DD12- might need braces?????

[MM27]

The "clear braces" are probably the Invisalign, which I'm told (by my orthodontist) that they are basically useless - if Invisalign is enough to help you, you really didn't -need- braces - they are only for people who really, really want "perfect" teeth and have fairly good teeth already.

My orthodontist has been working with Invisalign since 1999 and he has seen great changes in people using them. He told me that not every orthodonist likes them because not everyone knows what to do with them or they are not willing to move to a new method of dentistry.

I am in my 30s and just learned that I need braces because I grind my teeth a lot when I sleep (actually grinded right through a nightguard) and I have a lot of problems with my back teeth because of my bite. I also have crowding in the front from when my wisdom teeth came in. I only had one of them removed. My regular dentist, periodontist and orthodontist all agreed that Invisalign would be a great place to start with my complicated mouth.

They are going to start me with Invisalign and expect me to be in them for about a year. My orthodontist will eat the cost if part way through he doesn't see improvement.

Invisalign might not be for everyone, but there are certainly not just for people that just want "perfect" teeth.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Glad to see so many here will do what it takes to get that great smile. No one wants to wind up like I did. I was the only kid in my grade (probably whole school, since it was an affulent area) who had horribly unsightly crooked teeth who didn't get braces. My parents absolutely refused to get them, and even laughed about how braces were vain and I needed to learn to be less sensitive to being teased all the time.

As an adult I paid for it big time - basically I was unemployable in a professional career due to my poor appearance. Sadly teeth show your class. You NEED that perfect smile to "join the club" of the professionally employed. I eventually had to spend about $10,000 for braces and surgery as a adult to get a normal smile (all as working as a babysitter). But it worked - even when I was still in braces, I aced an interview (I did take out my rubber bands for it haha) and now been professionally employed for 6 years now.

If my parents had the foresight to get my teeth straightened, my life would have been VERY different, lots of wasted years in there. I can't emphasize enough how a crooked unattractive smile can stunt your opportunities in all aspects of life. I am happy to see these threads where people understand that a great smile is an absolutely necessity nowadays.

 

[dreamin_disney]

We go to a one phase only orthodontist. If you want to use your flex account, either put enough in to pay upfront (you will get a discount from your orthodontist), or figure out the whole year's payment. All of mine need braces (some are worse than others), and we've almost paid for dd14's ($6300 - insurance covers $1500). I'm surprised you haven't been there yet, with the crowding issue. Dd had a palate expander on by the age of 10.

This is the first I've heard of her having crowding. We've been at this place
1-2 years. Dh has been at this dentist office for over 5 years. Dh said they probably mentioned it because dd lost all her baby teeth and now has all her permanate teeth. I dunno. I just know I have insurance now and dd is in middle school so its better to take care of it now especially in this econonmy and Job cutting back on insurance coverage. Plus I want to do whats best for her and not pay for it later with dental issues. Like i said her teeth are strraight. I didnt know she even had an overbite until it was pointed out. Didnt even think of her grinding her teeth. I've even asked if she ever wakes up sore in her jaw. Looking back when she was lil I remember she would grind her gums or teeth(cant remember if she had teeth ) and it would make a weird sound uugh! She is older now so maybe her dentist noticed it more especially if shes grinding more she';s in middle school so she might be more stressed out. She works very hard for her straight A's.

No one ever listens to me(I need a t-shirt with that) but we shopped around and the one in our area with the best results just follows the kids until they are "facially mature". I keep hearing that kiids get better results when their palates are expanded earlier, but I'm not convinced. My DD had terrible overbite, crooked teeth and did the palate expander and the whole nine yards in 18 months in her teens. Here are the results in her senior pics.
http://rememberwhenphotographybykristi.com/blog/?p=1824

Why do they want to fix the slight crowding when her jaw is still growing? I would get a second and third opinion.

