To make DD sell her iPad to pay for her braces?

[MinesABabyGuiness]

DD (almost 14) had a removable top braces fitted 5 weeks ago. She is notorious for breaking and ruining her things and drives me crazy with her careless attitude so I begged her to look after them. I have just found it snapped in half on our bathroom sink, next to a pair of pliers. So not an accident.

I am furious. It's £70 to replace it, which at the moment I don't really have spare for stupid things like this. Would it be unreasonable of me to get her to sell something of hers to pay for the damage? She already has no mobile phone because she has broken the screen twice and I'm refusing to pay for a third time.

Ah sorry, MinesABabyGuinness - I did say I could be way off the mark!
Am rather over invested as we are looking at paying for expensive braces, and I can foresee similar happening with my own 14 year old... good luck with the dentist on Thursday.

I'm going to leave it with the orthodontist to have a word with her, I've told DD if she doesn't follow what she has been told then they may end up being removed. But if she wants to keep them then she is going to have to get used to consequences for not even attempting to look after them.

Op it sounds like removable braces don't suit your dd. Why not get permanent ones and chalk it up to experience

That's not how it works. I'm not an expert but I do have two children who are currently seeing an orthodontist - i'm never away from the place.

Removable blocks as I understand it are about reshaping the jaw, correcting an overbite/underbite and making sure that the patient's teeth are all biting together in the correct way.

"Train tracks" or fixed braces are about repositioning the individual teeth, making them less crooked or protruding or spreading them more evenly across the mouth.

Two different types of braces for two different jobs. Some children may need both. Others one type only. Parents cannot "tell" the ortho what to do and what treatment the want unless they are footing the bill. It doesn't work like that.

MinesABaby - I would ask the ortho about removing the blocks for eating. Neither of mine had to wear the blocks while eating, it's a very messy business with blocks and the ortho was of the opinion that 20 minutes three times a day wasn't going to make the slightest difference. So that made it easier. As long as they are wearing their blocks as often as they can they will work - I think that orthos come down on the "wear them at all times and NEVER remove" side because they know what 12-15 year olds are like and hearing "take them out for eating" will mean they hardly ever have them in. My kids were also told to take them out for PE, especially when playing something like hockey or football.

Also totally disagree that children should be free to choose. If it's medically or dentally necessary then it happens. Getting funding for orthodontics on the NHS isn't automatic, it has to be approved centrally and they will only treat children free of charge where there are issues which could really affect their teeth in the future. If it's just cosmetic, the parent will have to pay. So with something which could save my child a lot of hassle or pain in the future i'm afraid they don't get the choice.

Brit i am extremely grateful we have had funding for this from the NHS. And thoroughly explained to DD before she got them that stress lucky to have this for free so needed to respect that.

I would be more annoyed if I had paid a lot of money for them though!

Bless. For all they’re fucking frustrating, I wouldn’t go back to being that age for any amount of money.

Now she’s told you what happened, I’d just tell her that yes, I’d have been annoyed they were bent because she didn’t put them in the box for PE, but I’d rather she’d told me so we could get them straightened by the Ortho on Thursday.

Just try talking to her, telling her that you understand it’s a faff putting them in the box, but now she can see how easily they’re broken (and they are) that it’s just something she has to do because you can’t afford to keep replacing them.

...and tell her not to go near her mouth with pliers. Ever. That if there’s any problem you and her Dad will take her gomget it fixed, without a fuss. That’s too important to mess with.

Have a 🍷. It doesn’t fix the problem but it takes the edge off!

Personally I don’t think taking them out to eat is the high road to hell either, but, it does ask for trouble from a losing/breaking POV.

I can’t believe how fragile the retainers are compared to the one I had.

They are free on NHS BUT not if you wilfully break them!!! I agree OP, get her to pay for them.

Braces are horrible. They are easy to break, painful and you get teased for them.

They are so common now that nobody bats an eyelid, same with glasses. At long last!!

OP I had a removable top brace, I ate with it in and cleaned it after. Takes getting used to but after a while feels completely normal. Please tell your DD it will all be worth it. My eldest has a beautiful smile now and has been so good with her retainers. Now, 3 years on from removal and at 17 she still wears them twice a week! DD2 is in the midst but knows it's the right time to act.

My son had a horrendous overbite. I could wedge my index finger in-between his upper and lower teeth with them closed. He had train tracks. He also had adjustable head gear to wear at night that gradually got tightened to pull his upper teeth into alignment. He has gorgeous teeth!

BFF's daughter had what is known as a 'Herbst appliance' to correct her extreme overbite. It had the double effect of pulling her upper teeth into place and stretching her lower jaw into correct position.

A lot has to do (I believe) with the age of the child when they get braces. DS and BFF DD were both around 11- or 12-ish when they started.

So, yes, you can have permanent braces to correct an overbite.

"Oh bless, it must be so hard for her/teenagers have it so tough these days...." WTF?!

Am I the only one reading £70 worth of retainer a) not looked after and b) deliberately destroyed?

FUck being nice about it, the riot act would be read in no uncertain terms and yes I would be selling the damned iPad! Does she realise that those teeth she hates and is teased about (I sympathise, I had the same problem) will never improve if she continues to act like this?

I was a dental nurse for 9 years and believe me plenty of teens lose/break their appliances. A common one was that they took them out to eat (folded them in a serviette, which was promptly thrown or binned by accident) which is probably why Orthodontist said to keep them in!. I would definitely give her the benefit of the doubt this time, tell Orthodontist that they have been lost and she will take more care next time. Then threaten her to death . A colourful denture box with stickers all over will help. (As one poster said, a box in school bag, one in lounge, one in bedroom etc.) You can't let her off now as she has started treatment, that would be a terrible thing to do. Good luck x