Braces Question

[mom2boys]

Both DS just got braces today - "2x4" meaning only the front four teeth top & bottom. We weren't out of the office ten minutes when DS1 had his band pop out. Since it was lunch time we had an hour until the office reopened, so I took him home & fed him some soup. Then a bracket fell off. Take him all the way back to the office - they trim the wire & tell us they will replace the bracket next month Ortho claims this will not prolong DS's treatment at all. I should add the tooth that lost the bracket is visibly behind the rest of his teeth - it is the most obviously misaligned tooth in this child's head! Will this bracket being off for a month make a difference in DS's truly length of treatment?

 

[LBAK]

I don't know if it will make a difference in treatment or not but I took my DD to have a broken bracket replaced today and the ortho explained that the wires and brackets were tighter on the teeth that need more turning and that's why they break. So I would think it would make a difference in threatment because the tooth has to be turned that much more. I would insist that they replace the broken one ASAP. My ortho had my DD come in today and she broke the bracket yesterday. Good Luck!

 

[clh2]

Just a note about treatment times: THEY ARE JUST A GUESTIMATE. So, if it is anticipated that the treatment will be 12 months, it might only take 10 or 11, it might take 13 or 14.

I wouldn't be too concerned about this at the very beginning of treatment. It isn't helping anything with the bracket falling off, but it is most likely not hurting anything either.

If it was mid-treatment, I would be furious with having to wait a month. The reason - if the tooth has started moving to the desired postition, and the wires/bracket are not there pulling it to that desired position, it could easily start moving back to the beginning point - which essentially you would be back to the starting - which would add time to the treatment.

I would, nonetheless not be happy about the month wait for the repair to be made.

(FWIW - I am just a mom, and went through the whole braces thing with DD.)