The records appointment would be nothing out of the ordinary, except it would be a little vague. If you asked what type of braces you'd be wearing, the answer would be "the normal for this practice". If you asked how long it would take, you'd be told "perhaps a little longer than average, but nothing out of the ordinary". No outright lies, but enough to confuse you into thinking you'd be getting something 'normal', like brackets and wires.
Fitting day you'd see another patient leave with headgear, which makes you worried a bit. You'd then be encouraged to go for the "compliance program", and shown a chair with a few restraints on, which you'd agree to because of the generous discount in price over a "regular" treatment.
You'd then be fitted with full bands on both jaws, upper bite plate, lower tongue spurs and Herbst appliance, followed by a wired-in facebow and cervical strap, with a chin cup connected to a high-pull strap. The thick elastic of the chin-cup would make it difficult to open your mouth, so there would be compulsory classes for speech therapy and nutrition to help you speak clearly and make sure you were eating properly, and of course any facial hair is out.
Treatment would be strict, with fines if you didn't turn up to appointments on time, keep accurate documentation, or succeed in wear time hours for any removable appliances. It would develop over time, especially the headgear, with lower facebow and J-hooks on both jaws used in a variety of combinations, along with various sort of straps, elastics, and lip bumpers to keep your mouth full, aching and awkward.
After 60 months, it would all be removed, but replaced with brackets and a multitude of elastics to "settle your bite" and start retention. Another 24-30 months later and your jaw would be wired closed for one month before your braces are finally removed.
