DS13 won't wear his brace. Should I try to make him?

[AgathaQuiztee]

In truth I can't make him. He is the most stubborn of my 3 children and has been given a brace which he is supposed to wear all the time except when eating. It is to correct an overbite which is actually very minor. Unfortunately it can't be done with a fixed brace.

We went to the orthodontist yesterday. She has said he needs to wear it for 12 weeks and then she'll put a fixed brace on his front teeth. DS is refusing to wear it. He says it's painful and he 'can't wear it'.

I've tried everything, explaining its short term for long term gain, offering to reward him with money, insisting. He is still refusing and I don't know how I can make him or whether I should just give up and let him live with the consequences of his choices.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Bump

Have you explained to him that if he leaves it till adulthood and then decides to get it done it will take longer and cost him a small fortune? You can't force him but we had this conversation with DS before he started orthodontics and he did take my point. Both my DCs have had these braces before fixed ones and they are painful at first but they do get used to them.

I would persevere with him. We've just been through similar with DD, also 13. She refused, said it was too painful. We rang the orthodontist back, she advised us to insist that dd wears them. We did and the discomfort settled after a few days. She's wears them all the time now and is glad she stuck with them

What are the likely consequences of him not wearing it? Will he need jaw surgery when he's older or is it an aesthetics thing? Provided he understands what he's opting for e.g. future surgery, wonky teeth etc. then I think you need to let him make a decision about what he wants done to his body.

My 11-yr-old currently has a twin block appliance to bring her lower jaw forward. Her overbite was 12mm and less than 6 months later, it's only 4mm. She worked up to wearing it full-time because it was uncomfortable and made her jaw ache but from about day 3, she decided she may as well just get on with it. After 3 weeks of wearing, she noticed a reduction in her overbite and that has served as motivation to wear it the rest of the time. But if she'd been refusing to give it a go, I wouldn't have forced her; she knows that without braces she's likely to need jaw surgery and decided braces would be worth a go. As it happens, much of her braces wearing is being done during lockdown which I'm sure has helped.

It's his personal choice at the end of the day. So long as he understands the potential consequences of not wearing them, he is perfectly free and able to decide against it.

If he is deemed competent, it would actually be illegal for you to try and force him.

I'm assuming you're paying for the orthodontist? I'd be refusing to continue funding it (especially since it's minor) if he won't comply. Let him sort it out himself when he's older.