Won't Wear Head Gear

[Principessa1284]

I think you definately need to cut him some slack. I had braces for 3 years at that age, and the headgear was just painful to wear at night. So much so that it would keep me awake and I would just cry and eventually give up and take it out. I ended up *ahem* losing it, and my mouth turned out just fine and pretty. I will say is some cases, the headgear is more important to the treatment and it may have been why I had mine on 3 months longer than originally planned.

But I will say though, tell him to start wearing it for a few hours BEFORE he goes to bed, and then his mouth will get used to it and it won't hurt so much. I would be patient and just remind him that things can only get better from here.

 

[bhaluvindisney]

I told my son I was paying for braces ONCE. If he didn't follow the directions for them the next set he had to pay for. He had some brushing issues for awhile but ended up doing ok with them. Of course we didn't do head gear but he had a palette expander put in, spacers and braces for 3 years. Now he has a perm retainer glued in the bottom of his mouth and a removable one on the top. He did well but he knew I meant it......... I would pay for them once. After that he was on his own.

I would really talk to the ortho and see if there is any other solution than the headgear because he obviously isn't using it. I'm sure your child isn't the first or the last to do this and it's odd that the ortho doesn't have any other method to try rather than just head gear. Of course I'm not an ortho so I know nothing.