Straightening Things Out at 24

[alrac91]

Hi everybody!!! As someone who loved reading braces stories on here the month before I got braced, I have decided to share my own story in as much detail as possible. Hopefully it will help someone who is waffling on deciding on whether or not to get braces. In fact, I was thisclose to getting invisalign until a few stories on this site helped sway me toward braces (the possibility of mid course corrections and the extra time this would entail really turned me off from invisalign.)

I am 24 and from Brooklyn, NY. In August, I went to the dentist to inquire about getting invisalign only to find out, I needed two root canals. After several "second" opinions, I finally finished the root canals and crowns and went to the orthodontist for a consultation in the end of December. My consultation was free and they gave me an appointment that day. The first thing they did was take several pictures of my teeth. Then the orthodontist came in, examined my teeth and rattled off a bunch of things that I did not understand.

Now the main reasons I wanted braces was that my midline was extremely OFF, one of my upper later incisors is dipped in, and I have extremely crowded bottom front teeth.

When I got my letter with all the doctor's clinical findings on it, it said

• The facial proportions are asymmetric from the right to the left sides
  Normal overbite of 10%
  Normal overjet of 2mm
  Moderate Crowdings in the upper and lower dentitions
  Upper and lower jaw width is narrow
  Missing tooth 11 (Upper Canine)
  Teeth #'s 4,7,10,22,24,27 are in crossbite
  Midline is 2mm right of facial midline

I was a candidate for invisalign but I chose to go with full metal damons, top and bottom. Invisalign requires a lot of patient compliance and I just didn't know if I had it in me. I will have braces for 18 to 22 months. As for cost, the records appointment cost me $350. My entire orthodontic treatment is setting me back $5,900.00 of which I put down $1508 on my banding date. I pay $244 a month for 18 months. A lot of $$ but it's the best gift I have ever given myself!

Here are pics of my teeth the night before I got my braces on!











I got my braces on February 5th and so far so good!

[alrac91]

Here are pics taken on my official one week anniversary. I have seen some very small changes. I do have pictures from day one but I'm too lazy to upload them at the moment ! I hope to get the chance to do so tomorrow and also share with you my experience getting braced and how my first week went. Oh FYI, I am currently in class III elastics on both sides.