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.

[haggisaggis]

Update - I would say it took about 1 -2 weeks for my ds to get used to eating with them. His speech was really Ok from the start. My son had a really bad overbite and was very, very conscious of it so he wanted to persevere. It was difficult to persuade him to take painkillers,- and when he had an issue of the brace rubbing (he had sores on the roof of his mouth) it was all we could do to get him to leave it out overnight to let the swelling reduce and his mouth heal.
My ds went back for a check up this week and after only 4 months his overbite has reduced from around 14 mm to 7!! It has made such a difference to his confidence. (It also helps that he also got contact lenses a couple of months ago!) He is so used to the braces now it will be difficult to wean him off as he is so scared his jaw will go back.
By the way - our orthadontist(s) ( we have seen a few due to main one going on maternity leave) have all been fantastic. He has had to go back a few times due to bits breaking on the braces but they have always been very good at fixing things.
As well as the cosmetic differences, reducing the overbite will hopefully take the strain off his teeth - the bottom front teeth were digging into the roof of his mouth and dentist reckoned this could cause the teeth problems later if not fixed.

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

As i said abive my DD never got used to eating in hers. There was a lot of dribbling at the start and her speech was funny for ages. She's had train tracks on for nearly a year now which has flown by and yesterday at her appointment they were talking about nearing the end of her treatment.

I can't say how much of a difference it has all made to her teeth and appearance of her face. DS will need them and I know he 'll get on with it as he's seen how his sister's teeth have changed.

[Daisybelleblue]

Tearing my hair out Son is refusing to wear his blocks, after having them fitted he's only been wearing them a few hours a day says they really hurt his jaw.

Now he's refusing to wear them all together.
I know I'm mum but I physically can't get him to wear them :-(

[haggisaggis]

Daisy - posted on your other thread. Will he take painkillers when he wears them? They do cause a lot of pain in first few days but if he wears them a lot through that time it gets better fairly quickly. I think it all boils down to how much he wants it fixed - my ds is 13 and was so conscious of his overbite - he wouldn't smile in photos and would pull his top lip down over his teeth. It has taken 4 months wearing braces constantly to reduce his overbite from around 14mm to 7 - and the difference is extraordinary.

[lilylollypop]

It really does get better pretty quickly if able to persevere. Maybe go for regular pain relief and get him doing things that keep him busy to take his mind off it. If he likes computer games maybe try a bribe getting him to wear them when he plays, could take his mind off it.
If he won't wear them much his muscles will ache more and for longer as his mouth won't have chance to get used to them.
Remind him what they are for and what the benefits will be. The results are pretty speedy.
I know my daughter thought they were awful with aching jaw etc when she first got them but she was determined to wear them as her bottom teeth bite into her top gums behind her front teeth which will cause damage if left. It's now second nature to her and that really didn't take long.
Good luck!

[Daisybelleblue]

Thank you all for your replies, he's 13 and after battle of the wills yesterday, today seams to be better.
We're going with pain killers, trying to keep him busy and of course bribery.
Thanks again....will keep you posted

[TheCrackFox]

Bribery works extremely well.

How about showing him before and after photos of orthodontic treatment from the internet? He might find it motivational.

[Lanie00]

Daisy - Glad you managed to persuade your son to wear the blocks. My son was very reluctant to put them back in after mealtimes. He would eat so slowly to drag it out and then we would have battle of wills and sulks when they had to go back in. It's been just over a week for us now and things are definitely improving. I found a combination of Bribery and Encouragement worked well. I dangled a carrot to look forward to at the end of his twin block treatment. I also showed him pics on the internet of before and after treatment. He even read some of the comments on here which gave him more encouragement to know he wasn't the only one in this situation. I was having to put his blocks in and out for the first few days but I quickly made him start doing this himself. At first I got the "I can't do it". But now it's a game to see if he can get them in quicker than the last time. He's down to 2 seconds lol. The initial pain he was suffering in his front teeth and jaw have eased off completely. He is still drooling and his speech is still bad but I'm hoping this will improve with time. He still can't eat or drink with the blocks in but at least he is managing better with them out. At first he didn't seem to be able to use his back teeth as they were not meeting any more but he can now manage chips and pasta etc.

