First for the background. I have been a dedicated grinder my entire life. Since childhood my dentist always told me it was because my upper arch was too narrow and didn't seat correctly. He suggested braces to my parents who basically thought he was full of it and never got braces for me when I was younger.
Fast forward to January. Here I am at 24 years old being told by my dentist that I need to do something ASAP as I have ground off 1/3 of my adult teeth and if I continue, I would need caps or dentures by 30. With a nice tax return in the works, I set up 3 consults.
Consult one goes well with a nice ortho. However, her suggested plan was very steep ($6k) and required extractions and other work in addition to that $6k. Because I am paying for this all out of pocket, I told them I would think about it.
Ortho #2 had been highly recommended by friends and family alike. He has been in business the better part of 30 years and has a "no-nonsense" or what I like to call "no BS" policy. He tells you exactly what is going on without sugar coating it. His estimate was $4,500. While debating it, the office lady handed me a list with dental insurance plans on it. For $80/yr, I would get a 20% discount on my braces PLUS savings at my normal dentist. I signed up for Careington International and ended up with an out of pocket expense of $3700. I paid a third down and we were on our way!
BTW, I cancelled with ortho #3. Didn't like the staff's demeanor from the get go
Appointment #1 was interesting to say the least. Here I am using these goofy handle lookin things to yank my cheeks back so she could get pics of my teeth. Then the x-rays. Oh the joy! Oh, but let's not forget the molds!!! I hate the taste of the stuff to begin with and my ortho's water smells like rank eggs so it was a BAD situation. I honestly thought she was joking when she asked what FLAVOR I wanted my putty to taste like! I said fruit punch but it still tasted like rank eggs LOL!!!
Next she puts these LOVELY little devices called spacers in. Well, she tries to. Time after time they break off and several time she gouges the roof of my mouth with pliers. She finally resorts to flossing them in. So off I go from appointment #1 looking like I had eaten a Smurf Sandwich for breakfast.
Next day I come back to have bands fit for an expander. My contact points are so tight the spacers barely come out much less having the room to place bands. We finally got the molars banded but could not get my front teeth banded. They finally said we would have to resort to using bonding in the front. I was ok with that. So off I went for a month with nothing in my mouth.
Appointment number 3 consists of the spacers again. Joy.
We left the spacers in 2 days this time before trying to seat the expander. Come to appointment 4 all psyched to FINALLY have something to show! I walk out with a WAD of metal on the roof of my mouth, drooling like a FIEND. Couldn't talk at all either. Over the course of the next week I learn how to swallow without having to throw my head back, I also learn how to speak a bit more clearly although it still sounded like I was hearing impaired.
Monday I had my second appointment to check the expander and I finally have enough movement to brace my uppers. I will post more after I get braced tomorrow afternoon! [/img]
At least you're now taking care of the problem! 
I love the color combination. Kinda matches whatever you wear!