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6yo has been referred to orthodontist.

40 replies

EustaciaVye · 21/11/2013 18:10

Tiny mouth so not enough room for adult teeth. The two top ones have filled the gap from the four baby teeth and there is no space for the others to grow. Apparently her molars are affected too and one hasn't erupted properly as there isn't enough room. Finally the bottom jaw sticks out more than the top ...can't remember if that is overbite or under?

Feel quite sad. I had orthodontic treatment at 13 for overcrowding. Had teeth out and fixed braces for two years. But, dd is six!

can you give me an idea what to expect?

should also add that dd is very scared of the dentist so this isn't going to be easy. Sad

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breatheslowly · 22/11/2013 21:13

I was spotted by my DB's orthodontist age 7 and my parents were told that I had to have treatment quickly. Initially I had 4 baby teeth extracted to stop them damaging my adult teeth as they came through. Then when I was about 12 I had a removable brace with a wheel to turn in the middle to make my upper jaw spread. At some point I had 4 adult teeth extracted (premolars) and then train tracks for 2 years (14-16 I think). I think that the early treatment was designed to stop my adult teeth from getting damaged and ensure that I had enough room to mean that I didn't have to have more than 4 adult teeth out.

I don't remember most of it being particularly traumatic. My advice would be to make sure that any dentist doing extractions on your DD is used to dealing with children and has sufficient patience as I had an awful dentist, when I had teeth removed at 8, who didn't manage to get the anesthetic to work properly and that was pretty horrible and I refused to go back to him. But I am sure that is pretty rare.

I also agree with Mrsmorton. I have a permanent retainer on my bottom teeth. It has been there since I was 16 and I am now 35. My DH had orthodontics, but no permanent retainer and my DB had his permanent retainer removed. Both now have some crowding of their bottom front teeth. I am very lucky that my dentist refused to remove it when I asked and said that even if it came off he would put another one on.

EustaciaVye · 23/11/2013 20:36

That's useful Breathslowly. Thanks

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mawbroon · 25/11/2013 14:17

DS1 is just 8yo and a year into his orthodontic treatment.

He has a very narrow and high palate and there would not be room for all his adult teeth if it was left. His bottom jaw was also bigger than the top, he could not put his bottom teeth behind the top ones.

He has braces now (top and bottom) to expand the palate and lower jaw and he wears headgear at night to draw out the middle section of his face which was very flat, restricting his nostrils.

This is a very common orofacial structure in people who are tongue tied. DS1's was never picked up as a baby/toddler, but when he started having gastric trouble aged 5yo, I discovered he was tied (it was posterior, so not obvious, but also a substantial upper lip tie).

A tied tongue cannot make the correct swallowing movements and the palate, which is normally smoothed out by the tongue in utero and in the early months of the baby's life, does not flatten out properly. He was tongue thrusting too, which meant his tongue was going forwards instead of up to the roof of his mouth when he swallowed, which was causing an open bite.

I would suggest that you investigate the possibility of tongue tie. What you describe is very typical in tied people. Orthodontic work which is done without correcting the root cause (the tongue tie) can be less effective or even become "undone" over the years.

Be aware that most HCPs do not understand about tongue tie. Some have taken a specialist interest, but at the moment, they are few and far between.

I was poo pooed by the docs when I said that ds1's many problems were caused by his ties and our NHS dentist shrugged when I mentioned the high palate. I went privately in the end, and revision followed by orthodontics has been great for ds1, he is a different child altogether now he is free of gastric problems, is eating better, sleeping better, breathing better etc. We still have a long way to go with the orthodontics, but I can really see progress being made. Totally worth it IMO.

EustaciaVye · 02/12/2013 13:26

That's amazing mawbroon. :)

I don't think DD has a tongue tie but will def have a peek.

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EustaciaVye · 15/01/2014 15:54

Orthodontist confirmed underbite, overcrowding, top adult teeth not coming out low enough. He wasnt sure whether to wait and see before treatment in early teens or to do something so he has referred us to consultant orthodontist at a hospital.

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madwomanintheatt1c · 15/01/2014 16:00

Dd1 was referred at 7. She ended up having surgery in the max fax dept at the hosp to remove un erupted teeth. Day patient, no bother. The rest of the orthodontic treatment waited until she was 11. She's 14 soon and heaves are due off in April after three years Grin. Apart from a couple of days of discomfort, it's all been very easy. She's looking forward to getting rid of them, though ;-)

In the interim she just saw the orthodontist every 6-12 months.

madwomanintheatt1c · 15/01/2014 16:01

Heaves? Braces. Nice autocorrect Hmm

EustaciaVye · 15/01/2014 20:46
Smile
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EustaciaVye · 29/01/2014 16:30

So, DD is 7 now.

She has just lost a molar. Seems incredibly early. I am glad we are on the waiting list for consultant ortho.

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jabberwocky · 29/01/2014 16:44

I was married to a pediatric dentist for 7 years and worked in the office part of that time so saw and heard about similar cases. I agree that an expander may be suggested and, while they are a bit of a pain to keep up with turning the key and all, they do a great job.

The other thing I remember is that children who are "mouth breathers" tend to develop an underbite. So evaluating the child for large adenoids and tonsils is sometimes recommended.

The thing you want to try to avoid is the 4 tooth extraction that used to be a very common way of dealing with this. I hate the idea of pulling permanent teeth for any reason. Also, the children who started intervention early did the best.

Having said that, I took ds1 to two dentists because a tooth next to his front teeth was coming in really high and crooked. They both said to wait and it did straighten up on its own to my great surprise. He was 8 at the time.

outtolunchagain · 29/01/2014 22:39

Ds3 has been referred for an overbite , he is12 and has only just lost his last baby tooth.

How do I judge how good the referral is , so far I am unimpressed it feels like a sausage factory.( see other thread)Should I ask for private referral.What questions should I ask .?

EustaciaVye · 01/02/2014 10:33

Thanks Jabber :)

outtolunch - I was given the choice of a nhs referral, or private (to make it happen quicker). If you arent happy perhaps it would be worth paying for a private referral elsewhere for an assessment. If the problem is bad enough they can then treat on the nhs I think. I am not 100% sure though.

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ggirl · 01/02/2014 10:51

Interesting thread.
Ds 11 had orthodontic appt last week ,2nd appt ,last one was a yr ago .
He has had all his adult teeth through for nearly a yr now and one top tooth next to front one protrudes a lot.
Have been told by ortho that he has too many teeth and will need extractions.
His bottom teeth look fine and his top look fine to me except this one protruding tooth so does that mean the xray showed more teeth are about to decend?
I am a bit worried about the extraction process.

EustaciaVye · 11/03/2014 13:51

Saw consultant ortho today who confirmed dd will need work to widen her top jaw but he wants to wait 6 months to see what happens in that time.

He also wants her to stop sucking her thumb (she almost has except for in her sleep).

Glad to be in the system but a little worried about what may lay ahead. I asked if it would be a plate brace and he indicated it would be more than that.

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EustaciaVye · 13/11/2016 11:03

This is an old post but I wanted to update in case anyone was worried and came across it googling.
DD has had a rapid palate expansion which involved turning a key 2x a day to widen the top jaw. It sure was rapid and left a huge gap in the front teeth.
They widened as far as they could but it still isnt wide enough for two top teeth to come down so they are now considering extracting two adult teeth under a GA to give them a chance - they are very high above her two front teeth at the moment.

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