I just don't trust orthodontists

[Maleficent13]

Both orthodontists said the tell tale sign of an overbite is if you bite into a sandwich and the lettuce pulls right out in one piece. That is exactly what happens to DD. They say it is a "slight" overbite. However, that doesn't answer the question of what will happen to her in the future if she doesn't get braces now. She can avoid lettuce on her sandwiches and still lead a pretty fulfilling life, I would imagine!

I had orthodontia for 8 years and the lettuce still pulls out of my sandwich. Silly me, I used to blame inferior sandwich makers.

 

[spima3]

We are facing this issue with our youngest DD, who is adopted from SE Asia.
She came home just shy of two with horribly crooked teeth, and right away I thought we were going to be needing braces. As she was totally freaked out and insecure for a very long time, I didn't take her to a dentist until she was a little over 3. Well, by that time, her teeth had straightened out nicely; not perfect, but they looked good to me. Dentist never said a word about them.
However, as soon as her second teeth started coming in, they are just as crooked as when she was a toddler, her dentist recommended we start seeing an ortho at 7 years old. After our experience with her when she first came home, I am waiting to see how they look in another year, when she is 9. On top of this, by DH had braces in his teens and it didn't hold; his teeth look the same today as they did before the braces, so he thinks they are a total waste of money.
I did get the name of a supposedly good ortho. A friend of mine worked in dentistry for years and knows many of the dentists/orthos in the area. It is not the same one the kids' dentist recommends.

 

[chris1gill]

I certainly don't want to lump all orthodontists into one category but I just feel like they are looking for their next car payment.

I wonder if anyone has ever taken their child to an orthodontist and told that they DIDN'T need braces? It has never happened to anyone that I know.

My DD is 13. She has beautiful teeth. Her bottom teeth are as straight as can be. Her top teeth are very nice, as well. I have been asked by dentists, orthodontists and strangers if she has had braces in the past because her teeth are so nice.

There are only two orthodontists in our area that take our insurance. Both feel she needs braces. One feels she needs four teeth pulled! We aren't going with him. The other one says she has "absolutely beautiful teeth." The problem is, her bite is slightly off.

I have asked what will happen if we don't correct this and I am told that they don't know. They say it could range from zero problems to severe headaches, depending on how her teeth shift as she gets older. But in each case, I am told this is the best time to get them put on even though they don't know what the future holds.

Any opinions or has anyone gone through something similar? Just not sure what to do.

If this is an underbite, it could be potentially a serious problem. Our DD had a fairly severe underbite as a child and at the age of 7 started wearing a chin cup ($1800), it did a good job of correcting the bite. Now she wears it every few days as a means to try to keep the bite corrected as she grows. Her bite was quite bad, and with that type of bite, they said that if she grew and it stayed that way, the only recourse would be surgery to repair it. So, they monitor her at 10, and if she regresses as she gets older, she'll have to get into braces to keep the bite correct, it's the lesser of every evil... I'm just hoping the chin cup is enough, you might want to ask about that....

Also, for those with kids now in braces, the routine treatment even once they are out of braces is to keep them in a retainer for several years so their teeth do not shift back as adults... just thought I'd throw that in, since our DS had the worst teeth imaginable & he's on the 5 year plan with his braces...

 

[LisaR]

BTW...the consultations are free.

Thanks everyone for all the different opinions and scenarios. We still haven't decided what to do.

As I mentioned earlier, there are only two doctors that take our insurance but I decided to call another one that is used by everyone I know around here. I figured we would get their opinion, even though we will not go with them.

1. The doctor that everyone uses is retiring in December and has sold his practice to someone else. We would see the new guy.

2. The consultation is free but they require a panoramic xray that is less than 1 1/2 years old. My DD's xray is 3 years old. Our insurance pays for a new one every 5 years. So the "free" consult will cost us $100 if we want to go.

The orthodontist that takes our insurance did do a panoramic xray for free. But we can't take that for another opinion since it doesn't belong to us because it was free.

If the price of gas wasn't so outrageous, I would make the drive to Orlando where we have plenty of orthodontists to pick from that take our insurance. Between tolls and gas, I doubt it is worth it.

 

[rascalmom]

Thanks everyone for all the different opinions and scenarios. We still haven't decided what to do.

As I mentioned earlier, there are only two doctors that take our insurance but I decided to call another one that is used by everyone I know around here. I figured we would get their opinion, even though we will not go with them.

1. The doctor that everyone uses is retiring in December and has sold his practice to someone else. We would see the new guy.

2. The consultation is free but they require a panoramic xray that is less than 1 1/2 years old. My DD's xray is 3 years old. Our insurance pays for a new one every 5 years. So the "free" consult will cost us $100 if we want to go.

