Any dentists/orthodontists about who can translate this letter?

[CalliopeTorres]

DD (12) had a consultation with an orthodontist following a referral by her dentist, it was very quick and after a couple of minutes of poking with a ruler he proclaimed she qualified for NHS treatment and a letter would follow to explain.

The letter has subsequently arrived and I have no idea what any of it means

Can anyone give me an idea of what DD's issues are and the treatment?

'DD presents with a class ll div 1 malocclusion on a skeletal ll base complicated by mild upper crowding. IOTN is 4a aesthetic 5.

Treatment will involve an initial functional appliance for about a year followed by upper and lower fixed appliances for approximately 18 months followed by retention.'

Anyone able to translate into laymans terms?

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

Squint teeth. Needs braces.

[DrMorse]

Her teeth aren't aligning properly when she closes her mouth, and top set are a bit overcrowded.

Functional appliance is a removable brace which is adjusted every few weeks and should space the teeth out a bit. Fixed appliances are 'traintracks' which will straighten everything up.

HTH

[Mrsmorton]

IOTN is how different discrepancies are scored. Have a Google, it's a pictorial guide so easy to understand. Class II div 1 means the bottom jaw is generally too far back but the teeth are orientated in the right way. ( II div 2 means teeth are pointing inwards).

There are lots of threads on here about functional appliances and a Google will help. This is how the jaw relationship is addressed using growth rather than surgery. It's tough but has very good and fairly quick results.

Fixed appliances are the "train tracks" (hate that phrase) and retention is what you have to have to stop the teeth moving back so either a fixed retainer, bonded to the back of the teeth permanently or a removable retainer which dc would need to wear at night for as long as they want their teeth to be straight.

[CalliopeTorres]

Thank you that's marvellous, to me her teeth look fine but I'm happy to admit I know nowt about such things! She's not happy about needing a brace and it's very helpful for me to understand why it's required.

[Mrsmorton]

II div 1 are very prone to trauma, fracturing the top teeth because the lips often aren't "competent" and don't cushion them.
I would strongly encourage her to have them, I've got 2 adults with this discrepancy who are booked in for a fairly big op because they didn't want braces and boy do they regret it now.

Look at some pics together and see.

FYI, if you get her to push her bottom jaw forward so her teeth are tip to tip, that's what her profile
Will be approximately like when the functional appliances are done.

[LIZS]

Sounds like ds' assessment. The upper and lower teeth are misaligned (malocclusion) either top is further forward than bottom or vice versa, so a functional appliance would gradually reposition the jaw to bring them into line and expand the mouth. Then a fixed wire would straighten the teeth. Ds is half way through his treatment , waiting for the fixed braces on lower teeth.

[CalliopeTorres]

She will be strongly encouraged to have them, I was advised to have them as a child and for reasons best known to my mother she let me have the ultimate say and I refused to have them at the 11th hour. I have a tooth that is beginning to cross over the one next to it now, due to (I assume) overcrowding and I bitterly regret not having something done about it as a child.

[Mrsmorton]

Teeth will almost always move as we age. It's pretty much inevitable. It's why retainers are so important! Moving teeth with braces (teeth, not jaws) is sort of similar to dying your hair. The teeth are genetically programmed to live where they do, moving them doesn't change the genetics so they will
Move back AND drift with aging so it gets worse still.

[BoboChic]

My DD (10) had Damon braces to straighten her front top four teeth when she was 8. The orthodontist said that they were less likely to move if they were straightened ASAP.