my mouth (TPA) for a long time - at least a year? I didn't even know to be afraid of the TPA and after looking it up at home, I am DREADING it. That's going to be the worst part of it all for me. Well, except she also told me that (a while into treatment), I'm going to have to get a plaster-like substance put on top of my back molars so my bite won't close, and that will allow the rest of my teeth to straighten out (I have a crossbite). Now, how can you eat anything if you can't close your bite (and thus, chew)? And that's supposedly going to go on for months. I wanted to lose weight, but this is ridiculous!
The dental school had to send the records to my regular dentist (at Kaiser - boo!) where I'd have the extractions done. Kaiser calls me and tells me they don't have my records. I call my resident and she assures me she sent them. I call Kaiser back and, oh, wait - they do have them. I go to the appointment and find out that my regular dentist (a woman - who I really like) is on maternity leave. Her "substitute" looked less than thrilled to be stuck with her patients (or maybe just with me). He told me he couldn't do anything because they didn't have my records. (!!) I told him, uh, yes, you do. So they asked some other dentist about it, and he didn't have them. I told him that they wouldn't have let me make the appointment unless they had the records, so they had to be around somewhere. No one could find them. Meanwhile, the hygienist is sitting there in a chair beside me smiling the whole time. Why she was even there when all the dentist did was have me open my mouth and look in there for about 5 seconds, I have no idea. Probably to guard against sexual harassment lawsuits or something. Finally I suggested that the records probably went to my regular dentist and did anyone check her stuff? Oh, no, they hadn't thought of that. They check her box and sure enough, there they are. Who knows what the hell else was in there! geez. I didn't like the substitute dentist at all - but it was either go ahead and have him pull the teeth on Nov. 4, or else wait until my regular dentist was back at the beginning of Dec. I never thought any of this would take so freaking long! So I signed up for Nov. 4 and I haven't decided yet if I'm going to ask for more than just the nitrous oxide (as a sedative/painkiller). The gas costs $10, everything else costs a lot more. We'll see.
My first appointment to have anything "real" done was last week - Oct. 2. I had to go in for spacers. She tried to fit the elastic spacers between my teeth, but my teeth are very tight and she only managed to get one of them in. I was pretty glad at the time, because when she was putting them in it felt like she was going to pull out my teeth! She told me she was going to have to use metal spacers - another thing I didn't know existed. She pulls out a pair of pliers and these tiny clamp-like things that look like a cross between a thick staple and a safety pin. She put those in without too much hassle - except for one, which took a long time to get in. And there was the one clamp that flew out and attached itself to the inside of my lip. My poor resident was really sweating out this appointment. She kept asking me if I was okay - but she was the one who seemed to be having issues! I was fine.
At least, I was fine until the next morning when I woke up and - you guessed it - then I felt the pain. I expected pain, but nothing like this. Some people say having spacers are the worst part of the process, and I hope they are right! I guess it's worse for you the more your teeth are crowded/tight, which mine certainly are. I couldn't even get dental floss between tow of them - yikes! Three days into it now and the pain isn't any better. The pain doesn't bother me so much if I'm not trying to eat anything. Even eating soup noodles hurts - so it's all broth and pudding for me. I knew there would be a lot of pain at some points in the process, I just didn't expect it so early into it - so that is very disheartening. Most of what I've read from other people is how the spacers them crazy because it feels like something is stuck between their teeth. My mouth aches so much, I can't even tell there is anything between my teeth (because they are still trying to clamp down and work their way between my teeth, I guess). The metal spacers also have a little rounded "o" end that sticks out (again, think safety pin) - after a day or two, those start to feel pretty darn sharp. Oh well, I guess I might as well start toughening up my cheeks now, right? Luckily, the metal spacers pretty much stay put. If I would have gotten the elastic ones and would have had to keep replacing them myself, I don't think I ever could have done it. The one elastic one I have in I can't even tell it's there and I keep checking to make sure it hasn't fallen out. Oh, if only they all felt that way!
I get the spacers out on the 6th, at which time I have to have bands put on all my molars (because of the aforementioned 90% amalgam in them). Then I get the brackets put on the back teeth (uppers and lowers) on the 16th, and the wires on the 23rd. Why the brackets and wires are two separate appointments, I have no idea.
My boyfriend has been very supportive, but he's still annoying me. He says he knows what it's like (he had braces for about a year as a teenager). But it's really NOT the same at ALL. He's never had a cavity and has no fillings - he never had to have spacers or bands. He didn't have to have a stupid TPA or get plaster added onto his molars so he can't chew. He didn't have to have 4 teeth pulled. His teeth needed minor adjustment - mine need major overhaul. They have a long way to move! And as most of you know, I have root resorption to worry about (and I already have one "tooth" that's a candidate for a root canal). I'm also the only person I know my age who has braces. Turning 30 and having only getting braces to look forward to - while all my friends are having babies (or more babies) and living in houses and having good careers.... while I'm getting braces, sharing my car, sharing a room in a shared house, and have two jobs and nary a day off.... I'm not in great spirits about this all.
