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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think braces break and sometimes it’s unavoidable for the child?

38 replies

MumEeeee · 15/02/2024 13:18

DS has braces and the orthodontist today threatened to remove them if they break again. They’ve broken twice.
He’s conscientious and follows the rules, keeps them very clean (confirmed in check ups) and eats the food they say.
Two days ago the back bracket popped off when he was eating rice. Soft food, our theory is it was maybe a teeth clash moment. His teeth are unusually crowded and I’d guess have more pressure, there’s also some overlapping of teeth.
When he just had them, about six months ago, two brackets popped off. One they said was just the pressure at the front but the other at the back (same place) was his fault. I was with him this time also, he was eating a smooth peanut butter soft bread sandwich.
They won’t listen than he hasn’t been eating crunchy food or gnawing on bone.
Has anyone else had this issues with an nhs orthodontist?

OP posts:
TheSnowyOwl · 15/02/2024 13:19

Sounds like a poor dentist. Can you change or is that just not possible?

Original poster
MumEeeee · 15/02/2024 13:20

It’s an orthodontist and the only one in area. Plus I think even if we traveled the waiting times are huge. We waited 1.5 years for this referral

OP posts:
Alwayswonderedwhy · 15/02/2024 13:21

Yes. My son's orthodontist was quite rude to him and strongly implied he'd been eating chewy sweets etc. His braces had been on less than 24hrs and obviously wasn't attached properly on one of his teeth.

doppelgangermirror · 15/02/2024 13:21

DD has had two brackets come off over 12 months. The first time they were really nice about it, the second time she got a bit of a roasting and was quite upset as she has been really good with them.

justcallmebettty · 15/02/2024 13:22

I had braces many moons ago as a teenager and they broke a couple of time.

i remember the wire popping out and lodging itself in the side of my mouth. Painful!

if be having a word with the orthodontist about his attitude.

SecondChancesAtLife · 15/02/2024 13:22

My ds’s broke several times and his orthodontist was fine about it (nhs)

You just have a nasty one unfortunately!

justcallmebettty · 15/02/2024 13:23

Or her attitude!

Mnetcurious · 15/02/2024 13:23

Yanbu. I have two kids with braces. They’ve broken several times even though they’re careful to do everything properly. We’ve never been threatened with removal, they just fix them. They are NHS patients too.

Sophierx89 · 15/02/2024 13:24

I had braces as a teen (20+ years ago!) I never had any issues with my braces breaking and my teeth were very overcrowded so I had 4 removed before the braces were even fitted! My DD is on the waiting list for braces and has already been told that she will need teeth removed due to overcrowding! Sounds as though the dentist is at fault in your case.

Lizzieregina · 15/02/2024 13:25

It definitely happens a fair bit. All of my kids had braces and the orthodontist just sorted it out. Sounds like yours is an unpleasant type!

Galeforcewindatmywindow · 15/02/2024 13:26

As an adult I broke my retainer... Apparently I grind my teeth. Cost me £102...and got quite a telling off.

Toddlerteaplease · 15/02/2024 13:27

justcallmebettty · 15/02/2024 13:22

I had braces many moons ago as a teenager and they broke a couple of time.

i remember the wire popping out and lodging itself in the side of my mouth. Painful!

if be having a word with the orthodontist about his attitude.

I had them pop off a few times as well. The wires frequently came loose.

Odingodof · 15/02/2024 13:30

Nasty. Complain.

CharlotteFlax · 15/02/2024 13:32

DD has broken hers about four times in 15 months. No one has given us a hard time about it at all! We do live in a big city with several NHS orthodontists nearby though, so maybe they're not as swamped as other places.

TheCompactPussycat · 15/02/2024 13:37

Both of my children had braces and I think DS's bracket came off once and DD's twice. It happens. The orthodontist was fine about it.

They've also broken their retainers on occasion. DS's simply cracked and cost me £75 to replace (thankfully a few weeks before he turned 18 or it would have been £150). DD was messing about in the bathroom whilst holding hers a couple of weeks later - I could have cried when I heard the unmistakeable crack of snapping retainer!

tarheelbaby · 15/02/2024 13:38

Your orthodontist sounds unpleasant and unrealistic; push back on this. I am sure your DS is not the only one coming in for repairs.

My DD16 has a brace. She is pedantically careful but even so sometimes, for no apparent reason, brackets pop off or the wire comes loose.

I think the materials used nowadays are inferior, especially the 'glue' used to stick on the brackets.

I had a brace back in the day. It NEVER broke! No one made anywhere near the fuss that orthodontists make now. I avoided chewing gum because it was uncomfortable but otherwise I ate whatever I wanted including crunchy things and ice. I brushed twice a day with a manual brush. There was no worry that my teeth would be stained or that the brace would break in any way.

stayathomer · 15/02/2024 13:41

When our niece was with us her braces broke. She is exemplary in how she looks after her teeth and the food she eats and drinks she has. Didn’t know it was a thing and she said it’s not a regular thing but happens enough. Her friends that have braces have the same

Pinkfrlls · 15/02/2024 13:49

Braces were differently constructed in the old days. They were less likely to come adrift. My children with more modern braces though seemed to eat almost whatever they liked short of toffees and biting into whole apples. I think one had wires come adrift once. The orthodontist sounds quite peculiar but all our experiences were with private orthodontists.

atomicgecko · 15/02/2024 15:20

I had braces as an adult and had a difficult tooth that had the bracket pop off 2 or 3 times because of the funny pressure/angle. It wasn’t a big deal, got the impression they were expecting the tooth to be a problem. Not reallty fair of the orthodontist to be critical if it’s a tooth angle/pressure issue.

Original poster
MumEeeee · 15/02/2024 19:49

Thank you, I appreciate the replies and the context.
I think I need to start going in with him and being present to advocate for him. It’s a shame, he’s independent and confident and really has no need for me to mummy him through it.

OP posts:
Original poster
MumEeeee · 15/02/2024 19:50

DS btw also had 4 teeth removed. The problem teeth are the one next to the gap that’s a little receded then the very back one on the same side. I think it’s the pressure on those

OP posts:
underneaththeash · 15/02/2024 19:52

This happened to us. I reminded the dentist that as we were paying for them. braces were covered as "products" under the consumer act 2015 and therefore had to be durable.

They fixed them FOC

Original poster
MumEeeee · 15/02/2024 19:55

I think being NHS doesn’t help. First we were called in, offered them really fast if we paid. Waited 1.5 years as we didn’t pay thousands. There’s certainly a push to both up sell and go private there, and we’ve had the talk about quality differences. I just don’t have thousands to invest in an otherwise free treatment at the same place

OP posts:
SecretSquare · 15/02/2024 19:57

My DD is THE most compliant brace wearer that ever lived. She's had. Are things go wrong, not her fault at all. 'Luckily' we go private and there's no issue with mending anything as and when it occurs (obviously this should definitely apply to NHS too!!!!)

Bargello · 15/02/2024 19:58

Has he had teeth removed? One of my friend's daughters had terrible trouble with a wire bit which bridged a gap made by removing a tooth to solve crowding. It broke very regularly. My DD had a type of brace called a functional appliance which was like a plate which clipped in and out, she got into the habit of clicking it in and out of her teeth with her tongue and it broke lots too...

The orthodontist was nice about it though!!