For Bovril (or anyone else with a child with wonky teeth!)

[Mazzy]

Hi Bovril

I remember you asked me how Sam got on with her brace, as your daughter is due to be fitted with one soon.

Well I'm glad to report that after the initial couple of days she is now fine. A bit of discomfort at first, by the way it is a retainer, not sure if your DD is going to have one of these to start with or go straight to a fitted brace? A retainer is removable, she takes it out to eat, do sports but rest of the time it stays in, it clips onto the back teeth. It is to push out some double teeth which are causing a 'cross-bite'. This will take 4 months, then she has a 'proper' brace fitted to straighten the front teeth.

We just gave her some paracetamol at bedtime, she slept fine. Her speech is slightly different, caused by the 'palate' the retainer has, ie like false teeth, but has improved greatly.

If you need to know any more let me know!

 

[smiler]

Thanks for the info Mazzy,

glad it wasn't too traumatic for her, will show DD this when she gets home

don't know yet what she needs doing as she has got crossed teeth and a dreadful overbite, so we may be looking at major alterations

 

[Mazzy]

That's OK Bovril, glad to be of service!

I think you said that the orthodontist appointment was the day after you got home from WDW, was that right? Are they actually going to fit a brace then, or do impressions? If they are going to fit the brace, it may be worth giving them a ring and asking exactly what they are doing, I found Sam coped much better as she knew what to expect on the day, with no surprises!

 

[smiler]

Hi Mazzy,
yes thats right we are going the day after we get back,

she's already had impressions done, x- rays and photos

then they said all this would been seen by the specialist and we then would go back to see them, this was way way back last summer

so don't know if we see the specialist to be told what is going to happen,

the receptionist is not very forthcoming just says she doesn't have any details, and we will find out when we get there!!

can't get over how long the wait for everything is , she was refered nearly 2 years ago and we have only got this far

 

[BevS97]

Mazzy - do make sure she wears the retainer - I know that when I had one I was terrible about not wearing it, and much of the good work done by the fixed appliance was undone by my not wearing the retainer!

And make sure she doesn't throw it in the bin! I threw so many out because I would wrap it in a napkin while I was eating (since I didn't want anyone to see it) and then forget and toss it out!

Bev

 

[Mazzy]

Bovril, that's a bit out of order isn't it? Why is it so difficult for them just to give you an idea of what is going to happy - are they fitting that brace or not? It makes things so much easier for achild if they know what to expect doesn't it? We were quite lucky with our waiting time, only a few months, so not too bad. If it was me I would ring them again and ask to speak to the orthodontist, as I would want my child to know what they were in for!

Bev - you really didn't want that retainer did you! DD Sam is quite sensible about wearing it, as I have told her, if it isn't in as long s possible, it won't work, so she will have to wear it even longer than 4 months, I think that has done the trick! I have given her a box (with a WDW sticker on!) to put it in at mealtimes, so less chance of it ending up in the bin! Once she has the fixed brace it will be a lot easier. We also have atiny key which we have to use twice a week to turn the brace, I have put that away for safe keeping as I wouldn't trust her with that!

The trials of being a Mum! (but they're worth it!)

 

[debatha]

My dd is nearly 10, she has very crooked bottom teeth and a few teeth that seem to be behind her gum line. The dentist said she will definately have to wear a brace, to wait for them all to come through (she still has some baby ones) He said when she was about about 12 he would remove about 4 teeth and fit the brace.

I read an article ages ago saying that it was totally unnecessary for dentists to remove children's teeth and the brace should be all that is need for corrective work. Apparently removing the teeth changes the bone structure of the face. Also, that the jawline/face looked better when teeth had not been removed. Which I would prefer rather than her having to go through the aggravation of having teeth pulled if it is unnecessary.

I know there is a dentist on UK DIS who posts sometimes I was going to ask his advice, has anyone else heard this??


Deb

 

[Mazzy]

Hi Deb

DD Sam had 4 baby teeth removed as they wouldn't come out on their own and needed to be removed to let the adult teeth come down.

I'm assuming the problem you heard about relates to removing adult teeth, sorry i don't really know anything about that, maybe someone can enlighten us!

 

[SandraM]

My son had 2 "baby" teeth removed when he was 10 so that he could wear a removable brace - the baby teeth were in the way. Our orthodontist referred us back to our ordinary dentist for this procedure, and he is a total pet - I think he'd kill himself if he thought he caused any patient pain - it is a point of pride with him that you don't feel what he does. Anyway, his assistant got called away by an urgent phone call just as my son was about to have his teeth removed, so the dentist asked me to sit and hold his head steady. (I fainted getting my ears pierced, so you can imagine how anxious I was to do this!) I was amazed how easy it was, but as the dentist explained, the baby teeth have tiny roots anyway, and they are reducing all the time until they fall out naturally. Most of us remember that sensation of tucking our tongue under the sharp edge of a wobbly tooth! Well, there wasn't a lot more than that left on the baby teeth that were removed. My son's case was considered quite urgent as his two front teeth were quite prominent but a retaining brace couldn't be put in place until the baby teeth were gotten out of the way.
He cried when he tried to eat his first meal with the brace in place and I felt so sorry for him, but the orthodontist had stressed that "mastication" (what a word!) would help the brace work more quickly, so he stuck with it. His teeth came in something like 5mm in 6 months so the effort was worth it.
When he was told that he could remove the brace during daytime he found it really difficult to eat without it in place!
Sorry this is so long, but basically I'm saying go with the experts, they're doing this regularly, try not to make too big a deal of it with your child - they're very adaptable, and it's worth it in the end!
All this and I haven't even begun to tell you about my daughter's orthodontic problems!
All the best,
Sandra

 

[Claire44]

My DD (now 18) had a removable brace first then a fixed one on her upper and lower teeth. All I can say is that it was well worth it (Iwould say that wouldn't I it wasn't me that had to put up with it). She has now got beautiful teeth and loads of people have commented on them - so to anyone out there who needs a brace - stick with it, it is worth it.

 

[Mazzy]

As this thread has 'resurfaced' I thought I would just post to say that Sam is doing really well with her retainer after 2 weeks. She is still talking a bit 'funny' but not as much as she was, she takes it out for sports and for eating, other than that it stays in, and it hasn't caused her any problems, no pain since the first couple of days so that's good news.


I'm really proud of her keeping it in all the time, as it can't be easy, let's hope she adapts to the 'fixed' brace just as well.

 

[scoobie's m]

Like Debatha, I have been told both my DD's(I have twins) will need 4 (adult) teeth pulling and then a brace. They have already had 4 'baby' teeth removed, which were almost ready to come out anyway and only had small roots, so that wasn't a huge problem. However, I now wonder why bother with that when they now need more removing?

I am not at all happy about the removal of 4 adult teeth, in fact one daughter has already said 'no way', and I am not going to force her. We still have a few months before our return appointment, when I have been told this will be the likely outcome. And I really don't know what to do.