Okay, so I am 25, and I decided that I needed braces and now was the time to get them. I want nice teeth. At the start of May, I started looking for places to get braces. Everywhere in Manhattan and Topeka, the price just seemed a little high. One place in Topeka told me $5750! I told them I wasn't trying to buy a used car(!); I just wanted braces.
I asked Brandi (my girlfriend) how much hers cost and she told me she got them for around $2000. Of course she got them in Cherryvale, KS, which is nearly 3 hours away from Manhattan. It does however, give me an excuse to go home once a month (I am from Coffeyville, which is less than an hour away from Cherryvale). I thought about this, and I decided to get an appointment. Of course they were the only place to charge me for the initial consultation, but they were well worth it! $2400 for braces (for 18 months)! In this day and age, that is pretty cheap. Being $1600 cheaper than anywhere else made the gas and time worth the drive down once every 4-6 weeks. Of course, if I have any problems with my braces, I have to go all the way down to see them instead of just being able to go see the orthodontist in my town. The upside is that my pocketbook can afford the payments.
Now, that was a month ago when I decided to go with them for braces. I have had them now for about a month; I have an appointment today to get them retightened. The first week after having them I wasn't sure if I would ever get used to them. In the words of an orthodontist, 'When your teeth start moving there is a “slight” discomfort.' Yeah, slight doesn't quite cut it. It is not a very pleasant experience at all. I wasn't able to eat without pain for nearly a week. Then you have to brush your teeth and “appliances” every time you eat. I don't mind that as much. There are so many foods you are not supposed to eat. Not being able to chew gum was a big one for me to give up. I have a new respect for anyone that has ever endured the hate-love relationship of braces. Hate wearing them, love the results.
Once you get used to them, you don't always notice them all the time. Those first couple of days I just wanted them off. Do you know how it is when your watch starts bothering you so you take it off? I am not sure how to explain it any other way than it just doesn't feel comfortable so you take your watch off. That is kind of how braces felt for me the first couple of days (besides the pain). Except I couldn't just remove the braces and then put them back on later. That was irritating, and subsequently, I went to bed early the first few days.
Like I mentioned, I have an orthodontist appointment today. I hear that when they tighten them, it is pretty much the same feeling as the first week you had them. I am not looking forward to that at all. Then I get to drive up to work right after the torture! lol