Preface

I'm getting braces!

I've been putting this off for such a long, long time. My parents don't really have the best set of teeth. So did my sisters. Because we were raised by my mother alone, it was pretty hard for her to afford all of us to get the braces. I came from a country where you can't really make payments for braces. You have to pay in full then everytime you come in for tightening, you have to pay a different fee. Back in my country, the cost of braces isn't as expensive as it is in USA.

For some reasons my mom felt that my sisters' teeth were worse than mine, so they got their braces first. It cost about $1,000ish per person, and they had to pay $10ish per visit. Unfortunately, my sisters' orthodontist wasn't really that great. She was good, but she treated patients differently. If you came in bringing snacks and foods (or whatever else) for her, she'd be very friendly and nice. It's silly, but some people love to get bribed.

Anywho, after years and years of putting it off.. I finally decided it's really time for me to get braces. I have now earned money myself.. and although I don't really have that much, but I have enough. So after a year of my complete dental visit to my dentist, I finally said that I wanted to get braces and he immediately referred me to an orthodontist in the same dental building where he works. I got the referral paper from my dentist's assistant, and I immediately walked to the orthodontist to make an appointment.

And I came in this morning for initial exam. I had to make silly faces and was tested in every angle possible. I had to bite a stick so my orthodontist could see if there was anything wrong with my bite. After all the basic exam, he explained to me that I have an asymmetric bite. He showed me using a teeth model that he had how my bite was. He explained to me that he would have to apply a rubber-band when I get my braces later on to fix my bite, and he also said he would probably need to extract the one and only wisdom tooth I have left at the left bottom of my mouth. He didn't explain why, but he also said he would put an implant there. An implant would cost another $4,000; plus I don't really want to get an implant. My mom already warned me not to ever get an implant. So I'd probably need to talk to him if there's a way around that.

This has been the way I smile for so long. I don't remember anymore how to smile with my teeth showing. Even in the exam when the ortho told me to smile as wide as I can and such, I didn't know how I could smile the way he needed me to. :(

After the exam, I was given the cost estimation which would be around $6800-$8400 for ceramic braces that I had my eyes on (subtract $400 for traditional metal braces). Invisalign would cost a little more than that. The down payment would be around $2400-$3800, after that I will have to pay monthly installment in $300.

This cost is far more expensive than what I predicted. I'm still considering on whether I should get it or not. My friends and family are telling me that it's a lot of money and if it's not bothering me, maybe I can push it back for another year or so. But that little voice in my head knows that if I postpone it again, it will never happen.