Ceramic:
I finally decided to get my braces. They are Ceramic braces, which run about $500 more than the metal braces. From a distance, they are fairly hard to see. The whole thing costs about $5,000 for my particular case, but fortunately, I only have to pay 10 percent down and $150 per month. First, they put on the brackets, then pull teeth, and finally add the wire.





Extraction:
Teeth removed: 2 total, right side, 1 at top and 1 at bottom

First, they put some sort of sweet gel on my teeth and gum area and then gave me 4 shots in the gums. On shot on each side of the tooth to be extracted. Then, they simply pulled the tooth side to side util it came out. I could hear it tear and felt the pressure of it being pulled, but felt no pain.





Clot
It took about 7 hours but the bleeding finally stopped. Now I just need to let the blood clot form. Right now, I cant wait for this to heal. Surprisingly, it does not hurt at all. I didn't even take any medication. BUT my braces and teeth are stained from all of the bleeding and I would love to give them a good scrubbing.




Update
In all I have had five of six teeth removed so far—two at the top and two at the bottom. They removed them one side at a time so that I could eat on the other side. I have also had one of two problematic wisdom teeth removed. I'll have the last and final tooth removed next year to spread the "damage" ($) to next years insurance tab. Other than that, I have had a root canal which is VERY expensive in Chicago, and an average or four cleanings per year because of the braces.





Elastics
Everything seems to be moving along quite nicely. As you can see in the image above, the gaps from the lower extractions have completely closed up. My upper teeth were at a bit of an angle so before they get pulled back, they need to straighten them out. To do this they use elastics (rubberbands). The elastics were worn 24/7 (only removed to eat and brush). They can be worn in various configurations. The upper left image shows a straight top to bottom connection. The lower left image shows a triangle. I am no longer wearing the elastics. One year down —one to go.