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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.

OP posts:

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TiredandLate · 27/03/2023 08:04

Exact same situation here. Dd completely refused at 11/12. It didn't help that she got them just before starting secondary and all the nerves around that. She's now mid year 8 and we are actually back to the orthodontist today for a last chance visit to see what her options are. The surgery has been mentioned too and at the time dd said she'd prefer that!

Susiesue61 · 27/03/2023 08:26

DS 2 had twin blocks and we were very matter of fact - he got one day off school to get used to them and then wore them properly! The orthodontist team at the hospital were very strict about hygiene etc too. He is now 17 and looks completely different, his teeth are beautiful 🤩 Worth persevering. For what it's worth, DS1 was offered them too but he's a very different character and we declined them. He had train tracks and his teeth are fine

vjg13 · 27/03/2023 08:27

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.

Also many of the kids will have train track type braces and are seen as no big deal by kids.

@TiredandLate There is a crucial time window for twin blocks before the growth spurt of puberty.

TiredandLate · 28/03/2023 19:16

vjg13 · 27/03/2023 08:27

Also many of the kids will have train track type braces and are seen as no big deal by kids.

@TiredandLate There is a crucial time window for twin blocks before the growth spurt of puberty.

Show quote history

Yep I know. The orthodontist has said she's ok to have them again but she knows it's the last chance.

Chez06 · 23/01/2024 16:38

Hi, sorry this was a while ago, but how did it go not wearing the twin blocks at school?
my daughter has just been referred for them and anxiety wise she will never manage school with them. It’s worrying me sick. She has an overjet of 10mm

WhamBamThankU · 23/01/2024 17:40

My DS is having fixed twin blocks which I imagine is worse. Can you not use the threat of that to get them to wear the removable ones?

AbsentCause · 23/01/2024 17:48

I talked to dd about it a lot, and explained she could do it quickly, or slowly, or take the less good option. That it was her choice if she wore them, I couldn’t make her, but if she was going for it then the orthodontist said would take less than six months.

And that’s how it worked out, she got them autumn half term, and out in February half term. I did offer the incentive of a new phone, if she managed to reduce the overbite by half by the first follow up appointment, which helped a lot. Because she did that in 6 weeks, and then she had less than half way left to go, and that felt doable.

TiredandLate · 24/01/2024 08:44

Hi all, not the OP but dd wore the twin blocks this time and they worked really well, I think at the end the gap was 12mm smaller. She now has standard train track braces and is doing fine with them too.

Chez06 · 24/01/2024 14:58

But has anyone used them all the time apart from school? For certain reasons school absolutely won’t happen and I won’t make her…. I’ve read a few reports saying they can be affective if worn about 17 hours

Chez06 · 24/01/2024 14:59

Also can anyone please tell me what options they were given besides a twin block? We’d ideally like to go straight to track braces (even if her teeth won’t look as good)

TiredandLate · 24/01/2024 17:29

Chez06 · 24/01/2024 14:59

Also can anyone please tell me what options they were given besides a twin block? We’d ideally like to go straight to track braces (even if her teeth won’t look as good)

You can try her only wearing them outside school but the results might not be as good/might be slower. The orthodontist might also stop treatment if your dd is not committed to it (this happened to my dd the first time)

My dds other option was jaw surgery.

HalfasleepChrisintheMorning · 24/01/2024 17:47

Dentist here. DS11 currently has twin blocks. His overjet has gone from 10mm to 4mm since August.
They have to wear them all the time except to eat and clean. It’s painful at first- ibuprofen helps. If the patient isn’t motivated to wear them then you can’t force them and there’s no point doing it if they aren’t going to wear them.
Correcting a huge overjet with fixed braces is much, much harder. Twin blocks are the treatment of choice for increased overjet.
Very proud of DS for wearing his- he’s motivated because he didn’t like how his teeth looked. Does your DD like her teeth now? That’s your motivation if she doesn’t.

