Twin Block Braces - Any Advice?

[Shar0769]

Hi
First post to Mumsnet, so please bear with me

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.

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

Thanks.

Dd just had hers fitted! I’m so so so proud of her. She’s looks so grown up with them and has lost the “hamster cheeks”! She can’t speak and seems to be dribbling everywhere though lol

They said to take them out for eating? Which she’s happy about.

I’m so proud of her.

She had a 12mm. They said it should be 11/12 weeks.

So a night with block braces and I can honestly say Iv never been so proud. She’s not moaned once, slept absolutely fine and has been just amazing!

How many times should she be brushing? Morning & after every meal, then nighttime?

4 days and I honestly can’t believe the difference!!

I also can’t believe the negative comments I get for “putting her through this” 😑😑😑

Twin blocks really do achieve amazing results. It is so worth the initial struggle.

hi all, my daughter got her twin blocks two weeks ago and within the first week she found problems with how loose the top brace was (she doesn’t have the type of twin blocks with the key to manually tighten) She couldn’t eat properly with them in, she was specifically told to, because they kept falling out when she ate. After going back to the clinic, she got them tightened and everything was fine, but now, a week later, they’re getting loose again!
Should she go back to the orthodontist to get them tightened again for the second time in 2 weeks, or it is normal for the blocks to get a little loose because of the teeth moving?

Dd had that problem but they are fine after the orthodontist tightened them!

Been 2 weeks tomorrow, the lisp is starting to drive me insane lol. She whistles when she talks 😩

thanks so much for the reassurance! hopefully the lisp will improve, it has for pretty much everyone else! my daughter only struggles with words with ‘s’ in them (sounds a bit like “ssth”) haha! has your dd tried reading aloud?

Hi, apparently they can become loose if they get into a habit of clicking the brace out with their tounge. This can also cause fractures in the brace.

that’s what happened the first time they got loose last week, and probably this time too. Just a bit nervous to go back to the othodontist and tell her that the braces are loose when we just went last week! She didn’t seem very happy about it last week either!

Has anyone not had any pain or issues? I’m worried that they are not doing much. Dd has said they don’t hurt at all.
Do you clean after every single thing they eat? That’s currently what we are doing but she takes them out to eat.

after the first week, my dd didn’t feel any pain anymore, but she says she can tell there’s an improvement- there were two teeth she used to grind together when she slept, but now she can’t even make the two teeth touch together! has anything similar happened with your dd? if her jaw aches when she takes the braces out, then they are definitely doing something!
my dd brushes her teeth and braces after breakfast and dinner, but anything inbetween, she’ll take the brace out and give it a quick rinse after. not sure if you’re supposed to but hope that helps!

Ahh bless her!

She hasn’t mentioned it hurting at all. She can close her lips for the first time ever so it’s workjng I’m guessing!

I’m abit worried and how little difference it seemed to have made when she takes them out. Like her over but doesn’t seem much different really. Should I get an appointment? It’s been 3 weeks and her next appointment isn’t until July 😩

i think progress will happen at different speeds for everyone. does your daughter eat with them in? our othodontist was quite strict about it and told her to eat with them in from the start! but she said the more you exercise your jaw, the less time you’ll have them on for. someone on here said for every meal you eat with them in, it has the same effect as having them on for 24 hours (not entirely sure if this is true though)! if your daughter is up to it, maybe ask her to eat with them in (if she doesn’t already) and maybe start with one soft meal a day? or if you’re really concerned, then speak to your orthodontist? hope this helps!

oh my gosh, dd was brushing her top brace and it just snapped in half? the plastic broke away from the metal middle bit! she said it felt unstable before, but thought it was supposed to be flexible because the teeth were moving. Since it’s a bank holiday, going to have to wait for four days to visit the orthodontist and even then, she might get an appointment on another day! did quite upset because her overbite is barely there now (looks pretty much normal when she bites together)

Can you ring 101 for an emergency orthodontist appointment x

It’s been 4 weeks here. I was starting to doubt that there was much difference but my god there deffo is! Her bottom brace became loose so went to have it tightened and I mentioned how I thought it hadn’t changed much. He said the results were remarkable and that she should only need them for 4-6 months 😌

wow that’s great! i’m so glad for her! happy that her progress is going great!

My DD gets them this week. She’s being really positive about it as she hates her teeth and she has seen the brilliant results other children have had from them but I’m very worried about her getting used to them and am expecting tears. She gets them over half term so doesn’t need to go straight to school. The orthodontist told her she shouldn’t eat with them in which seems contrary to everyone else

different orthodontists say different things, my daughter was specifically told to eat with them in and the progress has been great! this time last month she got them and her overbite is pretty much gone! good luck for next week!

My daughter got hers in the Feb half term which was good, couple of days n she was use to them. She was told to take them out for eating, swimming, and contact sports. She had been very committed to wearing them and the first check up proved it pays off to wear them, her overbite went from 11mm to 5mm in just under 8weeks. She could tell the difference herself in the matter of days. Good luck 😁

It is not for cosmetic reasons. Keep in mind that with overbite chewing makes stronger pressure on molars and they decay quicker!

I have quite a deep overbite, never got it corrected and am super happy with my daughter having Twin Blocks for correcting her overbite.

Update :)
Dd is doing amazing!! I’m so proud of her, even though her lisp is driving me insane 🙈 she sounds like “Herbert the pervert” from family guy 🙈

Anyway, first picture is before, 2nd 3 weeks in and 3rd is 6 weeks in.

All without braces in.

so glad the process is going so well for your daughter, she might not need to wear them for much longer!
after breaking hers, my dd’s been given two replacement appointments for her top brace, one for moulds and the other for fixing them on. She’s been wearing her bottom one even though she’s not supposed to because she’s so scared of her progress going backwards!

DD is a week in and doing great. She insists they’re closing her overbite but I can’t notice. The plus point is that she can’t bite her nails