2. According to my experience in orthodontics for more than ten years, I don't know if your other teeth are disordered. If other teeth are still there, the goal of correction is simply to close the teeth and does not involve tooth extraction. Combined with your age 18, you can definitely complete the correction process within one year.
I don't know why you said that correction would be painful. If the doctor operates properly and applies force gently, it will not exist. At most, I felt a little uncomfortable in the first few days after wearing the appliance, and I will be fine in the future. If every patient of that doctor says it hurts, I suggest you don't choose him.
Orthodontics is the most professional technology in the whole stomatology department. All students who graduate from stomatology department must be educated before they can get in touch with it. The current dental market in our country is very chaotic, and the level of doctors is uneven. If you decide to go to orthodontics, you must choose carefully, and it is best to go to the orthodontics department of a special stomatological hospital for treatment. When you go to the clinic, you must see the models and photos of patients who have been successfully corrected by doctors before, so that you won't regret it later!