braces and a herbst - serious anxiety!

[itutorfortravel]

Wondering if anyone here has or has had a child in braces with a herbst appliance? Dd is set to get braces soon and that's part of the plan. After reading a lot online I am very concerned about this route and am considering requesting a headgear instead. I'm really worried about the speech issues, the bulging appearance under the bottom lip, spitting and drooling, etc. She's in the school band so I don't know how this appliance works with that and she's also a cheerleader so how does that work when they yell and such? I hear the hinges come undone if they open their mouth too wide. Sorry I know I probably sound crazy but I'm having some real anxiety about it. I think I'd rather she be in braces longer with a headgear. Can anyone else chime in on the subject? Thanks!

 

[descovy]

The only thing I can add is there's more than one way to skin a cat (or straighten teeth)

Several Summers ago I went and got 4 Orthodontic consultations for 2 of my children. My head was spinning because none of the 4 agreed on the same course of treatment on either of my children. And yet when they talked and explained things to me they all made perfect sense.

A Herbst appliance was actually offered at one. Some wanted to pull teeth, others did not. Some wanted to start braces ASAP, some wanted me to wait a year. And the prices were all over the map.

Very frustrated, I talked to our family dentist (who we had a long relationship with) She gave her recommendation. But beyond that, she explained that none were "wrong" Just different ways of doing the same thing, and achieving the same goal. When I gave her the names of all 4 orthodontists, she said all them were very respectable and had good recommendations.

So my advice to you, is get another Orthodontist consult. You can't convince this orthodontist to change their way of doing things, but you can pick a different orthodontist that will achieve the same result using a different treatment.

 

[WDWBarb]

My DD had a herbst. She hated it at first but got used to it pretty quickly. I'm so glad we did it - it prevented what would have probably been a pretty bad overbite. I had never heard of such a thing when her ortho first suggested it and I was very worried about her tolerating it but it ended up being nothing.

 

[Distinkt]

My son had one quite a while ago, but beyond the typical discomfort (and it was a bit painful for a week or so) it wasn't intolerable and he had no problems with it other than the fact it was annoying to have braces. He had it while in grade school and then a rest period and then full braces. He has a perfect bite and beautiful teeth now.

Headwear can be tricky, had one child that wore it at night and would take it off and chuck it in his sleep!!!!!!!!

 

[itutorfortravel]

Thank you. Our ortho actually gave us the choice of the headgear or herbst back when we did the treatment consult. His concern not about our DD but in general was compliance in wearing the headgear. And we wondered how she could get 12 hours in it every day so we let ourselves be convinced the herbst was the way to go. She's very active and social and is on the go constantly, but I'm thinking the headgear is something we could get at least 10 hours a day in. I am seriously concerned about how this will impact her self esteem and confidence and how it will give kids a reason to pick on her. I just can't believe there's nothing better.

 

[dreamin_disney]

My DD had one. I almost didn't go through with it because I was so freaked out how in the world would my poor baby deal with that horrible appliance!!!! We went through with it and luckily she diid great . She was a lil sore but not bad. it was weird for her the first couple of days but she did fine. It was a cool conversation starter when kids found out she had one. Her ortho did a great job putting it on.

If theres any issues address it with ortho right away. Give you child some advil for soreness. It will be ok mom but I completely understand


BTW- Dd was in middle school when she had it. she never complained about the herbst. She has a retainer now and she HATES wearing them and the bottom always felt off. She just dealt with it. I told ortho worker and she asked if it sounded like a mouth full and I said yes. She said take her in to have it adjusted and we did. She still hates having to wear the retainer-lol!

 

[daemom]

Two of my boys had a herbst appliance. Both of them were in the band while they had braces and one had the appliance placed while he was in band--played the trumpet. Neither of them complained about it--I think I was more worried about it causing discomfort. Yes, at first there was a learning curve with talking with it, but they had no problems. They said that they felt "pressure" when we turned the crank, but wouldn't say it was painful. Neither had issues with it coming unhinged either. Good luck!!