DD is getting very upset about having braces

[vilamoura2003]

DD has a couple of teeth that need sorting out - they are not horrendous, one has come through quite high up on the right had side of her smile and that means we are covered under the NHS. Dentists have said she has a very slight overbite which they want to correct first (personally I didn't think there was much wrong with that - but hey ho), and then two teeth out and fixed brace to move everything into place and bring the tooth down.

DD doesn't seem overly keen. She says she doesn't mind it - she is 13 and my thinking is that we need to crack on with this now - it will be 2 years and that will mean it will be done and dusted by the end of year 10 - ready for GCSE year and Prom year to be brace free.

Poor DD though is getting quite emotional about them and says she thinks people will think she is ugly and that she will get picked on. Her friends may not like her anymore etc.

Should I just tell her to suck it up princess and crack on .

I really think that if I leave it, when she is an adult she will regret not having it done, but feel quite mean........

Any advice? Do the kids still pick on the kids with braces?

[Solo]

Permanent retainers are wires shaped specifically for your teeth (once straightened) that are 'glued' behind the front teeth. Mine have been in for 3 years now; I know they'll need redoing at some point but, I'm hoping for many more years yet.

I also recommend a waterpik water flosser to get all the food particles from around the braces/permanent retainers because flossing with the normal thread is quite tricky. [[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waterpik-73950177436-Ultra-Water-Flosser/dp/B00FJXHC72/ref=sr_1_7_s_it?s=drugstore&keywords=waterpik&ie=UTF8&qid=1529534182&sr=1-7&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21
waterpik]]

[Cherryminx]

The NHS waiting list where I live is 2 years. If its anything like that where you live you might just as well put her down for it and see how she feels in 2 years time.

[melodybirds]

She will regre not having them sooooo much. I'd kill for the money for braces. Having a good smile and all that confidence will outweigh the year of braces.

[TheThirdOfHerName]

If she needs a twin block brace then she should start treatment now, as it takes longer to work once they've stopped growing.

A twin block brace is visually less obvious than a fixed brace, but affects their speech more.

[TheThirdOfHerName]

DD (nearly 14) has had twin blocks for 4 months now. They were difficult to get used to at first but she persisted and she wears them for >23 hours a day (she removes them for PE and for brushing her teeth / cleaning the brace). Her overjet has already improved. She will wear the twin block brace for another 9 months or so, then possibly have a tooth extracted, then have a fixed brace for about 2-3 years. She will hopefully be finished in Y12.

[Onlyoldontheoutside]

My DD had to have twin blocks first to correct her overbite and then train tracks.She was self conscious at first but then others started to get them.She had hers removed about 6 months ago.She wears retainers at night.They are thin clear and moulded to keep the teeth in place.You actually can't tell she's got them in.
If you can help her see the benefits it helps.It can be uncomfortable but my DD and her friends weren't bothered too much and the result is amazing.

[CloudPop]

I would agree to do it as soon as possible, so it's over as soon as possible. She'll be grateful for having lovely teeth when she's older. Loads of other kids get braces round this age so she won't be alone, for sure

[littlemisscomper]

If she has a fixed brace she should be able to pick what colour bands she wants. It helped me that I could have alternate pink and purple!

I would recommend getting one of those mini bottles of mouthwash and having her take it to school to rinse with after lunch (preferably when no one else is in the toilets!) as food does get trapped and that's not a good look!

[Northumberlandlass]

DS (14) has his removed last week! I have a ‘before’ & ‘after’ photo!
It’s an incredible difference & he is delighted.

He picks up his retainer this week. It’s a plastic ‘guard’. A mould was taken last week. He has to wear it full time (apart from eating) for the first month & then only overnight to stop his teeth moving again.

[mplINsTA]

My brother ought to have had braces for the same reason your DD needs them - an incisor moving upwards. My mum just never got round to sorting it out.

At 25 it looks bloody awful. Far, far, far better to get it over with at 13 than deal with it once it's gotten worse. I think you're better to push now, unfortunately.

