I discovered this forum a few weeks ago, just between my two ortho consultations. Thanks to the wealth of knowledge and personal experiences found here, I was able to make an educated decission about my treatment, but let's start at the beginning.
I always knew I needed braces, but growing up across the pond in one of the former communist countries this was not an option. I did receive some ortho treatment in my early teens, but it was limited to a removable expander which was only expanded every few weeks or so when I went for my ortho appointments. Knowing what I know now, the expansion should have been a lot more rapid, therefore it is no surprise that those few years (!!!) that I wore an expander at night, did not produce any noticable results.
Fast forward to my late teens/early twenties, communism fell and things were starting to change in many areas of life, including dentistry. My new dentist suggested that he could get me another removable expander, one that would create more room for my crowded front teeth. This time the treatment worked and once more room was created in my upper jaw, the teeth started to move into their natural positions. I wore this expander for about 18 months and it really helped. Of course the expander has not addressed my bite issues, but at the time it was not my main concern.
Fast forward another 15 years and now that I'm in my mid-thirties, I decided to fix my bite and crowding once and for all. Although I have never worn any retainers, my teeth remained fairly unchanged over the years, but lately I noticed that my top left lateral incisor moved to a crossbite position over a period of several weeks and realized that it was a sign of things to come. In addition, I noticed that my left TMJ sometimes tends to click (loudly!!!) and there are times when it hurts when I chew. It usually goes away, but the red flag remains.
So a few months ago I asked my dentist for an ortho referral and she did give me one, but suggested that I should first see a perio specialist to examin the receeding gum around my left lower canine. The perio turned out to be an honest man, who told me that because of the way my canine is rotated, there really isn't much he could do other than attempting to reinforce the gum with a graft. That carried a price tag of about $1,500, so I decided to pass. The perio also said that if I strightened my teeth, my gum in that area would likely improve on its own.
This was the right time to get an ortho consult. First I went to see the ortho recommended by my dentist. The consult did not go very well and I was disappointed. Although the treatment coordinator was nice, the ortho himself seemed to be in a hurry and made me feel like I was just another patient with just another standard problem and just another standard solution. He tried to be funny, but wasn't; didn't even bother to explain much about the proposed treatment and quickly proceeded to see the next patient. I left the consult with a detailed description of payment options, but nobody told me how the treatment would proceed or even how long it would take. I knew I would never go back to this ortho even before I got off the elevator.
That visit made me realize how little I knew about ortho treatments, so that night I went on the web and discoverd this forum. Since then I spent many hours reading your stories, examining the pictures and figuring out which treatment options I'm interested in. In the meantime I went back to my dentist for another cleaning and mentioned to the hygienist that I was about to get braces. During that visit four different people in my dentists office asked if I was going with the ortho they recommended and that put me off and made me wonder if there was a "referral fee" of some kind my dentist was counting on.
Knowing that I would not choose that ortho, I asked a few friends for ortho referrals, but neither of them were close enough to where I live and work. So I googled otrhos in my area and found a few interesting websites. Determined to get at least 3 conluts, I booked an appointment with the ortho that had the best and most informative website. I was concerned they may be expensive but decided to try anyway. I went to the consult and from the moment I arrived, everything just felt right. They did complimentary x-rays, the ortho performed a full examination, took time to explain everything in detail and provided a number of different options. I already kew I would want self-ligating braces and it turns out it's the only kind they use. After the ortho left, the treatment coordinator answered some more questions and explained the costs involved and payment options. The total cost of treatment turned out to be almost $1,000 less than the first ortho, which only made my decission easier. I decided not to waste any more time with other consults and sent the treatment plan to my insurance. Last Monday, as soon as it was approved, I called my new ortho to book an appointment to have my braces put on and they had an opening for Wednesday, October 7th.
I went for my 3:15 PM appointment and by 4:30 I had a moutfull of hardware
I chose In-Ovation C, because they are less obvious than regular metal brackets. Today is my third day in braces and things are getting better. There is still a fair amount of pressure and I have to be careful not to bite down all the way, but overall it's not that bad. I'm really looking forward to the day when the pressure is gone and I will be able to venture into the forbidden foods territory a little 
I will post some pictures shortly.
Have to work on my patience I guess.
Not sure if that's normal, but they are so big that I can feel their weight when my mouth is slightly open .... They don't bother me though, half the time can't even remember I have them; the only thing they changed is my lisp - it's more noticable now. 
I've also taken some pictures today and here they are!
