Twin Block Braces

[Summersoul]

My DD2 who is just 13 was given TBBs 7 months ago. She refuses to wear them and the constant nagging and arguing is really draining. She is nowhere near getting train tracks yet but I feel that she's just waisting a valuable NHS space that could benefit another child. Anyone has any experience or advice they feel like sharing with me? Xc

My eldest was given them at 12 1/2 years (last spring) and wore them constantly for about 5 months - they worked like a dream and the overjet went from 15mm to 4mm in the time. Since then they're only worn at night to maintain the jaw position until the train tracks are fitted (still waiting on a couple of adult teeth to descend before this can be done).

If your DD won't wear them they they won't work (obviously!). Why won't she wear them? I realise they can be uncomfy and a bit obtrusive but it might only be for a matter of weeks if she sticks with them.

There is a long thread here
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/1391667-Twin-Block-Braces-Any-Advice
Ds orthodontist (nhs hospital) would have cancelled treatment if he had not complied. The less she wears them the longer it will take and possibly be less effective.

My DD had these when she was 10. They were really uncomfortable for her to wear for the first few weeks and it was really hard for her to talk (and us to understand her!) and she was very self conscious as no one else in her class had braces.She had a lot of nurofen and calpol in the first few weeks She!
She didn't wear them all the time, (iirc) but was pretty good about wearing them. When we went back 3 months her jaw had moved 5mm and I think she then only had to wear them at night.

She had them for a year and then train tracks for a year, and then a removable retainer. Her teeth look so much better now.

We had to use a lot of calpol and nurofen for the first few days and I rewarded each day they were worn in school with a Pokémon card.

It’s a lot to get used to.

Yes .... i was your daughter
Fast forward to me being mid 30s and wanting to straighten my horrible wonky teeth- 5.5k !!
I wish I had just worn the free ones

After the bad experience of having twin blocks and then train tracks for my DD who is now 19, I have gone private for my DS14 as I just couldn't see him coping with the pain and trauma of twin blocks, plus the extensive waiting list here meant that he wouldn't start treatment for at least another 18 months.

By contrast he has Spark braces which are totally clear lightweight plastic similar to Invisalign. He has to scan his teeth using a device attached to his phone every week and the scan is assessed remotely by the orthodontist. If sufficient progress has been made he moves on to the next aligner in his personalised set of 56 aligners. He has small plastic hooks attached to a couple of his teeth and he has to plastic elastics on these to aid the adjustment of his bite.

The difference in treatment is like night and day. No pain, no drooling, no effect on speech etc. The only downside obviously is that it is very expensive.

DD is also having Spark treatment now as the NHS wouldn't fit retaining wires after her treatment was finished and her teeth have moved back as they used to be quite significantly.

Once the aligner treatment is finished, retaining wires will be fitted and nighttime retainers provided as part of the private treatment package.

DD started Y7 with twin block braces and was very conscious of being the only child in the year with braces. She removed them at school for eating, sport and for language lessons but was actually very pragmatic about wearing them. They do make the jaw ache so she had a lot of calpol and homemade smoothies over the first few days. In 3 months, the overjet went from 12/13mm to about 5mm.

Has your DD's orthodontist explained what the alternative to the twin block is? My DD was told that effective use of the twin block should reduce the likelihood of jaw surgery being needed in the future. Her brace also served as a palate expander and it was clear that the alternative to that was to have teeth surgically removed because of overcrowding. She understood that the more cosmetic stage of treatment, fixed braces, was up to her completely but would only be on offer once the twin block braces had done their job. After nine months of wearing twin blocks full time, she only had to wear them at night and three months later had fixed braces fitted.

I had a similar brace as a 14-yr-old and it did ache to begin with but I'm glad I persevered. My siblings were meant to have the same treatment but one of them lost their brace repeatedly because they kept removing it and the other didn't ever get to the stage of the twin blocks because they kept losing their palate expander brace (which was meant to be worn beforehand). Looking at their teeth now, and the trouble one of them has with their jaw alignment, I'm extra glad I put up with the discomfort! That said, if your DD has a clear understanding of the future consequences of not wearing the braces, it's up to her to refuse the treatment. Could she go into the next orthodontist appointment/part of it without you so it's between the two of them? It may be that there are alternatives to the twin block but may also be the case that she isn't prepared to engage with the treatment in which case, the orthodontist needs to hear it from her.

I had one child's set of braces paid for by the NHS and one privately (but same orthodontist). The NHS covered nighttime retainers, there was a small extra charge for the retaining wire.

My younger son ended up having teeth extracted which removed the need for the palate extending phase. I gather teeth extraction isn't generally recommended nowadays although his top and bottom teeth were "misaligned" by one tooth so the dentist was happy for him to have it. He was sedated so it wasn't as traumatic as my dentist trying to extract mine when I was a teen, which I can still recall clearly.

Thanks everyone.
She is very aware of the consequences of not engaging. She has some sensory processing challenges which I don't think helps at all. I've agreed a plan with her today, her ASD means she has to have a clear step by step plan which DH can't understand. Hopefully we will start seeing some positive changes. Failing that I'm going to speak to the orthodontist directly and see what we need to do next

@ChequerBoard

After the bad experience of having twin blocks and then train tracks for my DD who is now 19, I have gone private for my DS14 as I just couldn't see him coping with the pain and trauma of twin blocks, plus the extensive waiting list here meant that he wouldn't start treatment for at least another 18 months.

By contrast he has Spark braces which are totally clear lightweight plastic similar to Invisalign. He has to scan his teeth using a device attached to his phone every week and the scan is assessed remotely by the orthodontist. If sufficient progress has been made he moves on to the next aligner in his personalised set of 56 aligners. He has small plastic hooks attached to a couple of his teeth and he has to plastic elastics on these to aid the adjustment of his bite.

The difference in treatment is like night and day. No pain, no drooling, no effect on speech etc. The only downside obviously is that it is very expensive.

DD is also having Spark treatment now as the NHS wouldn't fit retaining wires after her treatment was finished and her teeth have moved back as they used to be quite significantly.

Once the aligner treatment is finished, retaining wires will be fitted and nighttime retainers provided as part of the private treatment package.

Wow this sounds amazing and a definite consideration for the future

Hi
can the spark treatment do the same as the twin block braces ? Bring the jaw forward?