I went to the dentist. I asked her what I should do with my crooked bottom teeth after she finished the check-up. She didn't seem to be very interested in my question. The only thing she answered was: "If you really find your bottom crooked teeth disturbing you will need braces. The bracket-type. BUT don't forget you will need brackets on your top teeth too". (I have one small issue with one of my front top teeth (little periodontitis)). "So you will have to be careful with the top brackets on that tooth".
So I was little bit disappointed. This means I'll have to fix the tooth first before even thinking about braces...
As I was explaining to my wife earlier (who has braces): If you take your car to the garage, for it's annual service, but highlight a noise in the engine, then they will happily fix it. However, they are unlikely to be interested in, or even comment on the scratch in your wing, or the small dent in your door, they are purely cosmetic issues, and don't particularly affect the operation of the car, you would go to a body-shop to get the dents fixed. They may even be unaware of how a body shop would actually repair the dents and scratches.
Same with dentists: you go for a check-up, they will look at your teeth, fix any issues, and that's about it, maybe a bit of preventative stuff if you're lucky. They are not especially bothered if your teeth are crooked, that's a cosmetic thing, and that's what Orthodontists do. I would ignore your dentist's comment about "needing brackets, also on the top", an orthodontist will be able to give you MUCH better information.
If you go to a dental practice where they do BOTH state-funded checks AND privately paid work, then they are more likely to have an awareness of your crooked teeth, if only because it might provide their ortho colleagues with income too!
You do NOT need to wait until your teeth are technically perfect before seeing an orthodontist: remember that they have had dental training too, so will spot any issues your teeth may have, and will simply recommend that you get those issues fixed before you start treatment, if they are relevant to the treatment. (which happened with my wife, when she got braces)