Just wanted to document my story and share it with all of you on this awesome forum.
I recently bit the bullet and went to the dentist. I have had awful teeth my whole life paired with a terrible fear of the dentist. I knew that I had a really bad cavity in my lower left first molar and knew that a few others had some cavities as well so I didn't want to go to the dentist and get berated for not taking care of my teeth (which they did not do... the dentist(s) that I went to are absolutely wonderful). However, I knew that I had to get this taken care of before things got even more out of control. With that being said, I knew that after I got my teeth restored, I wanted to get braces.
I went to the dentist and got my teeth cleaned and got my decayed teeth checked out. One of them needed a root canal and 4 others just needed fillings. I got those taken care of and in the mean while, I went and made an orthodontist appointment. At my initial consultation he talked about extracting two teeth on top and a lower front incisor but said he wanted to study my records before making any further plans. WHOA... I was totally freaked out by the idea of extracting a front tooth and I told the orthodontist that I didn't love that idea but if it was the best, I understood. We did the impressions and xrays and then he wanted me to come back in 2 weeks.
At the treatment planning appointment (which was just last week), we talked about how long it is going to take (26-28 Months AHHH!
). How much it's going to cost and the payment plan ($5500 
). What kind of brackets I wanted (I chose full metal because It was cheaper, treatment would be a tad shorter, I love coffee, curry, red wine, and mustard 
). What other appliances/ misc stuff I will need (a Fred Spring and elastics). But most importantly, we talked about treatment which included ZERO extractions from the beginning (we may need to revisit that in the future). WAHHHOOOOOOO! This was the best news I got. I was freaking out about the extractions because my dentist was telling me that I would probably just go to the oral surgeon and he could knock me out and take care of them all at once. Well, the problem is... I HATE HATE HATE anesthesia (I really don't handle it well) and HATE HATE HATE pain medicine (I've never taken a pain killer that hasn't made me nauseous). So you can only imagine how much of a relief this was. Lastly, they asked me when I wanted to get started. I told them as soon as possible. They ended up putting my spacers in that day and scheduled me an appointment to get my top braces on the next Thursday (HALLOWEEN!). My bite is too deep to get bottom brackets put on yet because my top teeth would hit them. We're having to wait until my bite opens up and they're expecting that to be 4-6 months in. So I'm super excited about getting my top braces because I cannot wait to get started. I have to say though, I'm freaking the eff out right now. These spacers have been in my mouth almost a full week and I still cannot eat without severe pain. They told me that the space between my molars was VERY tight and I could expect some pain that night but here I am 5 days later and still feeling really crummy. Just for perspective, when I got my wisdom teeth out a few years back, I took 1 pain pill that same night and then I was fine... when I just got my root canal, I didn't take one of the pain killers that I was prescribed. However, thank GOODNESS I was prescribed those pain killers because I need them now. I've taken 1-2 each day since these spacers have gone in my mouth. I had a little melt down yesterday when grocery shopping because I'm so afraid that after these bad boys go on my teeth, I'm going to feel even worse than I do now and I feel like I will never be able to eat again.
I'm also scared that I'm going to get these braces on my teeth and look in the mirror and HATE what I see. Honestly, I kind of like my smile right now. I am self conscious about my crooked teeth but I still like to smile. ***Ah... this is kind of therapeutic to write this all out!
*** Anyways, here is a brief summary:
27 Years Old
Getting Top Braces 10/31/13
Bottom Braces TBD
Needing Fred Spring and Elastics
Braces will be on for a total of 26-28 months.
...And the pictures are attached (I will post pictures once I get the top braces... what color ligs should I get?) Also, the weird filling looking thing in my bottom tooth is a temporary filling where I got my root canal. I am going to wait until my braces come off until I get my permanent crown. I will be getting a "build up" in the next week or so that will hold me over for the next few years. Also, I didn't get my top back molars filled because they are the teeth we're possibly (and probably) going to have to extract later.
Thank you so much for reading my rambling... I love reading your stories too.
So you see you are not alone with it. Look forward to the end result ..a beautiful smile...and a definite self esteem booster! 
It will be ok! We are all here waiting to hear how your appointment goes!!