And with the summer holidays coming up, maybe a brightly coloured dip-dye would make her feel less self-conscious until she's used to the braces?

[Monday55]

You can also opt for invisible braces or the ones you only wear at night.

[BeefyCakes]

I had braces for a long time as a teenager I had a mouth like a vandalised graveyard, including too many teeth, tooth material in the roof of my mouth massive gaps, teeth too low in my mouth, seriously they were a mess!

There will be other kids with them in her year. She won't be the only one.

Just remind her that, although her teeth and smile are already beautiful, a little bit of help to straighten and move the other teeth will be worth it in the end. Think of the prom photos.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheW1neGoes]

Just going through the same, assessment is booked in for a few weeks time. Can someone explain the retainers please? Neither DH or I or any of our siblings had braces so no experience to fall back on.

[JurassicGirl]

I had similar issues at 13 & chickened out of having a brace, I regretted it until finally at 24 i had one fitted. It was on for 27 months (took longer as I was older) it has been the BEST thing I've ever done.

Every photo of me before had a closed mouth smile now it's a totally natural smile & I don't even think about it now.

I wish i could go back & have a brace whilst i was at school where it's so much more common!

[Thespringsthething]

Give her a bit of time. My dd was upset initially about the thought of having braces but lots of other children having them and her thinking about it over a few months (during the waiting time) meant she's happy to go ahead now.

[itcuddles]

Oh bless her. I felt the same at her age and decided against braces, this only resulted in me paying thousands to have braces in my 20s instead and resenting my parents a little bit for not pushing me to have them when I was a teen.

[LIZS]

At 13 I'd be surprised if she were the first. Typically girls have them earlier to take advantage of the growth phase. They can be pretty cool with coloured bands etc. Noone seems to bat an eyelid now. Ds was resistant initially and eventually had them at 15. (Don't tell her treatment took 4 years, partly due to missing some of the growth spurt)

[LemonysSnicket]

Everyone has braces around that age, they're fine, she will really regret it if she doesn't do it now. It's a lot more expensive and embarrassing as an adult.

I loved my braces, they made my lips look fuller and nobody ever commented on them. I also had surgery and teeth out with the brace pulling teeth forward.

[Flowerfae]

They will be worth it in the long run, also braces now are a lot less noticeable then they used to be.

My DD who is 12 needs a lot of dental work doing, she had encephalitis when she was 2 and as her teeth were developing, whatever caused the encephalitis stopped the enamel from forming on her teeth. So her teeth are really yellow, worse at the front.

She needs braces to straighten them all out, after some more of her adult teeth come through. Then they putting veneers onto her teeth.

She HATES the dentist.. she's slightly better with it now because we've moved her to another dentist, and she's a lot more relaxed with them (we had to take her to private practice because NHS wouldn't even consider doing anything with her teeth until she mid-teens at the least, and veneers are cosmetic, so I don't think they would do those) I do have to keep telling her it will be worth it in the end though.

[Cliveybaby]

have them now!
I had them at 13 and hated them but it was so common. Glad with hindsight that my mum made me!
Bribery might soften the blow :)

[TeenTimesTwo]

I bet loads of her peers have braces. DD y8 has had them since last September. Much better imo to push through now and get them done before y11. DD has to miss a lesson for appointments and at the moment we have PE/Music/Tech & French to miss without impact. Once she hits y10 it will all be GCSE subjects so a bigger deal.

[Irenee976]

My Sons retainers were free after his braces came off. He's got posh invisaline ones x

[Solo]

I had braces when I was 49 - 51 Best thing I ever did and your dd should look beyond the classroom imo as a). They won't always be free. b). It's just better when you are young and can enjoy your young and gorgeous years of straight teeth. Do tell her that it can be really quite painful though. Also, although you'll probably have to pay for them, get her permanent retainers; so much better and she'll never get out of the habit of putting them in at night when her teeth will start twisting again.

[Irenee976]

Braces are quite cool now. My Son has just had his off. I refused braces when I was younger and regret it now xx

[windowing]

DD is in year 8- class of 20 kids with 17 of them having braces! She soon won't be the only one