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Original poster

Twin Block Braces - Any Advice?

440 replies

Shar0769 · 25/01/2012 14:28

Hi
First post to Mumsnet, so please bear with me Confused

Just arrived back from Orthodontist with ds (10) who has had twin block braces fitted to correct his overbite and adjust his jaw. I can honestly say I feel sick/upset, he looks like he's shoved a sock in his mouth; can't speak, can't smile. Im dreading to think how he's going to cope at school. Shock

If anyone has any advice/experience on these braces it would be great. Anything to ease my worries.

Thanks.

OP posts:
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23
MirandaWest · 30/06/2017 09:51

She's doing really well Smile. Seems to have adjusted without any problems and is eating most things with it in. She did take it out for a recent singing exam as her teacher said her articulation was better that way but apart from that it's in all the time.

Will see at her next appointment in August how it's going but she says she thinks there is some difference

Smacca1 · 05/09/2017 12:47

Twin blocks will be the death of me!!!!

Had anyone had to have their child's twin block sent back to the lab to be readjusted?? I feel like my dd's jaw isn't being pushed forward far enough?

motherhenpecked · 10/09/2017 19:17

That's good Mirandawest, DD never really ate with hers in, only bananas and a few other bits.

Smacca1, we have never had ours sent back. When it snapped we went to the emergency clinic at Guys and they souldered (sp?) it right there and then.

DD has now a 2mm gap and after turning a key weekly the top arch has widened sufficiently. She needs to wear for approx another month and then, hopefully, after that nights only.

VERY happy with this treatment and DDs resilience to it. These braces do work if the kids comply.

Smacca1 · 11/09/2017 07:18

motherhen, I will be seeing the ortho in a few weeks so don't know if we will need to adjust it. Is your daughters jaw pushed right out so that it's infront of her top teeth ?

My daughters lower teeth sit just right behind the top teeth not infront of it if that makes sense!

motherhenpecked · 15/09/2017 06:51

Smacca1

No my daughters bottom teeth are 2mm behind her top teeth. I would not be happy if the braces had taken her from an over bite to an under bite.

Ginmakesitallok · 15/09/2017 07:06

Smacca - why would you want her bottom teeth to sit in front of her top ones? We're almost there with dd1s ortho work. Twin blocks, fixed braces, elastics, now considering interproximal reduction. We'll be glad to see the end!

ScarlettDarling · 16/09/2017 20:28

Smacca when my son's teeth were 'tip to tip' i.e. No under or overbite, he was allowed to stop wearing the blocks through the day and just wore them for bed. He did that for about 6 months and then had the blocks removed and fixed braces fitted.

The orthodontist told us they aim for tip to tip as the jaw naturally slips back a few mm when the blocks are no longer worn, which then results in an overbite of just a couple of mm which is the ideal. It sounds like your dad's teeth are in the perfect place now.

ScarlettDarling · 16/09/2017 20:28

Your dd's teeth!! Not your dad's Grin

Smacca1 · 19/09/2017 14:03

Ginmakesitallok I thought it would need to be over corrected to allow it to move back a little once the plates have been taken off for good!

ScarlettDarling I can't see my daughters teeth reaching tip To tip. It could be because she needs the top teeth pushed back a little too with braces ?

motherhenpecked · 12/10/2017 07:57

Hi there

An update on DD. The braces never took her tip to tip but we reached a point where there was no gap and they were snug behind top teeth. The top arch was widened by turning the key in the top brace for a couple of months. We were last week advised to wear them at night time only - yay.

I'll keep you posted as to whether there is any slip back.

We are still under hospital. They think baby molars will start falling out in the next 3-6 months and they will have a better idea of how her canines will come down. Train tracks will be the next step for DD I guess but not until all the baby molars have fallen out and big teeth are growing in.

She is a work in progress. One good thing I have noticed is that she does not lisp much any more :-)

Hope your kids are all doing well ?

ScarlettDarling · 22/10/2017 10:06

Hi motherhen sounds like your dd is doing really well. It feels like a massive step forwards when they first move on to night time wear doesn't it?

My son's teeth are looking great. He should (hopefully) only have a few months left of fixed braces and then he's done! He's paranoid about the teeth/jaw moving back to how it was though and keeps pointing out his "huge overbite" to me! His jaw has moved back a bit. His teeth are no longer tip to tip, but they look perfect to me and the orthodontist says they're in exactly the position which they were originally aiming for.

I really would encourage anyone to perseveres with the twin blocks. When worn properly they bring about amazing results. I'm going to ask for my dd to be referred to the orthodontist next time we go to the dentist. I'm hoping she won't need blocks as she doesn't have the same 'goofy' smile that my son had (she wasn't a thumb sucker!!) but her teeth are a little wonky in places. I think we'll probably have to pay for braces for her as her teeth really aren't bad, but it'll be worth it for a perfect smile.

