Orthodontic Treatment: The few types of Braces

I'm finally doing my braces treatment...I've been 'yearning' for this since secondary school...and now finally I could 'so called' afford it...definitely a 'must-do' before 30;PPPP (how vain;PPPP, really as the cantonese saying goes, "risk life for beauty"

Today I've extracted my first pre-molars (one each from the lower and uppper of the right side gum)

I'm looking at next Friday to do the left side extraction (also two teeth)

and then on the 24th I should be putting on the metal braces if everything's smooth...

and I am not alone...my 'twin' szeling is also doing braces treatment (we verbally said that we'll be doing it together, but she put on hers earlier as she's doing on a different method and as she doesn't need any extraction therefore things faster for her...)

and due to cost factor, i am using the conventional metal braces...szeling's using damon (not sure if it's 2K or 3K...can't remember what are those referring to)

nowadays people are so much luckier with the options available...and if money is not a problem, certainly braces treatment can be something very comfortable...

Option 1: Conventional Metal Braces
This being the least comfortable, least pretty but the most economical option (so needless to say, this had to be my choice)

but even with that, nowadays there are options for the brackets: ceramics (colourless) or other aesthetic materials (by adding RM500 - RM1000 per jaw), and for ceramics use in conventional metal braces, normally only the upper jaw brackets will be in ceramics...

Option 2: Damon Braces

according to the dentists I've consulted, the Damon braces are initially designed for Westerners for the benefit of their jaw/face structure - but for Asians (we have different facial structure, so the benefit of the Damon braces to us...it's claimed to:

1) speed up the duration of treatment (the way it works is also different from the conventional type)

2) for some patients extraction is not needed...

3) less painful (szeling said the discomfort is like wearing a retainer)

4) do not make you get sores / blisters in your mouth as opposed to comventional metal braces

cost range: ~RM6K - RM8K in KL

Option 3: Invisalign (Invisible braces)

This being the priciest (RM 1X, 000 - ~RM25K; SGD10K), offers the best comfort and aesthetic value...basically what I knew is that the transparent mould 'shapes' the teeth bit by bit (meaning changing moulds every now and then) until the teeth goes into the right, proper alignment

there should be more options of braces out there...but guess in Malaysia, these are the common options nowadays