Urgent help regarding functional double block brace

[CosyLulu]

dd had one fitted last Tuesday and has coped (apart from eating which she finds totally impossible) since then but now school looms on Monday and she is so self conscious about how weird it makes her face look - her bottom jaw pushed right forwards. She wants to take it out. I want her to persist with it.

Everyone says it gets easier after 1-2 weeks but does that also mean it stops looking so odd?

Any advice to help her keep going?

[LIZS]

She will forget about it once she is more used to the brace. Ds had one for over a year and his profile changed.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I don't have any advice just wanted to let you know at the end of it all it's worth it. Ds had his braces off on Tuesday and his teeth look amazing,we just had bog standard Damon braces though. I'm not sure how he'd have coped with anything else.

Maybe a trip back to check everything is as it should be? We had to go back after the first 5 days as ds's teeth had shifted so quickly .

Hope someone else comes along with more helpful advice

[CosyLulu]

The trouble is that she hates the way it makes her profile change. She looks like she's pulling a kind of gurning face and she can't speak properly. I did telephone the orthodontist but it wasn't much help. Everyone says stick with it for 1-2 weeks but I don't know what will change in terms of how she looks in that space of time. Is it just that she'll get used to the feel of it. She's 14 so at a very sensitive age in terms of appearance, also at an all girls school where there is also already a lot of focus on that kind of thing unfortunately.

[Bessiebigpants]

Do not let her take it out! The more she wears it the sooner it will be finished.Yes I agree they are horrible but so worth it,My daughters has been in 6 months she has been totally compliant and it looks like it will have done its job in 9 months Front teeth back a whole cm which is amazing and jaw forwards enough th move on with train tracks.In theory this means her mouth will be all done way ahead of schedule.She only ever takes it out to eat.Encourage her to stick with it loads of kids have them in school she won t stand out!

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Oh poor thing. The only thing that got ds through was that every other kid here has braces,so it's very normal.

Maybe after a couple of weeks as she gets used to it her jaw will relax a bit ?

Ds is having issues wearing the night retainers- I can see him not wearing them and teeth shifting again!

[CosyLulu]

But is the position of the jaw when it's in what she will be left with long-term? It is so far forwards now so that the bottom teeth are almost over the top teeth which is what makes her look so strange and makes it so hard for her to talk. I have compromised that she can take it out for school and put it in when she gets home and overnight until the summer holidays when she will then have to have it in all the time. i know it's not ideal. I wish I could reassure her about how she looks as she is scared she will have that huge prominent bottom jaw forever if she keeps wearing it.

[CosyLulu]

I'm angry with the orthodontist who really didn't explain much at all. But it is on the NHS so I don't feel like I can complain!

[LIZS]

No it isn't left the far forward the muscles adjust back a little. She really should persevere , 8 hours without it during the school day could prolong the treatment and cause problems with the fit.

[CosyLulu]

I know. I'm disappointed but she is on the verge of giving up on it altogether and so that seemed a better compromise than doing nothing. I reckon she will be able to have it in for 14 hours a day which is better than nothing ...

The way it is at the moment, the muscles would have to adjust back a lot. Her overbite doesn't look that drastic without it.

[OddBoots]

My dd had one and it was a bit of a shock to start with as we were so used to seeing her with an undersized lower jaw so to see it protruding was odd. She carried on and only needed it for a couple of months, her jaw is now a great shape

The jaw doesn't end up as far out as the twin blocks hold it, it needs to be so far extended as it is to encourage the growth plates on the jaw bone to fill in the gap that is created. Not wearing it for school will really make it a slow process, it may not even work at all.

Encourage her to tough it out, it is worth it.

[CosyLulu]

Thanks OddBoots. I'm doing my best. I know that if we can do even just half measures between now and the summer, she is likely to keep it in over the summer holidays.

[Mycraneisfixed]

You can still ask questions about treatment even if it's on NHS. Public money pays for the NHS. Your money too!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

she needs to be brave if she can. It does look odd with them in and I was horrified. But dd has such lovely teeth now.

[CosyLulu]

Thanks all. BadKitten, does it stay looking weird for the whole year or does the jaw settle into a slightly less comfortable position so that speaking is a little less uncomfortable?

I am sticking with letting her take them out during the school day this week as it is exam week and I think she needs to be comfortable and to be able to eat lunch with no issues. She will put them in as soon as she's home from school each day and next weekend we will reassess.

[CosyLulu]

I mean a slightly more comfortable position of course ...

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Wrt questions- I used to go with a list as I found although it was an amazing orthodontist I did feel there wasn't enough information. So, yes ask as many questions as you like!

[lovevintagecrap]

I get what you mean OP. My DD was horrified at how they looked. So we compromised and she wore them evenings and overnight.
True, she needed them for slightly longer but the effect on her self esteem, had she worn them for school, would have been horrendous. Her orthodontist didn't complain and her progress was steady.
She now has a fixed brace (way less intrusive )and has no qualms about it.
Oh and the jaw position doesn't stay pushed forward once the brace is out.
Hope that helps.

[ArmfulOfRoses]

She needs to talk ALL THE TIME while she's at home, get her to narrate her life.

Dd got her block braces on a Friday, couldn't understand her and the drooling!
After a weekend of constant talking she was fine by the Monday.

[Ginmakesitallok]

Dds had hers for just over 2 weeks (I think). Yes she looks a bit different with them in, but school has been no problem. Another girl in her class has the same ones, and numerous other kids have different braces. She didn't wear hers for the first night, but since then only takes it out to eat and clean it. Taking it out for school would make wearing it the rest of the time pointless.

[CosyLulu]

She never stops talking ever. Even when she's on her own. Her talking is definitely better than when she had them fitted but is not even 30% like she would normally speak. The main issue is the appearance. She will even put up with the sore gums and finding it hard to eat. She has quite a few anxieties about appearance in any case and this is just pushing her too far even though I know, of course, that if she sticks with it her issues with her teeth will be sorted!

Lovevintagecrap, I'm heartened to hear that. Dd has agreed to evenings, overnight and weekends all the time. Plus when we get to the summer holidays she has 7 weeks at home and will wear them all the time. i figure that if we do it part time for now then full time for that holiday two months by the end of the holidays we'll know if she can really cope or not and at least some progress will have been made.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Dd was only in them for a few months but it didn't look so bad after a while.

[lovevintagecrap]

I definitely think there had to be room for compromise. DD has crippling low self esteem and the twin blocks were just a step too far for her. To be honest, I was shocked when I saw how obtrusive they were.
DD had a huge overbite. She had the twin blocks for nearly a year, but we knew that it would have been quicker if she had worn then 24/7. However, the way we did it was by far the best for her and they worked a treat. After them, DD thinks the fixed braces are a breeze

[CosyLulu]

Well in a strange turnaround dd has said she will wear the braces at school tomorrow. I have mixed emotions as it's exam day and also that part of her reason for leaving them in is that they really hurt to take in and out ...

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Good luck with exams, awful timing though!

[CosyLulu]

Yes I know. When we fixed the appointment I had no idea it would be right before exam week or how difficult they would be. I still feel we weren't adequately warned. Anyway ... see how tomorrow goes!