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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to be livid with my 11 year old?

92 replies

TinfoilHattie · 09/05/2017 18:34

She has been seeing an orthodontist for a few months and was fitted with braces in March. Not the train track ones, the plates which clip over the teeth and can be removed for eating and tooth brushing. She quickly developed a habit of clicking the braces in and out with her tongue and surprise surprise, the upper brace broke after 3 weeks. So we go through the whole palaver of more appointments, more impressions, more time for me taking her back and forward for appointments. Second set fitted two weeks ago.

And she's broken the second fucking brace in exactly the same fucking way. We got away without paying for the first replacement, don't think we'll be as lucky a second time. I am LIVID. She is sulking in her room and feeling sorry for herself.

OP posts:
QueenofPentacles · 09/05/2017 21:22

Oh god those braces with a plate are revolting to wear. Mine hurt like fuck.

Lanaorana2 · 09/05/2017 21:22

Oh come on - she's 11 not 5. Tell her she'll have comedy teeth if she carries on, and explain the money's run out for more replacements.

Mrsmorton · 09/05/2017 21:23

Evidence based orthodontics vs chiropractic... hmmm

Sometimes fixed braces won't do the same thing as functional appliances/twin blocks. It's not like orthodontists just choose the most shit treatment and whack it in, if fixed braces were easier, that's what they'd do.
I do wonder where some MNers get their opinions of healthcare professionals.

The breakage is far more likely to be from the clicking ( think bending a paper clip all day) than substandard appliances Confused

YANBU to be cross, if DD can stick with it, it will be over and done within a couple of years and she will have teeth to be proud of.

ILikeBeansWithKetchup · 09/05/2017 21:23

Tell her that if she wears them really well she will wear them for less time. My DS was really good with his and he very quickly progressed to wearing the kind you described only at night.

He can't get the train tracks til all his baby teeth go but he is happy with his now he doesn't wear them in the day!

Blondebombsite83 · 09/05/2017 21:25

I had both fixed and a plate, both awful. It is an incredibly hard habit to break. Especially as food gets trapped underneath and you have to click it down to suck it out.
What I don't understand is that I did it constantly. I could even flip it over in my mouth and out it back in. I never broke it. Not even a little crack. They can't be very strong and I'd be questioning why they are breaking easily.

ILikeBeansWithKetchup · 09/05/2017 21:27

And the difference those twin block made to his bad overbite! Wow!!

Westray · 09/05/2017 21:30

LIVID

Seriously OP??

BeeThirtythree · 09/05/2017 21:31

YANBU, Maybe explain that it is for her benefit that you have been taking time, transport, phone calls etc...all done so DC can have a perfect smile. It is her responsibility to maintain the braces.
Once you have enquired if there will be further costs you can decide if DC can contribute or do chores to make up for the inconvenience of running around.
I do know it's difficult but DC needs to break this habit...not her braces!

Mrsmorton · 09/05/2017 21:31

blonde you have no idea how bad OPs Dd's teeth are, if there's a significant undercut, the acrylic and wire has to adapt far more and the elastic modulus is significant.

For it to break twice due to a fault in the appliance would be bizarre. The orthodontist wants the treatment to finish as soon as possible so they can get paid, that doesn't really tally with using a rubbish technician to make the appliance. people need to take responsibility for themselves and not blame HCPs every time something doesn't go to plan

ButTheBearSnoredOn · 09/05/2017 21:32

Shame you have spent so much time on appointments etc. but I'm another one who clicked and mine never broke-i kept it for years and wore it at night for far longer than needed (odd, paranoid child!) and it lasted fine.

TrinityTaylor · 09/05/2017 21:35

She just needs to think about whether she wants good or horrid teeth? Braces are a privilege. Pay this time but just let her know she is lucky to be getting orthodontic treatment and next time she might not be getting a new one.

Mrsmorton · 09/05/2017 21:36

bear you wouldn't have worn functional appliances at night. They wouldn't have fitted you after treatment for a start. You're possibly talking about a retainer which all orthodontic patients should wear for as long as possible (as long as you want to guarantee straight teeth).

The forces are totally different on the different types of appliance. Retainers are almost passive so miniman stress on the acrylic or wires.

loverlybunchofcoconuts · 09/05/2017 21:41

Annahi, you said:

'Plus, braces can have a really awful impact on a growing child's spine'

then, when this was questioned, you said:
'but like you said it may not be a causal relationship'

I'm sorry you have had to deal with scoliosis, but I think you have written quite confusingly, and I cannot see anything in a google search which is actual research suggesting that there is a link between that condition and dental braces. could you provide a link if you think there is published research for this?

