Hello everyone! I have been browsing ArchWired for the past couple months and have finally decided to begin documenting my journey.
Now for the background. First off, I realize AW is mostly a community for adults, but the information has been wonderful and I love reading everyone's stories and watching the progress. A big thumbs up to everyone here!
I hope you don't mind another crazy teen joining the gang. 
Anyway, I'm 16 and have never had a problem with my teeth in the past. Just last year I began noticing some gaps and crowding. Even still, I always smiled brightly in photos. 
It was nothing major, so my parents decided that treatment could wait. A month or two ago, in the middle of all conversation my mother blurted out, "Wow, when did your teeth start looking so bad?" Gee, thanks mom! 
We finally decided it was time to start looking for an orthodontist. I started out making an appointment for a consultation with the orthodontist my cousin had. She had gotten de-braced a couple months ago and her teeth looked great! When I went into the office I was a bit .. lost. I suppose the receptionist/font desk lady just expected me to know what I was doing, but I sure didn't! I wrote my name and appointment time down on the clipboard, handed her the paperwork that I had received and sat down to wait. And wait. And wait. Patients were flying in and out and I was still just sitting and waiting. After about 35 minutes of waiting, I was called into a separate room in the back to wait for another 10 and the doctor finally came strolling in. He had me lie down in a chair and prodded around my mouth a bunch, scribbling a bunch of who-knows-what onto his clipboard. At the end he was just said something along the lines of, "Alright well I can surely do this for you. The lady at the front can tell you how much it is and we can get started at your next appointment." -blinkblink- Uhm.. was that it? What about your plans for my treatment, treatment time, pictures, etc? I had many things to ask but I could already tell that this was not the place for me. I thanked him and walked out the door.
A week later [Tuesday, July 24] was my second consultation. This ortho was a somewhat family friend and also Vietnamese, which my parents liked for the easier communication. The downside? The office is an hour away. The one I had been to earlier was only about 15 minutes away and I would have been able to drive there myself for adjustments. Despite the long drive, I'm sure its going to be worth it. I walked into the office and the ladies at the front greeted me with big smiles. It was a clean and pretty modern place, I was definitely liking it. After waiting a mere 5 minutes, I was called in to get pictures taken of my profile, arches, etc. Man are those lip spreaders funny! I'm not used to having to open my mouth so wide.
He then uploaded them to his computer so I could see everything. He explained what the problems were and how long he thought it would take, etc. I was very satisfied with the amount of information he provided. One of the main assistants/receptionists came in to discuss pricing, etc. I told her that I was interested in clear brackets on top and she said that was fine. After punching all of the numbers into a calculator, it turns out that the total was a good $600 cheaper than the first office! 
I'm sure we'll end up using a big chunk of the difference for gas money, but still, things were looking up.We had decided on porcelain brackets on top and the traditional metal ones on bottom. Most of the members here who have clear braces have ceramic brackets .. are the porcelain ones much different? I forgot to ask to see the model and ask questions
too caught up in everything else! The only thing I am not too happy about is having to wear headgear to fix my bite. I'm excited about the braces, not at all embarrassed, but the headgear is getting to me. x_x I realize its only for home use, but what if I get a part time job for after school? That would be less time for me to wear the gear, and therefore longer treatment time. Any encouraging words or advice?Back to my visit with the ortho: After my father signed some papers and agreed on a payment plan, I was off to get all of the records done. First were the x-rays. Oh dear are those interesting. The first one had my standing with to metal rods in my ears and something on my forehead, the second while biting a stick to take the panoramic. I felt so silly! After that was the "fun" part - molds. First was the bottom. It felt exactly like what everyone told me it would: having a mouth full of goop. I had to concentrate on breathing from my nose, but it wasn't all too bad. Taking the mold off was the hard part! There was a lot of tugging and pulling until Pop! Air was let in and the mold was let out. The assistant looked at it kind of funny and continued to prepare the upper mold. Same situation, easier to take out. Hurrah! ..or so I thought. She said that she needed to redo the bottom mold again. It went the same as the first time. Finally done with both, I went to wash the goop out from my mouth .. and off my chin .. and upper lip .. and everywhere else.
Finally all cleaned up, my ortho instructed one of the assistants to put spacers in. DUN DUN DUNNN! The one thing that everyone has told me they dreaded. She put in four on my upper molars. Getting them in was no problem, I felt nothing. They called my dad in to tell me what they did and what it was for and we were then on our way!
It seems as though I am out of time for now - I will be back this afternoon to tell of my spacer woes and share some pictures!
Oh, and I forgot to mention!
B-Day = Tuesday, July 31
*awaits Karen's famous saltwater rinse & such post*
Gosh, I never knew I had so much to say! More to come
I look forward to following your story, and to seeing your pics!
I feel a bit silly asking, but I don't want to butcher it while asking my ortho about them. 
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A poll sounds like a great idea.
My friends don't quite understand why I'm excited - but I'm sure everyone here understands. I can't wait to get this process started and going! However last night I had some strange dreams (or should I say nightmares?) about going to the ortho and not being able to get the braces on yet and instead getting more spacers! It was terrible. That best not happen tomorrow.