Waiting for Consultation with Dentist

I realized it has been a while since I last posted! Well that is because I have been waiting to hear back from my dentist about when my dental records will come in. They needed to take further molds so that they could determine how much my teeth had to be moved and to figure out what my options are.
I've been looking online at a bunch of different methods to move teeth. I'm not completely mortified at the idea of having braces as an adult, and generally what I've seen online is that most people don't even notice when you do have them, but I wanted to make sure there was no other way.
I also saw that having the clear bands isn't really the best option because they end up staining from drinking coffee and other foods. There are also off-white options and white ones. I guess the white bands just make teeth look yellow. I've heard that getting the light blue bands and then using peroxide to bleach them actually stay clean longer and don't stain. I think I might get an off white color perhaps - if I even end up getting braces.
I've already given up on lingual braces (behind the teeth) or Invisialign. For my particular situation, they need to band my upper and lower teeth to pull them together and close the open bite, so these other options would not be able to do that.
I also saw the DNA appliance, which is something you wear just at night and it slowly moves teeth and widens the palate. Not all orthodontists offer this, I asked my orthodontist about this and he said that it is mainly used as a palate expander and not a method for moving teeth necessarily. He also said that it was more important for me to maintain my jaw position than to expand my palate. Although if you are interested in expanding your airway and expanding the palate, whether you're adult or youth, the DNA appliance is a very appealing option. I'm not affiliated with them, but I did a lot of reading and it looks legitimate. My orthodontist works in what's known as functional orthodontics. This means he takes into account the movement of the jaw and the functionality of the teeth in relation to the jaw muscles and the overall anatomy. Traditional orthodontics just works with moving and straightening the teeth. This can cause problems because moving the teeth will affect other aspects of your jaw, posture, spine, and entire body really.
I'd like to find out how long each option takes and also how much it will cost. I have the option of not getting braces, restoring my teeth to meet in the back, and then just sucking it up and dealing with the anterior open bite. I'm still not sure I would be happy with this, but I'm entertaining the idea depending on what braces will be like and cost!
Ultimately, I just want to do whatever will make me most comfortable in the long run. I don't want to have to just "deal" with my bite. I'm willing to pay to have the final results I can deal with, but I realize there's no perfect solution here. I still have some pain in my jaw due to stress, and it still pops in and out. I think overall it has improved tremendously and I am happy with the results. My dentist also says that overtime, the new position will decrease my pain and further relax my muscles. I have been in the wrong position for so long, and I also have to remove the orthotic to eat, so going back and forth from the new position to the old one is probably impeding somewhat on my joints healing.
I'm looking forward to hearing back from my dentist and I'll let you know how the consultation goes! Let me know if you have any questions or if you are going through something similar.