Chippednailvarnishing · 09/05/2017 21:44

I had scoliosis.
Then I had braces.
Then I no longer had scoliosis.
Hurrah, the braces cured me!
Grin

TrinityTaylor · 09/05/2017 21:47

I still wear my night retainer now!!

Original poster
TinfoilHattie · 09/05/2017 21:50

A chiropractor suggested the connection to me about 6 years ago. It's widely accepted in the chiropractic world I believe.

Chiropractors are right up there with homeopathy and reiki if you ask me. Disregarding the implication I'm setting DD up for a lifetime of back problems.

She has been fully on board with the treatment. Her teeth aren't as much sticky out as crossed over and twisty at the front. She's getting to the age that she's more conscious of her appearance and they bother her. Also from a medical point of view her teeth aren't meeting properly and the orthodontist seems to think this may cause problems in the future.

Getting funding for NHS orthodontics isn't always easy but the orthodonist said DD was a "pretty clear case". I'm taking that to mean she's more in need of it than many. She is very good at wearing the appliances, wears them in bed - all the time apart from eating and brushing her teeth. She understands the need to wear them all the time and knows that by co-operating and having them in all the time makes the overall treatment time shorter. The clicking and fiddling has obviously become a real issue and short of wiring them up to give her an electric shock every time she clicks there's not much we can do. (JOKE). Will have to phone tomorrow to make her an appointment and see what the orthodontist suggests.

Not quite as cross with her any more - she is very upset with herself and understands why we were so cross about it. We've all calmed down a bit now. It's frustration more than anything, it's a really busy time of year for us all and now I'm having to squeeze in more trips to the dentist. Grrrr.

OP posts:
SuperBeagle · 09/05/2017 21:54

A chiropractor suggested the connection to me about 6 years ago. It's widely accepted in the chiropractic world I believe. But not in the orthodontic world!

Chiro is hardly accepted as a science. It's been removed as a uni course where I live for this reason.

roundaboutthetown · 09/05/2017 21:55

That brace sounds very flimsy... I had to have a brace with a plate many years ago, then the train tracks then another retainer brace with a plate. I spent a lot of my time sucking the brace on and off my teeth and spinning it in my mouth with my tongue and never once did it break...

ButTheBearSnoredOn · 09/05/2017 21:55

Mrsmorton-ah-sorry-yes-retainer. Ignore me!

Original poster
TinfoilHattie · 09/05/2017 21:56

Should also clarify - it's not the plastic plate itself which has broken. It's one of the little metal clips which clips over the teeth. As a previous poster said - just like repeatedly bending a paperclip. The bottom appliance is fine but we were told last time not to wear the on its own, it had to be them both.

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 09/05/2017 21:56

I think the brace must be sub-standard to be honest. They shouldn't break, from clicking

Sit down with a paper clip and bend it back and forth continuously. Unsorurpsingly it breaks. This is the same for the brace being clicked with the roungue - it flexes back and forth and eventually snaps.

I've got three children with removable braces.

SoupDragon · 09/05/2017 21:57

Lol. Xpost about the paper clip :)

WomblingThree · 09/05/2017 21:59

I think livid is an excessive reaction to something relatively trivial. What are you going to make her pay for them with? She's 11, presumably she's not going to have £50 to hand. Have you ever asked her if she actually wanted them or did you and the dentist just decide between you?

My daughter hated her twin block. It was so tight at first and it hurt like a bitch. It got stuck a couple of times as well which made me panic (I have teeth-phobia). I was happy to let her call it quits after a week, but somehow DH persuaded her to stick with it.

People who are saying change to something different? It doesn't work like that. The orthodontist decides the treatment plan, not the parent.

Plus what AnnieAnoniMouse said 😢.

Boulshired · 09/05/2017 21:59

My DD got into the habit of sucking air through her twin blocks the only way she managed to break the habit was to create a new habit. The moment she realised she was doing she would fiddle with a hair band around her wrist as distraction.

SoupDragon · 09/05/2017 22:00

All three of mine clicked them ( they eventually stopped) and I regularly hear the orthodontist berating assorted children for clicking.