sjeanine - I get the same responses. When I tell people I'm getting braces they look at me and say "but your teeth aren't crooked" in this suspicious way. I just know they're thinking to themselves that I must be getting scammed, LOL!
GRILLZ - yep, same here. Lots of crowns and my front teeth are chiseled paper thin. My dentist said that soon even veneers won't be possible because there won't be anything back there to work with. That's what finally made up my mind. I may be old for braces, but I'm too young for dentures and implants!
Kittywalker3 - I'm funding mine through Flex Spending also. The pretax makes a big difference. My payroll deduction isn't nearly as much as I thought it would be.
So I got my braces today! My teeth aren't really sore yet but my cheeks are starting to feel raw. He put a contraption in the back called a something-tail (forgot the name) to correct my bite, so I can't bite together at all. I have to eat soft foods for 8 weeks and then it will come off. About the crowns: I have 4 crowns in the back and 2 veneers in front. He was going to band the molars, but because my teeth are so tight they could not get the spacers in my teeth. It was quite an ordeal. I was so afraid one of those crowns was going to pop right off. Finally he gave up and decided to go the bracket route instead. That was last week. He had to do a few extra steps with the adhesive and scruff up the surface a bit, so it was a longer process, but it went okay. The worst part was wearing that torture device in my mouth for half an hour while they prepared my teeth.
I'll be spending a lot more time on this site now. I have so many questions that I forgot to ask. Good luck to you all and I'll catch up this weekend. I'm exhausted and going to bed.
thank you!
(ok not physically but mentally) that it took almost 20 minutes to floss with the threader they give you. 
and keep us posted on your progress
. My upper and lower teeth don't meet at all because of this tail thing. I wish they would've told me about this. I wasn't prepared to not be able to chew for 8 weeks. I had to go to the store today and buy all soft foods. All I can think about are foods I can't eat. I craved nachos, beef jerky and Skittles all day today. I'm obsessed, actually. 
This dancing banana kills me.
so I am sticking to smoothies, mashed potatoes, soup and plain chicken breast cut into itty bitty pieces as I find myself not chewing and swallowing stuff whole .....such as Mac & cheese and sliced hard boiled egg. I am trying to keep my protein up.
.....good thing I previewed post before submitting 
Doc's orders, 