WhamBamThankU · 24/01/2024 17:48

HalfasleepChrisintheMorning · 24/01/2024 17:47

Hi, would you mind me asking why fixed ones are harder? My sons orthodontist didn't give removable as an option. Thanks

HalfasleepChrisintheMorning · 25/01/2024 07:47

It depends on the case, but twin blocks are a good way to decrease overjet. If you weren’t given the option, it’s not suitable.

Chez06 · 25/01/2024 08:05

She doesn’t mind her teeth at the moment, but we don’t know what they’ll look like in the future.
Her anxiety is bad to the point of specialist referral and she’s just started secondary school early, so she absolutely will not be able to cope wearing them at school.

WhamBamThankU · 25/01/2024 08:12

HalfasleepChrisintheMorning · 25/01/2024 07:47

It depends on the case, but twin blocks are a good way to decrease overjet. If you weren’t given the option, it’s not suitable.

He's having twin blocks, but fixed to his teeth instead of removable

HalfasleepChrisintheMorning · 25/01/2024 18:51

Chez06 · 25/01/2024 08:05

I guess all elective cosmetic surgery takes a degree of resilience on the part of the patient. Maybe orthodontic treatment isn’t right for your DD at the moment until she’s in a better place with her mental health?

Original poster

LizzieCa · 26/02/2024 07:46

Hope all your kids are getting on well!
The reason I didn't reply recently is guilt - my daughter (13mm overbite) just couldn't get to grips with the twin blocks and it was starting to affect her confidence. I think we have it a good go over around 2 months but I still feel should I have pushed it further?
Anyway, we had to explore private options and are lucky enough to afford it, so she now has the mandibular advancement Invisalign which she's fine with. So far so good- she's 15 weeks in and it's corrected by 5mm (it's a 32 week course).

OP posts:

AbsentCause · 26/02/2024 07:57

Thanks for the update, OP. I’m glad to hear you found a better option for your dd.

Invisalign was the ‘slow’ option we were given - we were told it should work but would be 18 months rather than 6, and that dd was right at the limit of what it could cope with in terms of overjet, so there was a risk it just wouldn’t work at all.

Beth86beth · 27/02/2025 17:51

Hi, just came across your post when researching the twin blocks. Did your child progress well with not wearing them for school? I feel my son will absolutely refuse unless this is a possibility. Thanks!

zippyswife · 27/02/2025 19:25

DS started wearing them properly and within a very short space of time the braces worked. His teeth are perfect now and brace free. But it really only started working when he wore them all the time including at school I’m afraid.

winesolveseverything · 27/02/2025 21:46

I was dreading my son wearing them at school too- we had had huge issues with bullying and I assumed that these would be another reason to cause him problems.

However- it was all fine. Lots of others have them or something similar so not as big a deal as you would think.

I gave him a note for the first few days to hand to teachers asking for him to be excused from reading aloud in class until his speech improved.

The worst thing was probably trying to get him to clean them - he wasn't keen to use the sinks in the toilets.
To be honest though, he removed them to eat, and I just made sure they had a good scrub once he returned home.
I bought him a case to keep in his school bag so he always had somewhere safe to store them for PE etc.

He did have to wear them 20-22 hours a day to get results though- it was about 5 months wearing them full time, then he dropped to nights only for 3 months, then every other night for about 5 weeks- then he was done with them.

He's 12 months into fixed train tracks now with elastic bands having had 4 teeth extracted! But there is now light at the end of the tunnel and it has been worth every unpleasant and inconvenient minute!

Cocoaone · 28/02/2025 08:37

I commented earlier in the thread when my DD had only had the braces a few weeks. We decided that we weren't going to force her to wear them at school - I knew it would massively impact her confidence and reduce her speaking up in lessons as she had a lisp with them. I didn't want to impact her learning. Our orthodontist reluctantly agreed.

She would put them in as soon as she got home from school (3pm) and wore them all night and took them out just before leaving for school/brushing teeth at 8am, so 16 hours a day, and all the time at the weekend/holidays.

She wore them like that for around 6 months, then was told she could just wear them at night for 3 months. The gap totally closed and she then had her fixed braces applied to start closing her gaps. We were amazed at how well it worked. It possibly would have worked quicker if she wore them 23 hours a day, but for the sake of a few months, we were happy with the compromise.

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