I think sometimes us mums suffer more for our children than they do for themselves. I'm a bit of a softy and could have said chuck them in the bin son (on the first day). I was definitely not prepared for this. But it is in situations like this you have to find the inner strength and be strong FOR THEM!
I myself have an overbite and prominent front teeth but unfortunately I had my teeth knocked at the age of 11, just before my treatment was about to start. The nerves were damaged in my two front teeth which caused them to discolour, I also have chipped them a few times over the years. I hate smiling on photos and yes it did affect my confidence. So for this reason I'm determined my son will have the best teeth he possibly can.

[Daisybelleblue]

Well just thought I'd give you all an update.
First check up after having his blocks fitted. There has been progress just a tiny bit.
But after explaining that half of that time he wouldn't wear it that's why.
The last few weeks have been much better and he's now able to wear it at night and get some sleep too.

I think it's finally clicked that the longer he wears it the less months he will be wearing it.

It's true as mums we seam to bare the brunt of it all, hang in there
We're all in this together ;-)

[Daisybelleblue]

Ps. The bribery will probably cost me a fortune......but worth every penny

[Joh56]

My son has had them in for a week now. At the beginning it was a nightmare. I had to keep him off school for a day (luckily it was a Friday so we had the weekend ahead). He couldn't eat or speak and drooled. He also didn't like the fact that he didn't know anyone else with them (they all have fixed braces). Buttttttt after a lot of trauma - he is now speaking (albeit with a big lisp), not drooling and after a bit of practice eating some food (sorry Orthodontist - he still has to take out his braces to eat a full meal but I am not starving my child - but we are getting there I think!)

Luckily his friends at home and school have been really good and don't seem to comment on his braces or speech at all.

We are hanging in there. Seeing how it goes.

[OddBoots]

Just reading this thread as dd is getting twin blocks in December, I'm dreading it but it sounds like it's very worthwhile. DD is 10, is that unusually young? The orthodontist said they try to time it with puberty for the best/quickest effect.

[Cocodale]

My year 9 daughter has had them for about 6 months. She's really struggling, not the most confident girl so I think a lot of the problem is her being worried about what others think.

The more they wear them the better it is, if they are painful use paracetamol.

My older daughter had them and tolerated them a lot better, feel like throwing in the towel some days and leaving this daughter with crooked teeth.

Hope it's better today for him.

[Joh56]

We are still struggling on.

Obviously son wants them out as much as possible!! And hubby and I want them in as much as possible to cut down on the months he has to have them in!!

Problem is at school he has 1/2 hour for lunch so a queue at the canteen, followed by eating lunch, doesn't have time to clean his braces - hence bits in his braces for rest of day - lovely!!

Hey ho.

[haggisaggis]

ds managed to break his braces pretty badly so got new ones fitted yesterday - his overbite has reduced from 15mm to 4 mm in 6 months! The new braces push his lower jaw out even more so it is now in front of the upper jaw as plan is to over correct to allow for it slipping back. Unfortunately new braces are a bit sore - I let him take them out at the noodle café after our appointment yesterday. Suggested he wrapped them in a napkin....which of course them meant I threw them in the bin afterwards! Had to ask to go threw their trash to find them..quick rinse in boiling water and they're fine (sorry ds!)
I cannot get over the transformation in ds - to all those with teens going through the process it is so worth it. ds will need train tracks next - and a night-time retainer for life (but hopefully will no longer require surgery) but I know he is really pleased with the results.

[Ilovemyrabbits]

My dd (12) had the twin blocks in and coped well with them, considering she can be a bit of a baby with pain. She was supposed to wear them for 6 months, but she managed to adjust her overbite in 4. They were really pleased with her but she wore them exactly as she'd been told to, without any input from us. She just decided if she was going to do it. I was a bit worried as she started to look very bullish, with her chin really far forward, but that seems to have settled on its own. She now has tram tracks and has just gone to the little hooks and elastic bands. I don't know how it'll work, but it's all looking so much better already. She's not had any bullying at school with it, which surprised me, but apparently, braces are de rigeur these days!

