block braces, please share your experiences...

[nipersvest]

dd was told last week she will need block braces before moving on to a track one, she's 13, at high school and is devastated by the thought of all this.

she is late loosing her baby teeth which is why all this is coming at 13, but she is feeling like she'll be the biggest geek in the school.

despite repeat appointments at the orthodontist, this is the first time block braces have been mentioned. obviously, we're going to go with their treatment plan, but in order to support dd through this, i'm trying to find out as much as i can about the whole process and what to expect.

[nipersvest]

anyone?

[outtolunchagain]

If you do a search on twin block braces quite a few threads come up, I know as I searched last year !

We ended up with train tracks elastics and headgear , ds also 13 and in year 8 at school.Its not been as bad as we thought really although its pretty full on and the elastics are a pain as they break all the time.

[TwiggyHeart]

I had this type of brace (although I didn't know what it was called!) and also train tracks for about 6 years many many years ago. I had quite a major overbite and had my jaw broken and re set in the end.

I think the worst things about any kind of braces are:

1. can be very painful when tightened, can be helped with a pain killer before the appointment
   
2. time taken to visit the orthodontist, I missed a LOT of school for appointments, however I will caveat this with the fact that due to some quite major orthodontic problems the hospital became my second home!
   
3. teeth cleaning and brace breakages can be a headache, make sure they show your DD how to clean her teeth with the brace in so she can practice, extremely important
   
4. knock to confidence, it's not nice and a brave can make you feel very self conscious, but it's not the end of the world and she will have beautiful teeth in the end.
   Good luck to your DD

[SilentBob]

I had a removable brace when I was younger- I'm not sure what it is called nowadays sorry.

My experience- I begged for months to get the damn thing and was then in agony for the whole time I had it afterwards.

Tightening the screws at the orthodontist was so so painful and I bled a lot.

I even now don't have straight teeth but I do have a lovely (not) line across both of my front teeth where the wire of my brace sat for however many years. It seems it literally ate into my enamel. And, short of veneers, there's nothing I can do. I wasn't even sure if it was just me who could see it but have been vilified recently when I have brought it up and acquaintances have said oh, we wondered where the lines came from.

Luckily my daughter has never asked for braces as her teeth are pretty straight but I would definitely discuss it at great length with any orthodontist before I agreed had she needed them.

[LIZS]

Ds (16) has one and should be coming to the end of this year long phase around Easter as it has already made a huge difference to the overbite.Tbh it hasn't been as painful or awkward as anticipated although speech still rather lispy and it has affected him playing brass instruments. Appointments about every 8 weeks for checks and tightening, and we've been expanding it for last 10 weeks or so to create more space for top teeth which have train tracks.

[Scotsmum2017]

Hi everyone, totally new to this but needing some reassurance. My 12 year old son got twin blocks fitted on Tuesday. He is being brilliant with it all and handling all the jibes at school well. What I want to know is, will the speech improve or will he be lispy for the next 6months? This is a relief to find some people who have experienced what I would say is possibly the worst brace ever!!

[Roomba]

I had twin block braces aged 16-18. I hated them when they were first put on, I was convinced no one would ever fancy me ever ever and grumbled a lot about it.

I'm so glad I had them done though - I have lovely straight teeth that actually meet at the back, instead of wonky ones at the front, and huge dental issues at the back due to teeth wearing away unevenly due to them not aligning properly.

I was shown how to clean them well, and was very fastidious about that. They did ache for a day or two each time they were tightened, but painkillers sorted that and it was a dull ache, not raging toothache. No one at all ever made a comment about them, to my relief. I was still glad once they were off for good.

I would position it as it's much better to get them sorted now at 13, than when she is 16 or 35. Loads of people have braces as teenagers. And the results will be well worth it!

[Itsjustaphase84]

I had one for a year when I was 13. It's bloody painful when it gets tightened.

Make sure your DC knows how to clean teeth with it on. Also lisp does improve. Mine used to break occasionally.

I didn't like it at the time but I didn't mind missing school for the appointments.

I'm so glad I listened to my parents and had it done.

[Roomba]

@Scotsmum2017 - my speech was a bit lispy for a week or two, but soon went back to normal as I got used to them. My lips got a bit shredded inside at first too - again, that got better quickly once my mouth got used to them.

[Scotsmum2017]

Thanks everyone, I've been giving him bonjella for the rubbing in his mouth, would you suggest anything else? I think I am more worried about the whole contraption than he is, and thankfully he is quite vain and really wants his teeth sorted, so he is quite happy to persevere with it. After six months he gets train tracks, which I think will be a lot easier than the twin blocks.

[readthethread]

my dd had them last year, it was bloody awful! she could take hers in and out so was really good at wearing them overnight, always wore them to school, took them out for language lessons, drama and lunch. after 6 months she only had to wear them at night.

the train tracks since have been a walk in the park, so that's something to hold on to.

[Scotsmum2017]

Thanks, so far he has just removed them for eating, but feel that's just a compromise we'll have to make! That's been a week now and we're getting there I guess! Orthodontist says it's 6 months in total for the brace from hell, so only 23 weeks to go!! Looking on the bright side, only way through this nightmare brace

[readthethread]

If he can persist then he'll probably be allowed to wear them just at night once the jaw starts realigning. That was after about 4 months of wearing them for dd.
Honestly the train tracks after won't bother him at all.

[readthethread]

oh and with the blocks in her speech was really lispy. it didn't get better, she just spoke less! she took them out for lessons where speaking was a major part of the lesson.

[Scotsmum2017]

Fingers crossed it works quickly. I've never encountered such an awkward brace, needs must and as you say it'll be worth it in the long run. It's going to be a long six months though

[permanentlyfrazzled1]

DS1, aged 13, had twin blocks for around 8 months last year, wearing them full-time apart from eating and sports, then around 4 months just at night. His huge over bite has been corrected so he's been wearing train tracks for 3 months so far. The first night with twin blocks was awful: we woke in the early hours to find him kneeling by the bed sobbing with the pain, but with Calpol for 3 days, he was able to persevere and didn't need anymore pain relief at all. DS2, aged 11, has had twin blocks in for 8 months so far, to correct his huge over bite, but his teeth have moved more quickly so he's getting his train tracks fitted in a few weeks. He didn't need any pain relief at all! Our orthodontist explained that if we didn't correct the jaw position now, it could mean jaw surgery later on life, and would almost certainly lead to chewing problems and pain from the jaws being misaligned, so we decided it was best to get it sorted now. We home-educate and loads of the teens/pre-teens in our community have train tracks at the moment, and apart from comparing what colour they've each chosen, it's really not an issue. They were all interested to see what the twin blocks looked like when the boys had to wear them during the day. They both lisped for a week or two, so we allowed them to take them out for drama lessons, but they soon got used to talking with them in. We can already see the beginnings of the beautiful smiles with perfect teeth that they'll end up with - totally worth it!