I'm a 26 year old female, and I have been wanting braces for a loooong time. Other people always tell me, "Your teeth are fine!" or "You have a beautiful smile!" but I do not feel that way when I look in the mirror or at myself in pictures. 1. I have an overbite 2. I have a crooked canine tooth on the top that sticks out, and I notice it in every picture...I hate it!!! 3. I have a crossbite on the left side 4. My bite is off center. 5. I have slight crowding of the lower front teeth. All of my top teeth are pretty straight (other than the 1 canine tooth, which drives me crazy) and I only smile showing those, which is probably the reason people don't notice the "other" problems in my mouth.
Anyway, I went for a consultation about 3 weeks ago. I was really excited going into the consultation. I was thinking, "Yes, I'm finally going to do it!" When I arrived, I sat in the chair and the orthodontist looked into my mouth and told me that my upper arch was really narrow, and that I would need a Rapid Palatal Expander (RPE) to widen it. She showed me this appliance, and the first thing I thought was, "That thing must be extremely uncomfortable!"
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Well, since that consultation, I have thought about it A LOT, and have gone through a roller coaster of emotions. But, after much consideration I have decided to go through with it. YIKES!
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I have an appointment on September 14th to get xrays, pictures, records, a model, and to have separaters put between my back teeth. I'm excited to get this whole process started, but nervous about any pain I'm going to experience. I just hope I can handle it!
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