It's not an easy process, but if your kids can cope with them and work with them as they should, it's a fascinating thing to watch.

I do think there should be more support available for brace wearers though. I couldn't find any information on the process over and above basic descriptions on what was happening. I never thought to check the Mumsnet Bible for it! DOH!

[Lanie00]

We have just had our first follow up appointment and my sons overbite has reduced by 5mm. Orthodontist was well pleased with him as they normally expect about 2mm after the first 2 months of wearing. But he has been good and worn the brace all the time, except for meals and PE lessons. We have now been told to use the key every Monday and Friday to tighten the brace. I'm really not looking forward to this as I'm not sure what I am doing. I didn't have my glasses on when we were shown what to do. Just hope my son remembers how to do it. Why do orthodontists not give us more details on paper????? Don't suppose anyone has stumbled over any diagrams on the web have they?

[pammilew1]

My 12 year old son has just had the blocks fitted today. I was so not prepared for the size of them. He does not seem to be liking them. I keep having to give him pep talks and telling him it will get easier. I really hope it does. Reading the above post the consensus is that it will get better. It's really encouraged me reading the posts on this site. I might get him to read some to encourage him. I have never seen braces like this before and I only wish they had given up a bit more information and preparation. I will see how he gets on.

[mandycutiepie]

My 11 year old daughter has had the twin block braces fitted today. What I am worried about is the effect the braces will have on her face shape. Her chin is sticking out with the braces in. I would rather she kept her over bite than have a chin that sticks out! Can anyone reassure me that she wont look too different, once the treatment is over. Thanks.

[fairykissesforyou]

Mandy

The treatment with the twin block braces won't make her chin stick out when it's finished. While they are worn the braces make the lower jaw sit in a forward position to encourage the growth of the jaw. It's forced into an unnatural position to do this which kind of tricks the body into thinking the jaw needs to grow (as I understand from the orthodontist!).
After my child's treatment their profile looks normal and we are so pleased with the results.

[Mrsmorton]

Also Mandy, with the utmost of respect and understanding. How does dd feel about her overjet?

(overjet is the distance between the bottom and top teeth in a forwards and backwards direction, overbite is how far the teeth bite in an up and down way, I'm just clarifying as sometimes the terminology can be confusing and I'm not trying to be a pedant or a knob or well, anything other than informative)

An huge overjet can be very tough to eat etc with (how big was the OJ?) and far more likely to break top teeth as a child/adolescent, twin blocks are a great way of avoiding surgery in later life. The chin is relatively easily operated on if it really does stick out. I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't stick out very much but because you're used to the set back lower jaw dd had before twin blocks, it's come as a bit of a shock?

Give it a few weeks and see how you are getting on, I hope dd isn't too conscious of the chin thing.

[Fli45]

Hi, I needed to read advice about the teeth blocks my ds had fitted yesterday. Feeling very sorry for him at the moment, especially as he has to sleep in them too and he said his teeth felt numb this morning. Thank you all for posting your experiences, it has helped a lot reading them and I'm feeling much more reassured. Has anyone any advice on anything he can put on the inside of his lip to soothe where it is rubbing and becoming sore?

[SallyBear]

Going through similar issues here. Wax on the braces, bonjela and salt water to rinse plus pain relief. It's a nightmare at the moment for my dd.

[Fli45]

That's great advice - thanks! He had been having a bit of a struggle to get the blocks in so will try the wax too. I hope it all settles down soon for your dd - best of luck with it!

[MomOfTwoGirls2]

DD (11) got hers end of Dec, just before school hols. She very slowly worked up to wearing them full time, just before going back to school, so about 2.5 weeks. She had all the complaints above.

But since then, she has been excellent at wearing them, just taking them out for eating & drinking, speech & drama lessons and gymnastics.

Her first 8 week checkup showed a 1.5m reduction in overbite, from 10mm to 8.5mm. She had soreness again when the braces tightened. I gave her nurofen tabs that melt in mouth to keep in her pencil case at school, in case pain got bad.