The orthodontist that takes our insurance did do a panoramic xray for free. But we can't take that for another opinion since it doesn't belong to us because it was free.

If the price of gas wasn't so outrageous, I would make the drive to Orlando where we have plenty of orthodontists to pick from that take our insurance. Between tolls and gas, I doubt it is worth it.

In most states, you have a right to your records. They keep the original, but you have a right to a copy. There may be a small fee, but less than the $100 fee for the new x-ray. Was the x-ray digital? If so, it can probably be sent directly to the 3rd ortho's office.....they should charge much for that. My dh doesn't charge to have digitals sent EVER.

 

[Pooh's Pixie]

Oh, I see. I went to the dentist once when I was 10 or so. I remember 2 things:

1) I thought it was a waste to a get a filling in a baby tooth
2) The dentist slapped me a few times because I was so freaked out about getting shots.

I didn't go back to the dentist (not the same one!) until I was 26.

Obviously a bad dental experience, but please don't think baby teeth fillings are a waste! A tooth is a live organism in your body! If you have decay that goes untreated, it can become infected and abcess. Even worse, that infection can spread. My DH is a pediatric dentist. He once had a case (in his residency) of a child that had a dental abcess go untreated...infection went to the brain! He had to have life-saving neurosurgery. Very very scary. Seriously, you wouldn't let your toe get infected and fall off, just because you had 9 more, would you? And, while you might say that is one bad case (and believe me, I have many more!), so are a lot of these orthodontia horror stories on this thread!

Anyway, off the soapbox!

 

[5Slays]

My DS #1 (9) and DD (8) both have braces. We could tell that they would need them as soon as their permanent teeth started coming in. The ortho said that they may or may not have 2 sets it all depends on how their teeth work out. Right now DS has palate expanders (top and bottom), braces on the top and just started using rubber bands to correct his overbite. DD has palate expanders (top and bottom) and braces on top, she is about 5 months behind DS. I can see a huge difference in their teeth already.

Oh, and they only have brackets on permanent teeth, the baby teeth have not been touched...

I had terrible teeth started to see the ortho at 8 and was finally out of braces by 17 (not including the retainer). I think I have had every type of orthodontic equipment in my mouth (other than headgear). My teeth aren't perfectly straight, but that is because I did not wear my retainer like I was told to, but they are much better than they were to start out with.

 

[LisaR]

In most states, you have a right to your records. They keep the original, but you have a right to a copy. There may be a small fee, but less than the $100 fee for the new x-ray. Was the x-ray digital? If so, it can probably be sent directly to the 3rd ortho's office.....they should charge much for that. My dh doesn't charge to have digitals sent EVER.

In this case, they are saying that these are not our records because they did them for free. I can kind of see their point. If I had paid for them, you better believe I would insist on a copy. But they did them at no cost to us as part of their initial consultation.

 

[Pigeon]

In this case, they are saying that these are not our records because they did them for free. I can kind of see their point. If I had paid for them, you better believe I would insist on a copy. But they did them at no cost to us as part of their initial consultation.

I wouldn't use them because obviously they have no concern for the welfare of children. Anyone with half a brain would get more than one opinion. Why should a child be exposed to more radiation than is strictly necessary?

 

[luvmy3]

I had to go to the dentist recently to correct a problem that I let go
He suggested that after I have a tooth excised that I see an Orthodontist so that I can be evaluated for invisalign. I do not have a problem with that since I really should have had braces as a teen but opted not to. My problem is that he told me to set up the appointment for me and all 3 of my kids. I had to remind him that 2 of them were only 7 and 4 and he said, well if you all go then maybe he can give you a family discount The ortho and my dentist are in the same dental office so my visit would certainly benefit both of them but come on, a 4 year old being evaluated for braces

 

[Pigeon]

I had to go to the dentist recently to correct a problem that I let go
He suggested that after I have a tooth excised that I see an Orthodontist so that I can be evaluated for invisalign. I do not have a problem with that since I really should have had braces as a teen but opted not to. My problem is that he told me to set up the appointment for me and all 3 of my kids. I had to remind him that 2 of them were only 7 and 4 and he said, well if you all go then maybe he can give you a family discount The ortho and my dentist are in the same dental office so my visit would certainly benefit both of them but come on, a 4 year old being evaluated for braces

It's very trendy to slap the braces on the kids as young as possible and as long as possible. But if you look at the refereed dental literature, you'll see that in the vast majority of cases, less extensive treatment has the same outcome.

 

[Va-bear]

I wouldn't use them because obviously they have no concern for the welfare of children. Anyone with half a brain would get more than one opinion. Why should a child be exposed to more radiation than is strictly necessary?

My thoughts exactly. You would want a doctor that cared more about giving a child more radiation than medically necessary than he/she did about making a buck.

