Twin block braces

[Mumtr]

Can anyone tell me your child’s experience? Does the speech eventually improve? Do children adjust? My 12 year old has been recommended them.

My dd had these fitted yesterday and I was coming on here for support and positive stories. It’s a shock and she cried (I did too but hid it!!). She can’t speak without a massive lisp but I think this is v individual and depends on the issue - she has a big overbite. She starts secondary school Monday so we are taking it all v slowly and trying it outside of school for now. We see the orthodontist end of October so giving it a try until then but I’m not sending her to school in them if she can’t speak comfortably so we’ll see…

Yes I would wear only at home just now. Home and nights. To start with. And get her to read books aloud to herself so she gets used to it. I am no authority as I haven’t got any experience but I think that’s a good start point

I’d see a third orthodontist and see which option they suggest 😬

My gut feeling is that extractions will be a much easier process and might end up being necessary one day in future anyway if her teeth are crowded, but twin blocks will probably give a more attractive face shape (but be very hard to live with).

By the way, braces can scratch the inside of your cheeks. There is a product called dental wax you can put on to prevent this. My dentist forgot to tell me it exists and I had ulcers on my inner cheeks before I discovered it exists, so thought would mention it!

DS13 got twin blocks in June. He had quite a lot of pain for the first day but none at all after that. He developed a sore inside his lip which he treated with salt water, Bonjela, dental wax and painkillers and it cleared up in a day or so. There was also dribbling and slurping, but that stopped pretty quickly too..

He was told to take them out for toothbrushing, eating and swimming, and for sports that require a mouthguard.

He starts at a new school next Monday and I suspect is a bit apprehensive about his speech, luckily he'll have lots of friends from his old school with him to provide support.

He started with a 15mm overjet and now he can push his lower teeth quite far in front of his top teeth. His profile has completely changed too, he looked instantly older as soon as he put the braces in. He was told he would need them for 9-12 months, then 18 months of train tracks. He's obviously not loving the treatment but they are so effective he's really glad he's doing it.

There is an excellent longrunning thread here somewhere that I read for info and tips. One poster shared photos of her DD's amazing progress which you might find encouraging.

Thank you. He doesn’t really have an overjet. I think both front and lower jaw are set back further than where they should be which is maybe causing the crowding. The top teeth cover the lower teeth but don’t actually stick out. So I think he is relatively happy with how things are for now. I think if there is a big overjet it’s easier to convince them it’s worth it. Great to hear stories of kids who have managed though.