Best age for braces to straighten child’s teeth?

[blueskiesandsun]

What age is best for starting orthodontic treatment to straighten teeth? (For aesthetic not medical reasons.) Interested in thoughts and experiences… (I guess it must vary by country and different cultures too…) TIA

As far as I know you need to wait until all the adult teeth are in place then as soon as possible after that I would say

My children have all had braces. They were between the ages of 10 and 13 when they got them, depending on when they got all their adult teeth in

I am not sure what culture has to do with it. Mine all averaged at 12 once all adult teeth were in.

I’m in the U.K if that makes a difference. My daughter had hers when she was 9 and a half had them off by 12 her teeth were bad.

It depends on the individual. There's no age fir gesces as different braces do different things. See an orthodontist for expert guidance. Not mumsnet!

As soon as all the adult teeth are in place, one of mine was 11, the other 14.

Just to add we went private and now has a fixed retainer and removable retainers for at night.

In a way, culture does affect orthodontic treatment. When on holiday on the Caribbean, the number of young hotel staff with braces is very noticeable. As such treatment has to be paid for, the youngsters have to wait until they are earning enough to afford them.

As soon as all adult teeth are in - both my DSS had the last few remaining baby teeth removed as they were affecting the adult teeth behind them then referred to the NHS orthodontist and treatment started within a few months (after having more adult teeth removed to make space). They were 10 and 12 when referred. The 12 year old might have been sooner had covid not impacted him seeing a dentist for a while.

My son was referred to the orthodontist when he was 11. Waited the best part of two years for his first appointment where he was referred to hospital because he needs an operation. Six months on he is now 14 and we're still waiting for an appointment at the hospital. So how anyone gets a brace at 10 is beyond me.

My dd is 8 and she currently has a pallet expander removable brace and will probably have this for quite a while until there is more space in her mouth. The orthodontist said she’ll have her fixed brace when she has more adult teeth (and once she’s done with the pallet expander).

My DS got twin blocks at 11, worked so well. Braces after 6 months. Was all done by 13.

It’s probably because they paid private we did so my daughte had them at 9 and at 12 they’re off.

Culture has a lot to do with it, both in terms of typical treatment age, criteria for treatment, and expected outcomes.

When we lived in the US, DS and practically all his classmates had braces by 9/10. Orthodontistry is a massive industry, and to be fair, the stereotypes are true - middle-class Americans have AMAZING teeth.

Back in the UK, dentists were disapproving of the US approach and said that orthodontic treatment typically should be started a few years later, and certainly the threshold for treatment on the NHS is now very high.

I'm not sure who is right, but several years later DS does have fabulously straight teeth.

My dd is 12 and we were refused braces the year before last as she wasn't over the threashold, however have just been re-referred. She also has back (wisdom?!) teeth breaking through the gum at the moment, so I am glad we waited in case these move her teeth further. I had to have braces twice; once at 12 and again in my mid 20's because my wisdom teeth grew in and pushed all of my teeth back out again!

My DD is nine, she's been told repeatedly by our dentist that she will need braces and she will definitely meet the threshold, but she's still got a lot of her baby teeth so she can't be referred yet.

I think having them too early must have risks - I had mine off at 17 and while the top has stayed ok, the bottom jaw has ended up all squashed up again (was never given any kind of retainer for bottom teeth, not sure if it was a thing then.). Surely if you have them off by 12 or 13, your face is still growing, and the teeth will still be moving?

DS got them (train tracks) at 13.5 and due to get them off in around 9 mths so will have had them for 2 yrs. Had to wait until adult teeth came through and then have four of them extracted. Really did not have to wait long for appt or treatment to start which was free on NHS as teeth were so bad. The changes are amazing!

If you can afford to go private get an assessment by age 7, it'll give you more options more time if you need a number of treatments and it will give you time to make changes, like palate expansion, esp. if it is affecting eating, speech or breathing and help avoid the need to extract healthy adult teeth at a later date.

NHS dentists will put you off until age 13 or 14 'when the adult teeth have come in' mind you.

My son is 12 and has just been referred. We were told the waiting list is about a year where we live, so he'll be 13 by the time he's seen.

DS 14 Just had twin blocks and a small fixed brace fitted a few weeks ago. Twin blocks for about 9 months hopefully, then full fixed braces for 12 months. All on NHS, referral took about 12 months.

My DS 13 had his assessment appointment today and told he meets the NHS threshold which I'm pleased about.
We had to wait for all his adult teeth to come through before he was referred and waited about a year for this first appointment.
But he's going back next week for them to be fitted so moves quite quickly once we got through the door.

Ds1 is 13 and having twin blocks fitted next month, followed by train tracks. He was referred to the orthodontist aged 9 and has been seen every year, waiting for all his baby teeth to go.

The orthodontist has said that the last couple may have to be removed before train tracks are fitted in six to nine months time but that he shouldn't wait any longer.

My son was referred by our dentist at about 11 as he said there was a long wait for an initial consultation with the orthodontist, and his adult teeth would be gone by the time his appointment came through.
We eventually had appointment when he was 14, and they were fitted the following week. He didn't need any teeth removing and it will take about 18 months.
They've been on about 3 months and they look better already, amazing really.

My DS had them before all his adult teeth were in as the ones that had come through were badly out of line.

He was 9.