Is it just me?

[Andtototoo]

Well, dd really needed braces, so when our dentist suggested it, it was a "No kidding" response from me. Now, she did start quite young and go through 2 stages. People thought we were crazy, but I realized that dd had my sister's mouth and my sister had gone through only stage 2 and her teeth weren't what I'd call "quite right" even after all the ortho. So when (30 years) later, the ortho suggested 2 stages, I agreed. My dd has a MUCH better mouth than my sister, so it was worth it to me.

I do agree, however, that there is often a lot of pressure for ortho. My dentist said it's because with floridated water, better toothpaste and so on, there is not as much need for filling cavities. LOL

That said, I have a friend who had some minor overlapping on her top teeth and the dentist kept urging her to get them fixed. He told her that while it was minor now, in his experience it was going to get much worse and she'd live to regret not getting it fixed. She got very angry with him and switched dentists and told him straight up she didn't want to hear about ortho. Well, 15 years down the line, it turns out her first dentist was correct -- over time, that overlapping got much much worse, her teeth cut into her gums and the crookedness is very noticeable. She regrets now not listening to the dentist back then -- when she had dental insurance with an adult ortho provision that would have paid for 90% of the cost.

 

[3boymthr]

Well, dd really needed braces, so when our dentist suggested it, it was a "No kidding" response from me. Now, she did start quite young and go through 2 stages. People thought we were crazy, but I realized that dd had my sister's mouth and my sister had gone through only stage 2 and her teeth weren't what I'd call "quite right" even after all the ortho. So when (30 years) later, the ortho suggested 2 stages, I agreed. My dd has a MUCH better mouth than my sister, so it was worth it to me.

I do agree, however, that there is often a lot of pressure for ortho. My dentist said it's because with floridated water, better toothpaste and so on, there is not as much need for filling cavities. LOL

That said, I have a friend who had some minor overlapping on her top teeth and the dentist kept urging her to get them fixed. He told her that while it was minor now, in his experience it was going to get much worse and she'd live to regret not getting it fixed. She got very angry with him and switched dentists and told him straight up she didn't want to hear about ortho. Well, 15 years down the line, it turns out her first dentist was correct -- over time, that overlapping got much much worse, her teeth cut into her gums and the crookedness is very noticeable. She regrets now not listening to the dentist back then -- when she had dental insurance with an adult ortho provision that would have paid for 90% of the cost.

If I had dental that would cover 90% of the cost I would probably consider it for myself and it would be a definite for DS but given how many people I know of that the spacing goes back and how many are reporting on this thread that their spacing went back I just can't justify spending that much money out of pocket. Especially since I know that youngest DS is absolutely going to have to have some dental work done in the near future and we don't even know to what extent but that it's probably going to be really really expensive. I'm actually scared about this one - he's 9 in a little over a month and his baby teeth still aren't loose (but he's lost all his other teeth that he should have lost by this age). We're hoping he actually has to have ortho because that would mean he has adult front teeth and that they're lurking way up and that he doesn't have to have implants. They're doing the x-rays next week.

 

[Tink415]

I think you are supposed to wear a retainer for LIFE. Seriously.

I think it varies, but yea, my DDs orthodontist told her to wear the retainer when she sleeps, basically forever, to prevent her teeth from moving.

I forget what my orthodontist told me, but my retainer is long thrown away, and yup my teeth have moved, luckily only on the bottom.

 

[NeverlandClub23]

My dentist is always pushing something. I've come across people who have had all sorts of dental issues by doing everything their dentist suggested and people who have dental issues by doing nothing the dentist suggested to them. It's hard to know when to trust the dentist.

One of the many things I'm "pushed" on is having my wisdom teeth removed. They all came in fine and I've had no issues with them. When I asked my dentist why I should have them removed he said it was to "make it easier to floss back there". Yeah, I'll take off of work, pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars (no dental insurance) to make flossing "easier". I bought some great back teeth flossers and use them regularly. Hopefully, I will not have future issues.

I've never had braces so I don't have any experience with an ortho.

 

[tvguy]

My MIL thought so, so DW never got braces as a kid, but first thing she did when she was out on her own was get braces. She couldn't even bite a sandwich. She had them on when we got married, my MIL was LIVID she didn't get them taken off for the wedding photos!

Our kids got my wifes teeth, so we had no choice with them!

 

[si-am]

I think it varies, but yea, my DDs orthodontist told her to wear the retainer when she sleeps, basically forever, to prevent her teeth from moving.

