And so it begins.

This has been a long time in the works.  It all started when I was 8 years old and ran into the back of my friends head with my teeth.  They've been twisted ever since.  They really don't look that bad in the picture, but they are pretty crooked, and they've bothered be almost my whole life.

Over the past few years my wisdom teeth, which were sideways and impacted on the bottom, began pushing inward on my bottom teeth.  The bottoms eventually started to twist and overlap.

About 8 months ago I decided to get serious about getting them straight.  I went to several dentists and orthodontists asking about Invisalign, which I thought would be a great option.  The first thing they all told me was that the wisdom teeth had to go.  For any of you that have had that done you know it isn't cheap.  I decided to delay getting them removed until we had dental insurance.

We added dental insurance and I scheduled my visit to the oral surgeon.  He and I have become great friends since then.  I had my remaining three wisdom teeth removed on February 15th.  The removal wasn't that bad at all.....it was all of the complications they never told me about that sucked.  To make a long story short, I went back to the oral surgeon a total of six times to take care of sores, suspected muscle atrophy, infection, and eventually an abscess in the inside corner of my mouth that prevented me from opening my mouth wide enough to eat a banana.  The abscess was removed on March 29th, 2011.  I could FINALLY open my mouth.

My wife suggested I visit another orthodontist, the one she is going to, and get one more opinion.  I went into their office on March 30th, the day after I had my abscess removed.  By this point my patience had worn thin and I wanted SOMETHING done to my teeth to get them straight and I wanted it started NOW.  By this point I had done enough research on my own to doubt whether Invisalign was the right option for me.  The ortho confirmed this.  On my first visit to the ortho we reviewed x-rays, took impressions, took photos, did an exam, and at my BEGGING put the spacers in to begin the process of braces.

The spacers were uncomfortable, but really not that bad.  You can definitely feel them moving your teeth.  It's amazing to me that rubber bands can move your teeth.  I also scheduled my bracing day for April 5, 2011.