Hope everyone else is getting on well? Vjg your dd started at the same time as my son...how's she doing?

vjg13 · 22/10/2017 21:25

Hi Scarlett, she is still on night time wear and STILL waiting for her surgical tooth removal. The waiting list is very long and it probably will be well into next year before it's removed and she gets her fixed braces. She's very good about wearing them at night but very frustrated with the hold up.

ScarlettDarling · 25/10/2017 09:18

What a shame she's still having to wait vjg as it's putting everything on hold for her. It'll all be worth it in the end when she's got a perfect smile.

LIZS · 23/11/2017 12:44

Reviving this thread as we are finally nearing the end of treatment (yeah), started April 2014. So much for 2 years Hmm

Ds needs to make a decision on retainers before his next appointment. Options seem to be a fixed wire behind the teeth, a transparent mould which would need to be worn at night, and/or a removable device similar to the twin block. He was shown pictures etc. Has anyone got experience of this?

motherhenpecked · 18/01/2018 06:55

What did your DS decide to do LIZS?

vjg13 I hope your DD has had her tooth removal.

Has ds finished treatment now ScarlettDarling?

DD is waiting to go back to guys. As predicted her molars are falling out regularly and big teeth cropping up. She can't fit the bottom brace in at night anymore due to this. I think she is due to be seen in Feb.

Think it will be a little while before all the molars are out and she ant have train tracks till then so our journey is ongoing. I am still really pleased, I can't see any slip back of the bottom jaw and DDs profile is so improved from this time last year.

Still really happy with the treatment and would recommend these braces.

LIZS · 18/01/2018 07:11

He's going for the fixed wire and removal clear mould. They have said the first year is the most important to maintain the alignment then he could opt to have it removed. Less than a month to go now!

vjg13 · 20/01/2018 19:15

Motherhenpecked, not yet! Actually has a date for 2 weeks and is really dreading it. The orthodontist wants to see her 2 weeks later. She still has her twin blocks at night and is very fed up with them.

TheSecondOfHerName · 25/01/2018 19:23

DD (13) is due to have twin blocks fitted next week. She has been told that she'll have to wear them all the time.

She had significant speech delay and is still not confident about speaking in large groups or to people she doesn't know. I'm a bit worried that when the twin blocks are in, it might affect her confidence further. Sad

TheSecondOfHerName · 25/01/2018 19:30

She has already had her main growth spurt and I feel frustrated that she is starting treatment so late. The dentist was reluctant to refer to the orthodontist until she had lost all her milk teeth, but in the end several of the milk teeth didn't come out spontaneously (possibly because her lower jaw is underdeveloped) and she had to have them extracted anyway. In retrospect I should have pushed for an orthodontic opinion two years ago, but didn't realise we needed to do this.

vjg13 · 26/01/2018 07:12

Thesecondofhername, my daughter's speech was very unclear at first so do prepare your daughter for that, it does improve quickly though. There are some good videos on YouTube which helped my daughter prepare. It can be a bit shocking initially and drooling is also normal!

When I initially asked my dentist about orthodontic referral he did say that all second teeth needed to have come through or the referral would be rejected. Hopefully the twin blocks will still be helpful as she will still be growing.

TheSecondOfHerName · 26/01/2018 09:54

Thank you vjg13
I don't think she has quite reached her adult height (possibly up to another 5cm to go) so hopefully the twin blocks will be effective.

TheSecondOfHerName · 27/01/2018 13:31

I took her to have her hair cut today to boost her confidence in advance of getting the twin blocks this week.

Hopefully people will focus on the haircut. Smile

vjg13 · 30/01/2018 08:37

My daughter has her ankylosed tooth removed under GA on Thursday and is terrified. I can't wait for this to be over, then when it has healed up she will finally get her train track braces and the twin blocks will be a distant memory!

Hope your daughter is ok with her twin blocks, the first few days are definitely the worst.

TheSecondOfHerName · 30/01/2018 08:49

Hope everything goes well on Thursday.

ScarlettDarling · 30/01/2018 21:28

Ooh, a few posts to catch up on!

Motherhenpecked thanks for asking. My son is still wearing his fixed braces. He's been told a few times that on his next visit he will get elastic to wear on them which will be the last stage...and every time they say he's not ready! Frustrating! He's got an orthodontist appointment tomorrow and apparently he's getting elastic fitted.... we'll see! Glad your daughter is doing well.

vjg wishing you and your daughter the very best for Thursday. Obviously you don't want her to have surgery but once this is done, she can finally move onto the next stage. Let us know how she gets on.

Secondnature Be prepared for the first few days to be awful. But honestly, it improves so very quickly and the results are astonishing. Good luck!