I know with age my overbite has gotten worse. Luckily when I smile I have straight teeth. I do have issues with grinding my teeth. If i dont wear my mouth guard lately I wake up feeling HORRIBLE bad headache that just slows me down the whole day. I was thinking maybe it to early for them to decide since it was just my regular pediactric dentist but said to see the ortho for his opinion. Regular dentist said dd's case isnt to bad hers is just slightly. I thought about maybe waiting but I have insurance now so best to do it. I will wait until July when my flex kicks in and dd is off for the summer. I think it will be good so she gets use to it.

Glad to see so many here will do what it takes to get that great smile. No one wants to wind up like I did. I was the only kid in my grade (probably whole school, since it was an affulent area) who had horribly unsightly crooked teeth who didn't get braces. My parents absolutely refused to get them, and even laughed about how braces were vain and I needed to learn to be less sensitive to being teased all the time.

As an adult I paid for it big time - basically I was unemployable in a professional career due to my poor appearance. Sadly teeth show your class. You NEED that perfect smile to "join the club" of the professionally employed. I eventually had to spend about $10,000 for braces and surgery as a adult to get a normal smile (all as working as a babysitter). But it worked - even when I was still in braces, I aced an interview (I did take out my rubber bands for it haha) and now been professionally employed for 6 years now.

If my parents had the foresight to get my teeth straightened, my life would have been VERY different, lots of wasted years in there. I can't emphasize enough how a crooked unattractive smile can stunt your opportunities in all aspects of life. I am happy to see these threads where people understand that a great smile is an absolutely necessity nowadays.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this. Kids can be mean and adult can be worse. If you were self conscious about your teeth one lil negative comment can really hurt and stay with you forever! I chipped the front of one of my teeth and even though it was lil and dh couldnt really see what the big deal was , I felt like the chip was 100x's bigger.
We dont see the ortho until Feb but i want to be prepared. DD isnt to happy and i know she's at that age about self appearance. She already wears glasses so I know adding braces will lower her spirits. Like i told her if she needs braces it's better to do it know instead of high school. Plus we have insurance. I told her some kids have teeth in worse condition then hers and they can';t afford braces and wish they could get some. I told her if she does need braces she's very lucky that I have dental insurance and Flex acct that will helpout. It calmed her down to know that she can fix the problem now instead of waiting later and having to fix an even bigger problem.

BTW- I'm glad you were able to fix your teeth and are now working and happy. Thanks for the inspiration

 

[torinsmom]

Before you have DH sign up for dental, check the fine print. I know for mine it said there was a one year waiting period for ortho.

All orthos are different. I paid $4300 for DS' braces. He had them on for over 2 years, but the estimate had only been 20 months. The price stayed the same, because they decide the cost at the beginning and stick to it. My ex's insurance paid $1000/year, $2000 max, which was great! The cost covered everything, including all adjustments and retainers and some laser thing DS had to have done for a "gumdrop" between his two front teeth. They did a payment plan and then when the insurance would pay something, the payment would keep going down.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Before you have DH sign up for dental, check the fine print. I know for mine it said there was a one year waiting period for ortho.

Good idea. We have aetna but the one for ortho is Aetna DMO. ANyone have experience with them?
He going to call his HR on MOnday and see if sign ups are in Jan or if he can do it in July.

 

[aprilgail2]

9-10 is pretty young. I didnt realize you could get braces that young. Ialways thought you had to wait untill all baby teeth were out and permanant teeth in. I'm learning so much.

9-10 is about when most are getting braces. My daughter started seeing the orthodontist when she was about 7 and they just brought her in every few months to keep an eye on what was happening in her mouth- there is no charge for that and they even took panaromic x-rays. Once she was in 4th grade she got braces and most of her classmates were getting them around the same time.
She did not need any expanders or anything- her braces are running me about 6500 and its looking like they will be coming off in about 6 more months. Its so nice not to have to be dealing with being in high school with braces!!!