I forget what my orthodontist told me, but my retainer is long thrown away, and yup my teeth have moved, luckily only on the bottom.

I got myself a new retainer about 8 years ago when I felt like my teeth were shifting too much.

I only wear it about once a month though (while I sleep) so I doubt it is doing any good. I hate it!

 

[liamkelly]

Same here! It seems like the the orthodontists will say you need braces regardless of your condition. I went to the dentist a couple years ago with my sister to see if she needed braces, while we were there the dentist go "well since your here we might as well check your teeth as well" aparently I needed braces also, even though I've never had a problem with my teeth.

 

[The Pink Cupcake]

Well I live in England therefore I am entitled to free dental care.

I am going to ask you something, and I don’t mean to offend

Why, if dental care is free, do so many Brits have poor teeth?

 

[penn19]

My ds was told he needed braces. In hindsight, it could have gone either way. They weren't perfect but had I known at the time that he wasn't going to take great care of his teeth while the braces were on, I never would have put them on. He is a boy, and at the age that he wasn't much interested in doing the maintenance, and the Ortho wanted them "perfect" . Her word not mine. So they stayed on. And on. And on. Almost a year past when she said they would be off. Well took him for a cleaning and the Dentist was like um, they need to come off NOW. He had so much decay. It was gross. So now he has fillings in all of his front teeth.

I wish now I had told the Ortho to take them off a year prior and the decay would not have been as bad. So now he has straight teeth, but kind of jacked up with the composite fillings in them.

 

[bicker]

I think there is a parallel here to firefighters, believe-it-or-not. In both professions, preventive measures have been noted in recent news reports as being contributors to reduction in demand for service: Dentists effectively have fewer cavities to fill; firefighters have fewer fires to put out. In both cases, the best societal answer would be to reduce supply of service. Instead, in both cases, those in the profession are trying to find new ways of increasing, or at least stabilizing, demand. Dentists are moving toward impressing on patients the need for cosmetic services. Firefighters are currently locked in battles with private ambulance companies, trying to prevent more and more of the emergency service calls from being redirected away from their emergency response teams toward (less costly) private services.

 

[aprilgail2]

I think it varies, but yea, my DDs orthodontist told her to wear the retainer when she sleeps, basically forever, to prevent her teeth from moving.

I forget what my orthodontist told me, but my retainer is long thrown away, and yup my teeth have moved, luckily only on the bottom.

That is what the orthodontist told me about my daughters braces- that she should wear the retainer for life- never heard of only wearing it a short time-of course your teeth would shift if you stopped using it!

I am going to ask you something, and I don’t mean to offend

Why, if dental care is free, do so many Brits have poor teeth?

Thank you! I was trying to think of a way to phrase that so it would sound totally rude but I was wondering the same thing-I was shocked to hear they had free dental and it doesn't seem like they take advantage of it.

 

[collegejunkie]

i got my braces for purely cosmetic reasons. my teeth were pretty bad. they overlapped everywhere. my sister had braces also, but it was not too bad and she didn't have hers on for long. one of my brothers had the same problem as me, but he refused to smile if anyone could see his teeth like that so he definitely needed them for at least a psychological reason. the other brother never needed braces, and our dentist never suggested it for him because he was fine. our dentist was upfront with us about my other brother and my braces being only for cosmetic reasons. my sister was a mix of both need and want.

i would hope that dentists don't PUSH braces. i'm not sure what the reason is, unless they get a percentage for referring a patient to an ortho. i should ask when i'm shadowing this summer.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

All 3 of my kids have consults. They are 7,9 and 12. I'm not doing anything right now and I told the dentist that.

I think only the 7 year old will truly need them. I was supposed to get them and didn't and my teeth are off and I hate my smile and it has caused some dental issues along the way because I didn't get them. I think they have their place but are recommended too often and too early recently.

 

[bombygriz]

My mother has told the dentist that any corrections will only be put into place if I am in immediate danger to my health. Even so, my dentist has actually spent more time telling me how it's really hard for people to afford braces and that I should wait until I'm older because it's simply cosmetic. I like my dentist, he's a nice guy.

 

[mjkacmom]

Thank you! I was trying to think of a way to phrase that so it would sound totally rude but I was wondering the same thing-I was shocked to hear they had free dental and it doesn't seem like they take advantage of it.

Oh, me too! I honestly don't know any kids with crooked teeth - either they're naturally straight, or they had braces. I hear it's not the case in Europe.