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Children's health

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Original poster

Twin block braces age 12 help needed!

48 replies

LizzieCa · 08/02/2023 09:33

My 12 year old daughter just got braces last Tuesday. They are ‘twin block braces’ to start with - the ones you can take out for eating or sport- and then she’ll go onto the train track type. We’re having awful trouble getting her to wear them! She totally refused at first saying it was too uncomfortable and hurt and she couldn’t speak etc. She’s got more used to them now - she’s been wearing them over night and after school. We seem a way off her wearing them for 22 hours a day though- she’s refusing to wear them for school. I wondered if anyone has any tips?
I've tried lots of talking and being patient. Even tried bribery with apple AirPods! She's adamant she won't wear them for school, which is obviously where she spends a lot of time.
I rang the orthodontist for advice and they were pretty bad tbh- but the fear of god into me, saying she might need an operation to break her jaw if she doesn't wear them, that there are plenty of other kids on the waiting list who would wear them etc.
help needed!!!!!
Thanks in advance.

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SaffyWall · 08/02/2023 09:50

My DS had twin blocks when he was 12 - they are cumbersome but he perservered and within a few days was able to wear them all the time and his speech improved quickly. He needed some paracetamol and bonjela to help make him more comfy in those first few days. When he was feeling self-concious he used to wear a face mask - it seemed to help him feel like people weren't staring at him.

Ultimately though he just made a decision to commit to wearing them and gritted his teeth! After 16 weeks his over-jet had gone from 15mm to 6mm and he was just wearing the twin blocks at bedtime. So it really was worth the discomfort. Also, during the time he was wearing them at school several more of his class-mates had braces fitted so he didn't feel as self-concious - I'm sure your daughter will find the same. Have you talked to the school? Ours were verey supportive and gave DS access to a more bathroom so he could remove his braces and clean them during the day without an audience - this really helped.

For DS the twin-blocks were a huge success - I'm happy to share a photo if it might help 'inspire' your daughter? The change has been amazing and DS has noticed how much easier he finds it to chew and it seems to have helped with snoring etc.

Original poster

LizzieCa · 08/02/2023 09:56

That's so helpful, thank you. I hadn't thought of speaking to the school. I will definitely do that. And yes I would love to see photos! Thanks, Liz

OP posts:

Theonlyoneiknow · 11/02/2023 10:25

Hi, my DD has been wearing twin blocks for 14 weeks now and her overbite has gone from 15mm to 6mm in that time. They reckon another 3-6 months and she will be done with them and onto train tracks. The first few days are the hardest with the lisping and the drooling. Also handy to have some brace wax in the house.

What helped DD wear them was that she was one of the last few in her class to not have her ears pierced so as soon as braces were mentioned that was the incentive :) I think at this age they need something to encourage them - maybe even a before and after photo or can the orthodontist have a 'word'.

Once the first few days are over it does get much better for them. It's definitely a case of the less you wear them the longer it takes. Hopefully she will succumb to the apple air pods!!! :)

Original poster

LizzieCa · 11/02/2023 10:34

Thanks very much. Yes I think we'll have to go back to the orthodontist for a word!

OP posts:

Icedcider · 11/02/2023 10:43

My Ds got them at 12 and also refused to wear them at school (we also had the jaw surgery threat!). He did eventually become more compliant after a chat from the orthodontist at subsequent visits but he always hated having them. The good news is he tolerates the permanent ones much better and never complains about them.
His orthodontist is wonderful, she put just the right amount of pressure on him to wear them properly, they have a way with teens!

Original poster

LizzieCa · 11/02/2023 10:44

Thank you. I've booked an appointment so fingers' crossed! Hopefully we'll get there.

OP posts:

WreckTangled · 11/02/2023 10:45

Ah it’s horrible. Dd burst into tears when she had hers (she was 10). She’s now on the final stretch of her fixed braces (12 now) and it’s been hard work. I think it’s a good lesson in delayed gratification. She also had to have a supernumerary tooth removed which wasn’t pleasant.

Agree with others that the more she wears them the easier it becomes so she’s just making the discomfort last longer, it’ll get much easier for her to talk with them in too. I gave dd lots of sympathy and made any food that she wanted whilst acknowledging how shit it was for her. Ultimately I told her she was lucky to have them because I was never allowed them and don’t have straight teeth which means I have no photos of me smiling and hate my teeth/smile so much.

Has she got any friends who’ve got to have similar? I found as dd was so young when she got them she was the first of her friends but now lots at school are having them and they talk a lot about it which makes them feel a bit better. Also with half term it’s a good time for her to get used to them without worrying about school and friends etc

Southstand · 11/02/2023 10:50

Lizzie I empathise as ds has twin blocks at 13. I'd echo what a pp said about talking to the school and I think a talk from the orthodontist might help too. Ds's personal support teacher/year head remembered having twin blocks and was just fab with him and arranged for the teachers not to call him to answer in class for a short while. Ds was very sensitive about speaking and that really helped. He's two months in and things are settling down.

Try to find out what exactly is causing the anguish about school in particular.

Original poster

LizzieCa · 11/02/2023 10:51

Thanks- it's great to hear these experiences and that I'm not the only one!

OP posts:

Southstand · 11/02/2023 10:53

You're definitely not the only one!