 

[torinsmom]

Maybe it depends on the problem when braces are put on. DS's dentist does not like to send kids for consults before they have all their permanent teeth in. At least for my son, that was at 12. He got his when he was 12 1/2, and got them off when he was a freshman. He did not have overcrowding though; there was too much space and a few of his teeth were crooked as well. I don't know how orthos can "guess" what needs to be done, when all the permanent teeth aren't even in yet?

 

[Nicolepa]

Why do they want to fix the slight crowding when her jaw is still growing? I would get a second and third opinion.

Couple of reasons. First is because the jaw bone solidifies around 11/12. If you expand the jaw before then it is less painful and you can get more room, which results in not having to pull as many (if any) adult teeth. Second, if you can straighten the adult teeth that are already there then as the baby teeth fall out you have a better chance of them coming in straight(er) and then the overall time and pain is less.

My FIL is a dentist, he just retired a year ago. When my first child was getting consults he said absolutly run from any dentist wanting to wait until all the teeth were in and then pull adult teeth. He said to do anything possible to avoid pulling adult teeth. My daughter had the expander for 4 months and braces (top only) for 6 months. When she finishes losing the rest of her teeth they will (if needed) do phase two. (There are reasons I won't go into that the aren't touching her bottom teeth until later.)

My son on the other hand, his teeth are HUGE. We had 3 baby teeth pulled in Feb because there was no room for teeth he had already lost to come in. We then waited until Oct, for those teeth to come in. He had is expander for about 2.5 months and just got braces (top and bottom) on Monday. He will have them for 12-18 months. We will probably have to continue to pull baby teeth down the line as we make room for his adult teeth. We are crossing our fingers that no adult teeth will need to be pulled. If we waited, a) he would have never gotten all his adult teeth in b) we would have had to pull several adult teeth and c) it would have been a much more painful, miserable experience.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

9-10 is about when most are getting braces. My daughter started seeing the orthodontist when she was about 7 and they just brought her in every few months to keep an eye on what was happening in her mouth- there is no charge for that and they even took panaromic x-rays. Once she was in 4th grade she got braces and most of her classmates were getting them around the same time.
She did not need any expanders or anything- her braces are running me about 6500 and its looking like they will be coming off in about 6 more months. Its so nice not to have to be dealing with being in high school with braces!!!

Same here. Where I live, I seen first graders already in braces, and kindergarters in palette expanders. Most kids have braces by 4th grade. It's become rare to have braces in high school - I know freshmen who are absolutely embarrassed to still be in braces!

The other obvious reason to start early is then your child looks better earlier, and is therefore treated better. By peers, adults, coaches, you name it -people respond positively to someone who looks good, and a nice smile is a big part of that. Crooked teeth are a social disadvantage. If I had kids, I would straighten the teeth as young as possible, to give them the best advantage. And it would be nice to not have multiple years of gawky teeth when kids are so self-conscious to begin with.

There is no teasing when getting braces here; all the kids expect them. In fact, it's seen as a status symbol.

Simply how the game of life is played today!

 

[torinsmom]

I can tell you that DS did not get teased at all in middle school or high school. Around here, it is pretty common to have braces during MS. Kids actually thought it was cool to have braces. If there are no teeth to pull, the orthos would rather wait for all the permanent teeth to come in.

I don't even understand how braces would move the permanent teeth, when they aren't IN yet? I have see kids who are 10 with braces, usually those who need to make more room, then they take a short break and then get the Phase 2 braces around 12 or 13. The ones who have too much room, overbites or just crooked teeth get them around 12 or 11 at the earliest.

I think these orthos that have kids in their care for 4-5 years are just trying to get as much money as possible out of parents. And since ortho is being started earlier now, how do we know the teeth won't move back as the child's face matures? My son's facial shape has changed a lot since he was 10.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

My DD when she was around 8 had a palet expander to expand the roof of her mouth. Once that was complete they put braces on the first 6 teeth to close in the gap (those were on about six months). Now fast forward four years she needs another palet expander her face has grown in four years and this time we will be getting a full set of braces for atleast two years.

