Braces - has anyone had this issue and if so, what helped resolve things?

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Hi,

Looking for any help/advice on this.

DD started treatment at dental hospital in October last year. She was initially fitted with a functional appliance as 1st step in her treatment but things haven't worked out. At her 2nd appointment after being fitted with the braces on her 1st appointment, her 10mm over jet had 2 mm movement. 2nd appointment, no movement, and her most recent appointment no movement again. Consultant feels the braces aren't being worn enough, yet I can't do much more to get DD to keep her braces in more. She cannot/will not eat or drink with them in so removes them whenever she eats/drinks, and often forgets to put them back in. I've been constantly having to remind her to put her braces back in, but I'm not always around to do it 24/7. She flicks the braces in & out a lot, and again, I'm having to remind her not to do that (information leaflet explained this before treatment began). She's also constantly slurping to clear the saliva build up. This was something she was told at the beginning would happen but it should settle down in a day or 2 once she'd got used to them. She's been doing the slurping for months and says she can't stop it despite consultant saying she shouldn't be doing this.

The upshot is treatment has stopped with a further appointment to be confirmed in November to see if DD is more willing to work with the treatment rather than against it.

My concern is just how unwilling DD is to follow what she's been told to do when wearing the braces, and having tried to get to the bottom of things, I think the slurping is what's causing the main reluctance to work with the treatment. The slurping is constant and is annoying, but I've never told DD this, I've just ignored it etc. as I have been trying to being really positive with her about the braces. I suspect her constant slurping is annoying her and those in her class, and it turns out she's been taking it out at school and not wearing the braces then - her teacher made a comment about how she hadn't been slurping for a while (if she's not slurping it's not in!). So all the harping on at her when at home has been pointless as she's not willing to keep them in because they are annoying to both her and others in her class. And it comes down to the slurping habit she's had since it was 1st fitted.

She really needs the treatment and I'm worried that she'll miss out on this because of the annoyance over the slurping habit. Has anyone had this happen with their child's treatment? If so, how did they overcome the issue? I expected the adjustments/tightening and pain to be the main stumbling block but this has me stumped and I've no idea how to help DD stop this. She's adamant she can't stop slurping and it's the main reason she's not wearing the braces as long as is needed to have any effect. My worry is we'll be in the same position come November and she'll be discharged from treatment if she still won't wear them when she's supposed to.

Any help/suggestions if you've has similar problems would be most appreciated.

Would she respond to being told that if this treatment fails, the only option will be to wait until she's at least 18 and have surgery? If she's not concerned by her teeth then there's not much you can do other than make her aware of the consequences. A 10mm over jet is pretty big, the chances of her damaging her front teeth are high.

Did you say how old she is? I can't see. Tough for you OP.

The reason that she is slurping is that her mouth isn't used to it and that's because she isn't wearing it enough to get used to it

Can you agree that over Easter break she will give it a shot to wear it the whole time and then that should fix the slurpy issue?

Fwiw, so many people she is at school with will also have braces and it's really not a big deal - everyone will be feeling just as self conscious. She just needs to get on with it (easier said than done)

My dd had braces and we had to pay a fortune for them as we weren't in the uk. Thousands they were and paying for every tightening appointment.

She did find it very uncomfortable at first to eat. But she kept in in 24 hours a day, except to rinse it. We didn't give her a choice because we could of bought a small car with the money!

DD had a fixed appliance, can they do that?

Thanks for the quick replies.

DD is 10, soon to be 11, so far she's the only person in her class with braces, with only one other person in whole school with a different brace so I think the focus it brings her is causing the main reluctance. That, and the fact that I'm sure people do find the slurping irritating & if her classmates are anything like DD they'll have told her just how annoying it is.

I've done the whole lecture talk bit about how lucky she is to get the chance of doing this now so she doesn't pay and avoids surgery later - it's just not sinking in.

I did genuinely think she was wearing them enough because I'm continually reminding her to put them in - the fact she takes them out at school & I can't do anything about that is what makes it so frustrating. She's also not with me for long stretches of time so that's when she's getting away with not wearing them.

I'm gutted for her, she really has no idea the huge difference this will make to her teeth. If I can't find a way to get her to stop the slurping I just know she'll be discharged as the slurping = annoying her/classmates = taking it out as often as she can get away with it = no treatment. She's just got stuck with the habit (as I agree there's no need for her to still be doing it this far into her treatment) and nothing I say will convince her that she can stop it.

I just hope the passage of time between now & November will give her the chance to mature a little & change her attitude towards it.

My dd was ten too. It does make it harder as they are very definitely in the minority. She did find a few of her friends said that they wanted to get braces too. Fickle children!

Dd thinks she's the bees knees now she's in year seven as the people who do have braces, seem to notice her straight teeth.

My other dd had to have glasses which also cost a bomb. She looks after them like they are the Crown Jewels.

The cost is such a big thing isn't it? The brace itself cost £150 but DD managed to break it on day 1 & then the constant taking in & out & flicking it out with her tongue has broken 3 out of the 4 wired section (which I didn't know til the consultant showed me yesterday). This was just the 1 st one though - she wasn't due to move onto the fixed appliance until this functional one had done the job of closing the over jet gap.

Fingers crossed she'll be better able to handle things come November.