Fizbosshoes · 11/02/2023 10:55

My DD had them when she was 10. The first few days she needed max dose of calpol/nurofen and speaking was really tricky. She is pretty quiet anyway and I think (honestly) she was virtually mute at school.
However as pp have said the progress was pretty quick. After 12 or 14 weeks she had gone from 8.5mm overjet to 3mm and then only needed to wear them at night, which was a big relief for her.
They are clunky snd take a lot of getting used to though.

Southstand · 11/02/2023 10:57

When our orthodontist told ds that his speech might be affected until he got used to them, I thought he'd burst into tears in the chair. But the lower jaw was already causing speech difficulties for certain words and as the Ortho said sometimes you have to have things seem a little worse before they get much much better. It's hard to think long-term when you're only 12!

vjg13 · 11/02/2023 17:07

They do seem brutal at first, my daughter had them, but they do work absolute miracles and you do see a big improvement quickly. My daughter never wore them for eating but was committed to wearing them all the time. They do progress to night time only wearing quite quickly.

Theonlyoneiknow · 12/02/2023 10:38

It's not easy OP, hopefully she will see the light and start wearing them. Twin blocks are a crazy thing to look at IMHO!

zippyswife · 22/03/2023 19:23

@LizzieCa how’s your daughter doing now? Ds (12) got his last week and was great wearing them despite the pain- said he’d persevere with pain but people are laughing and saying things at school and he wants to give up entirely now. I honestly don’t know what to do. Is your daughter wearing them at school yet?

riotlady · 22/03/2023 19:37

I had them and hated them, then train tracks after. It was bloody awful but worked wonders on my teeth and I’ve had compliments from dentists on how they turned out

winesolveseverything · 22/03/2023 20:00

@zippyswife

Hi there, joining this thread as we are about to start this journey with my just turned 13 year old. You are a few weeks ahead of us- his are due to be fitted at start of May.

Orthodontist says it'll be the twin blocks, then 4 teeth out, then train tracks.
At the moment he is ok about the braces but not keen on the teeth extraction bit.

However I am dreading school. He's been picked on in the past, and still gets hassle now although it has improved a bit. I know if he gets called names then he'll refuse them too so I do sympathise with you.

I'm thinking of getting in touch with the school a few days before to make them aware and raise my concerns- they obviously know about the bullying previously.

He has a 1cm overbite that needs correcting. I'm hoping that 3 months of religiously wearing them might see the worst of it corrected..

Happy to join you in solidarity (even if it's a few weeks away still)

WreckTangled · 22/03/2023 20:06

@zippyswife dd got hers at a similar time (near a half term) and I allowed her to not wear them at school for the week or two prior to that (just at home) and then said she had to wear them all the time in the half term. This eased her in a bit and by the time she’d been wearing them constantly over the half term the lisp etc wasn’t as noticeable, might be worth a go? It’s so hard. I’m grateful dd was younger as she only needed her block braces in for a few months of secondary then it was time for train tracks.

WhoAmIWhoAmI24601 · 22/03/2023 20:17

We went through it twice, firstly DD and then DS it was a battle both times but the compromise was that they didn’t wear it to school but as soon as they were home they would wear them all the time day or night except for eating. It did its job, their overbite went from 12mm down to 2mm from memory.

BasketFlowers · 22/03/2023 20:21

Dd also wouldn't wear them to school. Compromised with wearing them as soon as hot home and overnight. She did actually still make good progress and then had train tracks and now has beautiful teeth!

Cocoaone · 22/03/2023 20:31

DS has twin blocks. Overjet was 13mm I think, so quite large. Has had them for 6 weeks now, but speaking is still quite tricky (not for DS, but for me to understand ) however the Orthodontist agreed to DS not wearing them at school, after many tears in the chair. I was dubious at first, but did some Googling and came across this research paper which indicates no significant difference in outcome between 12 hours a day and 22 hours a day

https://kevinobrienorthoblog.com/patients-twin-blocks-full-time/

DS is happy for it to take longer if it reduces the comments at school. And I didn't want to there to be an impact on confidence at school either. We've got the first appointment in a couple of weeks, so we'll see what the impact is so far. DS is generally wearing 3pm - 8am during the week and all weekend, just removing for eating and brushing

Theonlyoneiknow · 26/03/2023 13:38

We were back at the clinic last week as DD twin block braces broke and needed to be fixed. She has gone down to 2mm now - they said she will get her train tracks in July. I fear that these might be worse than the twin blocks (at least they can come out) - any thoughts? The difference in her teeth and face structure from wearing the twin blocks is pretty amazing though! She could originally get her whole finger inbetween her top and bottom jaw

BasketFlowers · 26/03/2023 20:28

Train tracks is easy. They won't affect the speech or eating in the way that twin blocks do.

WreckTangled · 27/03/2023 07:34

Agree. The worst thing about train tracks is the pain after having them tightened and the ulcers from them rubbing but neither last long and can easily be sorted with pain killers and wax.

Ruffpuff · 27/03/2023 07:38

Well, it’s not really the orthodontist’s job to get your 12 year old to realise if she doesn’t wear them then she’ll need her jaw broken!

Any consolation, I had train track braces which were beyond excruciating for the for few days so I feel her pain- but she has to suck it up !

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