My other DD will be getting braces on her top row of teeth only, for about a year. They will put in some type of retainer on her bottom teeth as they are straight and he wants to keep them that way (he said they can shift over time).

We have dental insurance, but it does not cover orthodontics (it was not even an option to get it). The full set will cost me over 4,000, the other one is 2,000. No discount

We had the option of clear or regular braces. The clear ones were not the invasigline. They are just like the metal ones except clear. They advised us not to get those as they said everything you eat shows in your teeth until you brush them. Not good for a girl in school

 

[dreamin_disney]

Is it true that once you wear braces you have to wear a retainer for life??? I talked to SIL last night and thats what she told me. Her son got braces for gaps between his teeth and he had to have several teeth removed. I just thought retainers were for a period of time

 

[delarosacalm]

My 19 yo daughter wore braces for 6 years, had oral surgery and now wears a retainer that she will supposingly wear all her life at nighttime. We were lucky that she started out in braces in Germany where the military had an orthodontist for the first 3 1/2 years. We paid for the braces the last 2 1/2 years she had them on but we were able to have the oral surgery done at the military hospital where we were stationed at in KY, they were even able to pull here wisdom teeth because it tied in with the oral surgery. In the meantime, while we were in KY, the 15 yo son had to get braces. he has had his for 3 years now and we are once again in Germany where there is an orthodontist at the military dental clinic here. We ended up paying about $5200 out of pocket for both kids mouths. The orthodontist in Kentucky offered interest free payment plan where the insurance payment acted as the down payment. The 19 yo daughter has the most beautiful smile now!

 

[sookie]

as old as she is - i don't know that stages would be appropriate? just one set thats on for longer. palate extender would most likely be out as they do that while the palate is still growing - which is usually around age 8-9 or so.

 

[angierae]

Is it true that once you wear braces you have to wear a retainer for life??? I talked to SIL last night and thats what she told me. Her son got braces for gaps between his teeth and he had to have several teeth removed. I just thought retainers were for a period of time

It depends on how much work you had done - my daughter had a horrible overbite that really needed surgery, but we went with pulling teeth and doing braces and she'll be about 80% of "perfect", but she will have to wear a retainer at night for the rest of her life because we moved them so extremely.

I had a slight overbite and got my braces off in 1991 and lost my retainer almost immediately and I only have a few bottom teeth that are crooked now. But it really depends on how extreme of a move the teeth had.

 

[GJM]

My DS will need braces - he is 11 and still has baby teeth. I had braces as did DH -

I had to have 2 teeth removed - honestly it wasn't that bad. I really don't understand the idea of a palate expander, I have never had any problems with having 2 teeth removed for my braces and my teeth to move.

After my braces I did wear the retainer at night for awhile, but that stopped after awhile. I am 46 and my teeth are still fine, just had a wisdom tooth removed because it was cracked.

 

[Tink-n-MrIncredible]

My DS will need braces - he is 11 and still has baby teeth. I had braces as did DH -

I had to have 2 teeth removed - honestly it wasn't that bad. I really don't understand the idea of a palate expander, I have never had any problems with having 2 teeth removed for my braces and my teeth to move.

After my braces I did wear the retainer at night for awhile, but that stopped after awhile. I am 46 and my teeth are still fine, just had a wisdom tooth removed because it was cracked.

My DD needed a palet expader as the top row of teeth do not line up correctly with the bottom row. It was almost like the top row is slightly concaved. Hope I explaned it correctly.

 

[sookie]

My DS will need braces - he is 11 and still has baby teeth. I had braces as did DH -

I had to have 2 teeth removed - honestly it wasn't that bad. I really don't understand the idea of a palate expander, I have never had any problems with having 2 teeth removed for my braces and my teeth to move.

After my braces I did wear the retainer at night for awhile, but that stopped after awhile. I am 46 and my teeth are still fine, just had a wisdom tooth removed because it was cracked.

You want to keep as many natural adult teeth as possible.