I'd drive to Orlando for another opinion - make a day of it, somehow.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Get the braces right after you move, she will fit in. I don't know about your area but NO ONE teases kids with glasses here any more and EVERYONE has braces.

Sooo true! The whole social aspect of braces has changed 180% in the last couple decades. In the "old" days, mainly "ugly" kids with truly horrible teeth got the dreaded braces. Nowadays, it's most likely the children of well-off, successful people are the ones with braces at a very young age. Braces are a symbol of a child's future class and status, there for the world to see.

In my area, I don't know a single kid who isn't getting braces. The prevailing attitude is that only absolute perfection will do, and hardly any kids have naturally perfect teeth by orthodontic standards, therefore they all "need" braces. The orthos know this and know they can talk almost any parent into braces. And very few parents I know will wait to see if their kid's teeth come in naturally straight - most start their kid's treatment well before that point. Everyone here does braces since straight teeth are a status/class symbol. Sadly crooked teeth are seen a sign of "low class", and no one wants their child perceived that way (and who can blame them). That's what braces are really about, it seems.

I had to do braces (3 plus years) and surgery as an adult to get straight teeth, and trust me, my badly crooked teeth were nothing but a disadvantage in so many ways. I am always thrilled to read these threads on the DIS, and see how every parent is making sure their kids have straight teeth and great smiles before adulthood.

 

[Tinkerbell424]

My old orthodontist told me I needed braces and gave me spacers on my top teeth. When we changed insurance's he didn't accept it, so we had to find a new orthodontist.

The new orthodontist told me that if I didn't get those spacers put in, I wouldn't of had to have braces.

I really don't know though what I would do in your daughters case. If her bite is a bit off and it COULD have side effects then maybe consider getting it done?

 

[Tinkerbell424]

Double Post.

 

[Pixiedust34]

We just got back from the dentist and he gave referrals for both kids to see an orthodontist.

We're not surprised about dd needing a referral because we've been told that her mouth would be too small for her permanent teeth for a while. A couple of years ago, I did take her to an orthodontist for a consultation. At that time, he said that she was too young for treatment. Plus her mouth's development was about 18 months behind where it should have been for her age, but he did say that she would need orthodontic work done in the future. So today's referral was no surprise for her.

Ds has beautiful teeth! The dentist has never mentioned an orthodontist until now. He said that ds' second molars (What are those?? His 12 year molars?) are impacted and that he needs to see an orthodontist.

The soonest I could schedule an appointment is in August, so we'll wait until then to see what the orthodontist says. Meanwhile, does anyone know what happens when a 12 year old has impacted molars?

 

[shelly3girls]

I was in a similar situation when I was younger. Dentist and Ortho said I needed braces b/c of my bite. My parents refused b/c my teeth looked fine just slight over crowding. Now as an adult I suffer from TMJ and could be looking at more serious problems that could have been prevented. I really wished my parents had listened to the doctors. If you are not comfortable with the recommendations I would get a third opinion. I would avoid pulling teeth at all costs, for most people this is no longer necessary.

As a side note, my sister just took her older two children to the Ortho. Neither one needs braces. This is the same ortho that says two of my kids will need them. I was pretty sure they would anyway but it is nice to hear him recommend others do not.

 

[akhenaten]

Oh, I see. I went to the dentist once when I was 10 or so. I remember 2 things:

1) I thought it was a waste to a get a filling in a baby tooth
2) The dentist slapped me a few times because I was so freaked out about getting shots.

I didn't go back to the dentist (not the same one!) until I was 26.

that is just awful!!

 

[LisaR]

I was in a similar situation when I was younger. Dentist and Ortho said I needed braces b/c of my bite. My parents refused b/c my teeth looked fine just slight over crowding. Now as an adult I suffer from TMJ and could be looking at more serious problems that could have been prevented. I really wished my parents had listened to the doctors. If you are not comfortable with the recommendations I would get a third opinion. I would avoid pulling teeth at all costs, for most people this is no longer necessary.

OP here. I should note that my daughter has some very slight clicking that the orthodontist heard. He didn't even tell me that he heard it but when I was looking at the paperwork, it had "clicking" checked off and he wrote "braces will NOT correct TMJ." The financial lady had to call him back in the room so I could ask if he meant that DD had TMJ. He explained that she did not have it at this time but he did notice slight clicking. He reiterated that braces would not solve this problem.

DH wants DD to get the braces. He is concerned that she will have problems when she is too old to be on our insurance and has really crappy insurance herself. He said he would feel guilty. At least if we get them now he feels like we can say we did what the professionals suggested. She has her records appointment set up for next week.

 

[Kathi OD]

Her bite is "slightly" off?? No way that I would give her braces for a "slight" problem. My money is on the zero problems down the road. JMO