Every tooth in a man's head is more valuable than a diamond.

... This is exactly what I thought when I saw the total bill for my braces. Woah. $4200 for straight teeth?? Are you kidding me? No, the orthodontist was not. So, in November of 2007 I signed up (laid in a chair rather) and had orthodontic appliances put onto my very crooked and very gnarly teeth. I needed braces for a myriad of reasons, but Harrison and I decided that this simply could not wait any longer.

22 months later, just about a week ago, I had my braces taken off. After almost two years, I couldn't even remember what it was like to NOT have braces. I hadn't bitten into an apple for ages nor had I chewed gum for that long either. I went into the orthodontist very anxious to get the dang things off. All he did was snap them one by one with a pair of pliers. WHAT?? That is all it took to take them off? It took about 45 seconds. I took a look in the mirror and in true Jaala fashion, started to cry! I could not believe that my teeth looked that good! HOLY CRAP! Straight teeth in Jaala's mouth. A miracle to me.

For any of you who read this and are thinking about getting braces but are worried about the cost, pain, maintenance, hassle, blah blah blah... I am here to tell you that it is TOTALLY worth it. Go get those braces. I thought I was "too old" for braces, but my orthodontist specializes in mainly adult orthodontics... so they made things quick, professional, and my braces were as discreet as braces could possibly be... and then I started to notice that there are TONS of grown-ups with braces on! Its awesome!

Here is a time line of before, during, and after photos of my orthodontics history!



I am so happy with the way my teeth turned out. They are beautiful. I can't believe it really. Harrison is really happy too. He tells me everyday how beautiful I am (not that he didn't think I was beautiful before, but I think I really just shocked us both at how good my teeth look). I get compliments left and right on my teeth. Thanks for those (and thanks to the total strangers who give them to me to).

OK, Im done for now :)