get braces

For all of you adult brace-wearers or those that are considering it, you should have a look at www.archwired.com. It’s a wonderful source of information and it also has a message board – and it’s all directed at adults! It’s helped me a lot in being prepared to have my braces on and I’ve received so much encouragement that I haven’t chickened out yet ;)

I’m thinking of starting a team for this goal with people that are soon to get braces or have just got them (I actually would have started it already but I can’t figure out how!). Is anyone interested? I just thought it would be fun to share our experiences, pain and joy, progress, and pictures over the next couple years.

I have my consultation tomorrow – I’m so excited!

Well I had my first visit today! The doctor is very enthusiastic about it and was assuring me that this is one of the best things I can do for myself. He did a quick exam and then I had x-rays and molds done. My next appointment is June 2 at which point the doctor will tell me exactly what my treatment will be and how much it will cost. Then, from my understanding, I will schedule for my extractions (2-4!) and I can finally get this underway!

So my initial exam is in 2 days and I’m starting to get a little nervy! I read lots of entries from others on this goal and some of them mentioned extraction – something I hadn’t thought about! I haven’t had my wisdom teeth removed and my mouth is very crowded. Ack!

This has been in the works since last August. It’s been in my brain for 4 years now, but that’s another story. Last August my position switched to full-time which meant I was eligible for health insurance. I looked at my plan and saw that it would cover 50% of braces, plus I could put up to $200 in my Flexible Spending Account. Bingo! Come January I was all signed up for my insurance and so I got my dental work done. I scheduled my first orthodontist appointment in April and they told me I had to contact my insurance to be sure of my benefits. After much frustration on the phone I finally got through to my insurance on the morning of my appointment and the foreigner on the other end pointed out that the 50% coverage was for people 19 and under. There is no coverage for anyone over that age limit. So, stressed and pissed I called to cancel my orthodontist appointment. After allowing myself to calm down and think rationally I realized I still had the $2000 in my FSA account that would just be wasted unless I used it for something big. So I scheduled another appointment, this time for May 1st. On May 1st I showed up in the office and they told me I had no appointment. Gah! So I was rescheduled again and now have an appointment for May 19th, which I called to verify today. This is finally going to happen and I couldn’t be happier!