Fast forward to age 24, I suddenly realized i had free insurance for only one more year and could go to the dentist for a nominal fee so i had went twice that year. My plaque(or was it tartar?) buildups were honestly very gross and im happy i took advantage of that last year i had insurance through my parents work to get it taken care of. My dentist mentioned nothing of the position of my teeth but was urging me to get my wisdom teeth looked at. I should have done this at that time but was a chicken about it because of the pain id seen others go through when getting theirs taken out.
About a year after that i decided to get some consultations at a couple of orthodontists and recieved somewhat mixed feedback. I went to two private practices and they were both really assuring that they could help straighten my crooked smile. Of course they were pretty expensive and at the time i couldnt convince my self that the vanity was worth the money. One other consult i had was at a university's dental school where i was told that braces wouldnt really fix anything for me, and that my teeth would revert to their original shape; not what i wanted to hear! So the story ended there for a while, i put my plan on the backburner and moved on in life. I moved out of my house which was a huge ordeal in itself. I moved cross country and bought a very affordable house in an 'up and coming' city. My own independence trumped any issues with my smile and the depression i believe was affecting me for a while. Oh so nice to be free! A year after moving and settling down i once again went to get my chompers looked at. I once again went the dental school route because i had heard positive reviews about this one. While the first school i looked at a few years earlier was crammed with screaming kids and adults and staff that didnt want to listen to any of my concerns(maybe i went on a really bad day?), this other clinic (part of a much larger university) was calm, quiet and collected. Like going to the dentist should be, i felt reassured and was reffered to the orthodontic department on my very first visit. I once again, though, delayed making a decision on getting braces or not. I felt i wasnt ready, the money wasnt all in place and i still couldnt convince myself that its something i felt comfortable going through with. Two years later after having a few cleanings and a cavity filled through the same school i got another consultation for orthodontic treatment. I got approved as being a patient and I felt this time that the time was right. It still took me 4 months of contemplation before putting down a deposit but thats what i did early this summer. I was called back a few weeks later to schedule an appointment for records and impressions. That was in early July and come early August i was due to get my braces on. The wait was over, i felt i had been patient for long enough. The last few days before were beyond nerve racking. I kept thinking if i had made the right choice; was i ready to actually go through with this? who should i tell if anyone? should i have gone with clear versus metal? will i regret it? The closer to brace day it got, the more confident i felt in the decision i made. It felt like there was little backing out now and there was something strangely comforting in that choice.
So I went in on Wednesday (aug 3rd) to get my braces on! I went with metal damon brackets, they were less expenisve than ceramic by $500 per arch! Aesthetically i felt that people would know that i had these things on anyway so I might as well have fun with them and go for the traditional train track smile. I think i look slightly younger than my age to begin with so figure ill look like im in my earlier twenties with them on! Never a bad thing haha. My treatment plan calls for 18-24 months in braces(anyway i can talk them down to 12 months?). As far as i know i have Class I with an overbite (or is it a deepbite) and some crowding/crookedness in both top and bottom teeth. My incisors are twisted quite a bit (almost 90 degrees) so I'm excited to see progress on those soon.
As to the whole process, it was surprisingly quicker than expected. I waited in the lobby for only 10 or 15 minutes and then waited just a few more minutes in the chair before getting started. I got just the top arch done, as I was told that i would bite the bottom brackets off (ouch) if they were put on at the same time. Thirty minutes later and i had a new grin! One bracket popped off of one my molars while i was still in the chair getting the wire put on so she just clipped the wire and said they'd re-attach it at my next appointment, grr six long weeks! The pain has gotten, i will not lie, increasingly worse. Its a wierd sensation and dont know if i would call it pain or just extreme soreness. It will take a while to get used to thats for sure! Eating is interesting and, as many others have stated, kind of a chore. Ive been pretty adventurous so far though and have done pizza, sushi, a veggie burger and even toast! Chewing slowly helps alot and so do smaller bites follwed by generous sized gulps of water and or beer
Well i think this is enough for a one time rant, sorry it came out so long but thanks for pushing through and hearing me out! This site is awesome and has helped me with alot of questions and concerns i had and i gotta say thanks for that.
but after that the pain subsided and now theres no pain again. 