Ortho visit to discuss about treatment and payment

Today I went to the orthodontist.. As I promised, I took some photos of the results and everything that I had gone through in order to get started with getting braces. The orthodontist explained to me that he would have to take one tooth out from my lower jaw because there was crowding, and he still said I would eventually need to get the implant to straighten out the only wisdom tooth left at my bottom left jaw. He said that my treatment will be more than 2 years, but he's expecting it to be 24-27 months. He would put the lower braces first for the first few months so I can get used to it before putting the top part on. It's pretty funny because I thought that my upper teeth are the ones that are problematic and need treatment more than the lower teeth. He said that he will use spring to correct my bite. For the upper part, although there's crowding too, he said he might be able to push them to the back. It's difficult, but it can work. I really hope so!

The ortho told me to get my tooth extracted 2 weeks prior our next appointment OR after I got my braces on, I have to get it extracted within 2 weeks. Other than that, I have a bad news. The cost of the braces will be $8600 for me. I will have to pay $2100ish at my next visit, then I will have to pay $268 every month. It's very expensive! :( But I've been hearing stuff from people who get their braces off about how amazing it feels now that their bites have been corrected and their teeth are straight. And although a lot of people have been complaining about how expensive it is, some other people break down the fees into labor, materials, etc.. and it turns out that it's about right. Still I think that the first down payment is the toughest for me, the $268 monthly payment is more reasonable for me. Sigh.. I really hope at the end this all will be worth it. I read the consent form that if down the road I will have to transfer out or not able to finish my treatment, I will be charged with labor fee and all starting from $100 to $800. I really hope I won't have to go back to my home country before that.

So here you go:

the impression


close up view of my mouth


the wax paper that I bit on
and there's a sketch of my face and head,
below that sketch paper there's the original x-ray of my head.

On an unrelated note, For some reason I find the sketch intriguing. The last time I had a real artist did a sketch of me was when I was still a little girl.

Getting X-Rays

Today I went to the radiology to get x-ray and close-up view shots of my teeth, my head and all. The machines were interesting and also the techniques used for the shooting were fun. She had to use mirror and a stretcher (that I would have to hold on to while she was taking pictures of the inside of my mouth. It's been so long since the last time I went into a radiology, I just didn't remember the "radiation" that caused by the machines could make you feel sick and gave you headache. I felt very dizzy as soon as I entered different rooms for getting different types of x-rays.

All and all, the nurse was very kind although I arrived 20 minutes late. I'm scheduled to have an appointment for 29 July to discuss about the treatment and the finance. I'm really getting the clear braces. Many people try to encourage me getting the invisalign, but I know that if I can take it off, I will. I have a disciplinary problem. :)

Ok til next time. I'll make sure to take some shoots of anything from my next visit to the orthodontist.