Preventative orthodontic treatment - children

[Globalwalker]

Has anyone’s DC had preventative orthodontic treatment, instead of waiting for braces etc when they were older? Are you able to tell me how you/DC found the treatment went, how long it took, costs etc please?

DS(10) will need orthodontic treatment for misaligned top front teeth (got that from me) which we’ve known since he was about 7, but at his last routine 6 monthly dental check up our dentist suggested discussing preventative treatment instead at his next appointment (in about 2 months), rather than waiting until he’s about 12 etc and going for traditional braces.

Obviously we will be doing our own research into this approach but I would just like to hear from anyone who has done this with their child. I’m also assuming this is only available privately.

Has he seen an orthodontist?

The NHS tends not to do this , except in a few cases, because, in general , if you align teeth up whilst child is still growing then you have to start all over again as they get past puberty.

There are a few exceptions to this , one is where there is a size discrepancy with jaws , normally a narrow upper jaw. In this case the orthodontist will want to guide the growth of the jaw (normally with appliances like twin blocks) in what is called the pre pubertal growth spurt (normally before child is 13 ish) . This sort of orthodontics is done before child reaches normal age for braces which is when all baby teeth are lost and older. With NHS waiting lists it can be difficult to get a child in for this sort of treatment in time.

The other case where it can be useful for early intervention is if there is a front tooth caught behind the lower teeth. A simple removable brace at an early age can make treatment later easier. However most NHS referral criteria will not allow referral for younger children for this and this may have to be private.

@Sororitysue no, not yet. The dentist said we’ll see how his teeth are at his next appointment and it may be an option you wish to explore with an orthodontist.

@Lollygaggle all I can remember is that the dentist said preventive treatment can help expand the space for the teeth to grow into, so that they move into the space correctly rather than being over-crowded/mis-aligned and later requiring braces etc. It was among the lines of preventing the need for braces.

Yes this is arch expansion , which needs to be done before the child has gone past the prepubertal growth spurt , which is younger in boys.

A lot of this will depend on how long waiting lists are for orthodontics , in our area it is two to three years , in some other areas four years so might be too late for your son if he is 10. On the other hand if waiting lists are smaller he might be ok.

However arch expansion and twin block therapy is available , if clinically indicated, on the NHS . These are braces but they direct the way a child’s jaw grows . The critical thing is getting a child in early enough which is not always possible in many areas on the NHS.

Privately you will be looking at £2500 to £5000 depending on complexity and area.

The important thing is how motivated and compliant your son will be. Therapy like twin blocks is not easy and requires child to wear for 20 hours a day and is uncomfortable and awkward, particularly at the start. You have to have a motivated child for it to be sucessful. Otherwise it causes more problems and is a waste of everyone’s time and money.

Thank you for all of this information. I’ll have a read about it but it worries me about DS being compliant, particularly if he is able to remove an appliance if he finds it uncomfortable.

I’ve heard that two pupils in his year group have some sort of braces, as DS calls them, but I wonder if this is what these children are having done. I’ve never heard of this before so it’s all new to me, so thanks for all this information.

It’s the number one problem , children removing braces, not wearing them or breaking them because they do not want to wear them. Far better to wait than to start , then stop because of compliance. A it complicates things and B you only get one go with NHS braces.

Twin blocks and similar can be removed , but even fixed braces are a problem, I had one child who used nail clippers to break wires and many, many who did not comply with types of food they should be eating so broke off many, many brackets and twisted many arch wires .

How much are they going to charge you as opposed to getting braces on the NHS? I’m sure they would recommend it if it’s going to make them money!

I had some horrific torture contraption about that age that was like a retainer cemented into my mouth that you twisted with a key every two weeks to expand the mouth to make room for adult teeth. I imagine that’s the sort of thing they are talking about. I didn’t live in the UK at the time, but somewhere all dentistry and orthodontics are private. It was absolutely horrifically painful. Like having your palate broken. I lasted a month before my mum had them remove the blasted thing. I had normal braces a few years later and those were annoying and unattractive but fine.