Teen Braces / Jaw

[InTheCornerx]

My son has been referred for orthodontics, he has quite crooked bottom teeth so we have been waiting for him to be old enough and it was expected, but the main focus was on how much 'work' his jaw needs? The top jaw needs to go back and the bottom one needs to come forward apparently. We are in London so have been referred to Kings.

What does jaw work actually mean? Has anyone or anyones child had this? How do they do it?

Any insight would be great. Its been a long wait for him to be the right age and the appointment is in November.

Moving the lower jaw forward normally involves something called a twin block brace. It’s like a plate top and bottom which clicks together and locks the jaw in a forward position. Over time the jaw grows into that position permanently. My DS had one for a while - his jaw was not severely recessed, it was mainly cosmetic.

It is a bulky and unpleasant contraption which takes a while to get used to. However it’s a better option than needing jaw surgery later in life which can be the case if the overbite is severe.

The dentist referred to the local orthodontist who said the jaw work needed to be done under a hospital orthodontist, which is why we are now waiting to be seen at Kings.

@TinaYouFatLard let me google this quickly! Thank you

@TinaYouFatLard This is what im confused about as I honestly cant see an issue with his jaw! His teeth, yes! But they know best!

Thanks so much. God the braces look painful as it is, let alone these. Was yours able to eat ok? Lots of tightening and a lisp at first?

Sorry this is long and may be irrelevant … My Daughter was under Orthodontics / Maxo facial dept at our local hospital but for small misaligned jaws ( teeth ) so slightly different . We were told that they don’t do surgery until the jaw stops growing ( the age went up from 17 to 18 and then 20!) In the interim period she had braces to reset her mouth shape and bring forward her top jas , braces that stretched her jaw ( we had to turn a screw each day) . In the end her jaw was deemed marginal for surgery and she’s happy with the result. She has a permanent retainer at the back of both sets of teeth .She was discharged at 19. Her friend has just had jaw surgery at 21 and it has been hard , she’s been on a puréed diet for 6 weeks + but her jaw is now straight

I really hope this isnt the case for my son.

They mentioned spacers a while back but he hadnt had his growth spurt yet and said it would be a waste of time. In this time his jaw moved. Personally it looks fine, no obvious over or underbite but its really severe to a dentists eye, whatever he has!

I hate that people think im not being proactive in trying to start his teeth journey but every ortho is different. Some love to remove teeth and whack the braces on. Some want to wait ages.

It was a surprise to me too. I never saw an issue with his jaw and thought his would be a simple train track straightening. He doesn’t have a Buzz Lightyear jawline but I didn’t think it was that bad!

Orthodontists are trained to see things differently and often are aiming at optimal results to achieve as close as possible to aesthetic and functional perfection. They are also able to assess the long term impact on the teeth if the jaw is misaligned. We expect our teeth to last a full lifetime these days and so if the jaw position is wearing down teeth unevenly it can cause issues later in life.

In the end my DS wore the twin block for about 9 months and his jaw moved by a couple of mm. He really should have had it longer but he lost part of it and the replacement took four weeks to arrive, by which time he’d lost the will to persevere with it. He’s now just having the teeth straightened and accepting a softer jawline.

It was very hard to get used to. He was allowed to remove it to eat and if he was playing sport that required a mouth guard. No other times. He found it hard to speak and lisped badly at first but it did improve a bit as time went on.

Try not to panic at this point. Take advice from the professionals. Best of luck to you and your DS.

Thanks so much for the information. What age did they put them on for you son?

I feel the same! I now look at loads of kids around his age and think 'ok i can see why you would need jaw work' like a bad overbite or underbite and they dont even have or need braces 😂 guess id make a crap dentist. we keep being fobbed off with his age. I hear that boys jaws grow differently and later than girls so it needs to be delayed but god sake, stop telling me his case is severe but then to go away for 18 more months.

Kings are one of the best dental institutes around so im hoping to a have a firm plan in place in November once he see's them.

Thank you again for the info!

DC had blocks in preparation for braces. Yes, they make your jaw grow but actually it makes the jaw grow earlier just to end up at its natural end point.

Braces then went on and, during this time, we had her bottom jaw broken and brought forward with titanium extenders and a bar put sideways across the bottom of her front teeth. She loathed me for ages as it was her very own, beautiful face we were modifying. However, she has recently seen profile pictures of herself laughing before the surgery and is now thankful we had it done. I knew from the day she was born that she would need braces. The surgery was unexpected. Braces came off six months later.

Lots of swelling, puree for few days then weeks of soft food. She is supposed to wear retainers a few nights per week for the rest of her life because it doesn’t change the shape or angle of the socket so her teeth always want to go back to the way they were born. She notices when she doesn’t treat them right.

On a side note, her singing voice was a bit tinny at stretch because her throat space was too skinny. It’s lovely and rounded now. Also, she found it very difficult to take tablets. We crushed them or had syrup until after the surgery and now she can do them easily.

I don’t know about top jaw surgery. I imagine it’s worse because you are playing with the whole skull. Our surgeon said this type of surgery is often requested by post meno women because the skeletal changes can really show up poor jaw construction and make eating (nutrition) quite difficult in later years.

DD was 14/15 but the boys in the follow up clinics looked to be 17/18.

DD's upper front teeth stuck out while a lot, the treatment required was more than would work under normal braces. She was referred to an orthodontist at the hospital. She original saw her around the age of 10 as her upper teeth were causing regular sores on her bottom lips. Treatment was delayed until just before she was 12 as it's more successful if done during puberty as bones are growing and the treatment more likely to work.

She had a twin block brace. Her treatment took four years overall as she also had teeth which had grown in the wrong direction and they had to be exposed and twisted into the right direction. There are times when her mouth was sore with different braces, but it was well worth it.

Your DS might be ok, but DD's braces broke quite a lot (no fault of her own), so the nearer to home you can get treatment, the better, as it was painful when hers broke. She was always fitted in, but it meant one of us regularly had to leave work to take her.

Thank you all so much for the info and different cases. Really helpful