Twin bloc braces vs Invisalign for a 10 year old

[Cherryblossom200]

Hello!

Title says it all, my DD has a bit of a mess with her teeth. Currently we’re on the NHS and about to get twin bloc braces to start the process of realigning her jaw before getting train tracks. She’s lost all her baby teeth so can start the process now.

Initially I was ok about it, however my dentist did warn that the twin bloc makes it difficult for a child to speak. Looking at it on YouTube it looks awful 😞 I’m actually quite worried as my DD also has ADHD bless her.

Invisalign sounds great and a lot less invasive, however I would have to pay just under £4,000 to have both upper and lower teeth which isn’t cheap! But it means it’s an all in one procedure rather than two lots of braces.

Has anyone had any experience of this priced with their own children? How did they handle it?

Many thanks

Have you talked to your orthodontist about whether Invisalign would be a suitable substitute for the blocks? My understanding (based on DD’s brace experience, and mine) is the blocks help realign the jaw, whereas Invisalign adjust the teeth (similar to traintracks). The blocks do take a bit of getting used to, but they’re pretty commonplace these days and do the job.

I have, the orthodontist said they would do the job of both realigning the jaw and the teeth at the same time. I thought that was a bit odd tbh, but according to the orthodontist a lot of kids don’t get on with the blocs and the turn to Invisalign.

However I’m wondering if this is just a way to
make money 😬

All braces hurt, I’ve had invisalign, I can’t see a young child being convinced to put them back in after removing them for eating. They’re also very hard to get out, so who would be helping with removal for lunch at school? I had to really force mine out on several occasions, so a ten year old likely couldn’t do it until they were almost due a new tray.

Mine had an overbite of 11mm and just wore their block braces when they were at home and when they slept. They didn’t wear them to school because talking was impossible. Both of their overbites were remedied during their growth spurt.

Are the blocs easier to get out and put back in? Sorry I don’t know much about it all tbh. All I know if my orthodontist seem to be trying to push for Invisalign which isn’t on the NHS. They seem to feel it’s much better for them, only mentioning the plus points none of the negatives likes not being able to take it out at lunch!

DS had twin blocks and was surprisingly fine with them. It took a bit of getting used to but after a few days he could talk and eat with them. He wore them 24 hours a day and ate and slept in them. I think that’s unusual based on how impressed the orthodontist was, but it was doable after the initial weirdness.

Undercover boss that might be a better solution then! I thought they absolutely had to wear them 22 or so hours a day. Which would be difficult for her. She’s going skiing with school early next year as well which I’m a bit worried about 😬

You need to be super disciplined for Invisalign. We faced the same choice you had with my very responsible 15 year old. We went for Invisalign and the result is great, but you really need to wear them a lot (22h a day). You really can’t keep “forgetting” to put them back on or you’re just throwing your money away. Not sure many 10 year olds could be trusted to do it.

My DD is very disciplined, she started wearing contact lenses when she had turned 9 and is amazing with them. So I know she could handle the Invisalign. Just what concerns me is her not being able to take them out at lunch.

Dd had twin blocks at age 10/11 and refused to wear them to school. She wore them at night and they did the trick. Seems strange that Invisalign would do the same job though… Dd had train track braces after the twin blocks had reduced the overbite enough.

Contact lenses however aren’t extremely painful, its a huge difference.

I think I might just get her to put the twin blocs in at home/night which will be easier. If it takes slightly longer to sort out that’s fine. I don’t want her to not be able to talk at school, I know she would be self conscious otherwise.

My 15 yo has just finished his orthodontic treatment which included the blocs. He had a 3 step process which lasted around 18 months.

The day he got the blocs in, I cried (blamed pregnancy hormones) and he hated wearing them. He wore them as much as he could and always did at home. I wouldn't have worn them at school.

Hes got beautiful teeth now- his orthodontist did give him a talking to because he didnt wear it 100% of the time hes got a bit of an overbite still!

Thanks!

This all reassures me tbh. I’ll look into Invisalign, but I think if she wears the bloc at home and sleeping then hopefully that should be enough to get the results we need.

My daughter had twin blocks before train tracks. The first few days it was hard to talk but she got used to them. She only had them in all the time for about 12 weeks, after thst night only for another 12 weeks. They worked really quickly.

One of my DC started with twin blocks the week before they started Y7. Wearing them all the time at school (being able to have braces at 11 whereas others were still waiting on baby teeth to fall out caused a certain amount of good-natured envy) and so doing lots of talking whilst wearing them meant speech was back to normal very quickly. The significant overbite was reduced quickly too. DC was offered fixed braces after the twin blocks and although initially reluctant, went for them because the twin blocks hadn't been as bad as expected.

DD is autistic and we knew she wouldn’t keep twin block braces in, which is what she was offered on the NHS.

So we went privately and she had train tracks, she wears them with the elastic bands to realign her jaw. She’s a few weeks away from getting them off - her overbite has resolved amazingly and she has beautiful teeth now

My Dd had twin blocks at 11. They take a few days to get used to but kids adapt very quickly. Paracetamol at night for a couple of days for achey jaw. So many kids at school have braces/twin blocks nobody batted an eyelid. They can talk with them in, it’s just a bit tricky to pronounce some sounds for a few days. After 6 months of wearing them all the time except for eating her overbite was 100% corrected. Now onto the train tracks and near the end. Her teeth look amazing. She will be so grateful when she’s older. She would definitely do it all again for such perfect teeth.

Honestly I’d be really shocked if an orthodontist allowed a 10 year old to get Invisalign. It’s hard enough for adults making sure they’re in enough and not loosing them! Also just seen the orthodontist has said it will realign the jaw!? Instead of surgery? Pls get a second opinion!

There's no way any credible orthodontist would put a 10 year old in Invisalign.

One because they don't have their full adult dentition yet (with exception of wisdom teeth) and two because of the effectiveness and predictability of Invisalign not being as good as traditional braces.

Then there is the cleanliness aspect, I wouldn't trust a 10 year old to keep their teeth clean enough between meals including flossing, interdental brushing to prevent tooth decay.

Invisalign cannot correct major skeletal deformities which is what bite blocks et al are designed to do, there are also limitations with rotation/extrusion/intrusion of teeth with Invisalign where as traditional braces are much more effective.

Ok thanks so much, really appreciate the advice! We’re going to persevere with traditional braces. Now I’ve done more research I feel better about it, worst case she won’t wear it at school. But at the moment my DD has it in her head she wants to wear it all the time!

The twin blocks are really fine. They take a while to get used to but they learn to speak with them and not feel self conscious. They work really quickly too. Mine didn’t eat with them but had no complaints

You wouldn't be able to have invisalign if you have to have the jaw realigning. My DD couldn't have it because of this when she went to a consultation for it.

My DC’s case sounded like the OP’s: twin blocs needed at first, then train tracks, but could all be done by Invisalign. Some (most!) of the Invisalign had funny little “wings” at the back which did make it a bit hard for them to speak as well, so I assume they do whatever the blocs do. All seems to have worked fine, so I think the “Invisalign can’t do that” might be a bit out of date.

That said, agree and reiterate with everyone else that 10 is too young, so good call to go with the blocs.

My daughter had the blocks. It looked strange as first and she talked funny but it quickly resolved itself. My daughter was determined to have a nice smile and all her friend had or wanted braces so no taunting over it. The did an amazing job - just wish she wear the blooming retainer 🤦🏻‍♀️

edit to add my daughter was a teen when this started. 10 seems really young.