So you are thinking about braces. Or maybe you need braces and you have no choice. Well the good news is.. they have gotten a little better over the years!! For starters you have the infamous Invisalign teeth fixing magic that nobody knows you have on. You may also have the option of clear braces if they are in your budget and your orthodontist offers them to you as an option. Because I will be documenting my experience with braces, you should know that I have chosen clear braces. I will be fitted with full braces on both upper and lower teeth.

So where do you begin. How do you get braces. How do you know if you will need braces. Do you want perfectly straight teeth and decide on your own. If you do, now what should you do?

For me its not a cosmetic concern, for the most part. I would personally prefer not to wear braces for two years, however I need to get a bridge repaired and I do not want to have another Maryland bridge installed. If you do not know what a Maryland bridge is I will explain. I have a tooth missing and a very simple and easy way to fill the gap is to create a fake tooth and give it metal wings. These metal wings are then bonded to neighboring teeth. The problem with Maryland bridges is that have a short shelf life. The tend to loosen and brake off in a short period of time. Most of the dentists I have went to give them a shelf life of 3 years. I had he first bridge fall off once while chewing gum.

Ok so when am I going to get to the braces. Well because I don't want to get another Maryland bridge and I have some missing bone in my jaw, I need to get my teeth straight so that a cosmetic dentist can work his or her magic using another type of bridge, sort of.

So here I am at the dentist. I tell him what I want to do after he offers a few solutions and I tell him that I would like to see an orthodontist and which one would he recommend. He tells me the name of the Doctor and provides me with a little bit of history about the orthodontist and gives me his honest opinion of his work and relationship with this particular orthodontist. I respect my Dentists opinion so I have his office manager book me an appointment for an initial consultation. A few days later I am on my way to see my orthodontist and his supportive staff.

# posted by Good Info to Know @ 1:37 AM