Possible braces and Christmas?

[Dilbertian]

Ds has been offered an orthodontist appointment on 22 Dec, at which he may or may not be fitted with braces.

If he gets braces on 22nd, will it spoil Christmas for him, or will they have settled down by then?

My son's braces settled within a day or 2 but I was surprised by that as they'd said it would take a while. Personally I'd leave it until after Christmas as he may have trouble eating and be in pain over Christmas, which could be pretty miserable.

Have they done moulds of his teeth? They won't just stick braces on without doing that first. It does take a few days to get used to them. Buy painkillers and plan soft foods

If it is an NHS appointment I would snap it up!
My DD found braces painful for the first few days but Christmas is actually ideal as there is plenty of distraction, lie-ins if he can't sleep and you have time at home to tailor the food to what he likes. Lots of trifle, easy on the crackers, no toffee quality streets!
It's not ideal either going straight into school, PE etc. with new braces. At least he can get used to them in the holidays before showing them off to his friends.
Get in ibuprofen and paracetamol, he can take both (get advice from a pharmacist obviously). And bonjela and wax (orthodontist should sell the wax). And get the emergency details from the orthodontist if you have problems like a wire snapping over xmas.

Generally, you see the orthodontist for an assessment. They have to justify the braces if they're on the NHS, with quite a complex assessment process. Then, they decide what treatment to do.

I've had experience of 2 orthodontic practices. The first one did x-rays, moulds and pictures in one appointment, then a follow up appointment to discuss the treatment plan, 1 year hiatus waiting for oral surgery, then brace fitting 2 weeks later.

The second one decided to do x-rays, moulds, and pictures in the same day as brace fitting. That meant that when the orthodontist did a 'quick check' before the braces were fitted, he suddenly realised her roots were too short, so she had to have a removable brace instead.

I prefer the approach of assessment, follow up, treatment.

DD had an initial orthodontist appointment in Feb. They assessed her and said they agreed with her dentist that she needed braces and that she would need a few teeth out. She would have then been seen in July but it was postponed until Dec. At this appointment they took photos and 3D images of her teeth. She will be seen in a couple of months to have them fitted. It will be approx a year from first appointment to getting the braces but COVID has played a part in this.

My son was given new braces yesterday. He seems quite pleased because they are red and green so Christmas colours

They are no more of a barrier to his eating than the previous ones. Frankly we're just pleased he's got them after huge long Covid related delays

I've got braces at the moment and am having an adjustment on the 21st. They are painful for the first few days but then it's ok. It takes a while to get used to eating with them at first

It would be foolish to not take the appointment. Even if he is a bit sore on Christmas, it will be worth it in the end. You need to look at the big picture here.

Ds has had the assessment, imaging and milk teeth extractions. I know that they want to x-ray him again to decide whether the extractions were enough to start the impacted teeth moving in the correct direction - in which case no braces, reassess 'in a few months'. If the teeth are still pointing the wrong way in his jaw, my understanding is that they will fit braces there and then. There was mention of chains to pull the impacted teeth down, rather than just the train tracks. But this was a year ago - maybe I don't remember all the details.

As PPs have said, it's an appointment - grab it! Covid has messed so much up, who knows what will be possible in January.