Braces

[Thismumrunsonhugsandtea]

I’ve just been to the orthodontist with my son and they said that he needs braces. He has more than an 10 mm overbite and they want to give him a retainer. We’ve made an appointment for six weeks in the car. He said he doesn’t want the braces because he’s worried about getting bullied. The dentist didn’t help by saying you have to wear them all the time and you have to have good character because some children get bullied when they wear braces.🙈 what do I do? Do I give him the option bearing in mind he does have jaw pain sometimes or do I tell him he has to wear them? I don’t know how I’m going to make him wear the retainer. It’s one that you can take out or is it okay just to wear at night? I’m really not sure what to do about this situation.

Don’t give him the option. He can either get it done on the NHS now or can pay £2k+ later.

It needs sorting - half his friends probably have them or will need them.

DS10 is getting twin block braces, I’m dreading it! Has an 8mm overbite and overjet (I think that’s where they’re growing on a slant?) and it was explained to me that he needs braces as his jaw isn’t functioning properly with such an overbite. So id guess some for your son with a bigger overbite.

Anyway. Dreading it because twin block braces are apparently brutal. Then he’ll need train tracks. But they’re a must IMO, best get it done when young and malleable. And braces are cool! I was desperate for braces when I was young, wish I’d had them!

My almost 13 year old is having braces in the new year. He’s more worried about the pain than what people think, he says there’s a few that have them already and it’s no different to him wearing his glasses daily.
in the long run, he’ll thank you

I had a brace that helped to fix my overbite when I was 13 and I absolutely hated it. I also got teased about it, which at the time felt big but looking back I’m so glad I had it. It fixed something that would have been much harder to fix in adulthood.

It’s so weird for the orthodontist to say that. Op it’s not like in our time- my son has braces as do 4 others in his class. Not a peep out of anyone in the class about it. My friend’s dd WANTS braces because she said the people with them in her class have better teeth! My son’s overbite and teeth reduced hugely with the retainer and within weeks he said his mouth felt better with it in. Now he has braces for the next two years then done. The difference is night and day. My brother has just got braces in his fifties, he said his greatest regret is that mum turned down the opportunity for him in the 80s

My daughter has had twin block braces for the past 6 months or so, her gap was 11mm. They've worked really well in getting her overbite down.
The first couple of days she struggled with 's' sounds but got used to them very very quickly. She was really worried about what people would say at school but no-one cared. She'll be getting train tracks in the new year.

Coming from someone who put it off and off until I was in college and had to have them then when everyone else had their braces in secondary school instead… just do it now!!

Thanks for the reassurance! ❤️

I told my parents at 13 that I wasn’t having braces.
I spent 3 years of my adult life with fixed braces and horrific jaw surgery.
I don’t thank my parents!

I empathise with your son, it’s really hard being a teenager and feeling so self conscious! I would have a conversation with him that shows you understand his fears, but that the consequences of not having the braces might have a far bigger impact on him in his adult life than he realises now. I have friends who paid well into four figures for work to straighten their teeth in adulthood, either because it wasn’t done at all or because they didn’t wear their retainer as instructed in their teenage years. For some people, having less than straight teeth can really impact their confidence in social and professional situations. It sounds like your son’s overbite could also cause other issues for him later on, so I would try to reframe it as a non-negotiable for these reasons. In the grand scheme of his life it is a short time, but I know it probably doesn’t feel that way to him! In the long run I think he’ll thank you for it, whereas if you don’t go ahead he might really regret that.

100% tell him he’s having them. You’re the adult and sometimes need to make decisions that are best for him long term. I and my children both had severe overbites and went through years of orthodontic treatment. There were definitely times when I didn’t want to wear them. I had retainers first then train tracks which is probably what your son will have. It’s worths a few years of discomfort and possible name calling to have perfect teeth now. And bullies will always find something to pick on so if it’s not that it will be something else. Also bullying and a bit of name calling are very different things. If he is bullied report to the school for them to deal with. Name calling, give him a few one liners to come back with or tell him to rise above it and ignore it. Don’t let stupid kids ruin his chance of having much better teeth and paid for by the NHS. Chances are he’d want it done as he got older and it would cost thousands.

The dentist sounds like a . My DD got her braces in year 7 for an overbite, and as far as I’m aware no one at school has made a negative comment. She’s got the normal ones and I think they actually look quite nice. They have worked wonders already and she is quite happy to wear them. I’d try and persuade your son to go for them.

Do you mean many children are not seeing a dentist or that they go private?

Do your research, even better get him to check out all the celebrities who have worn braces.
My brother had them 45 years ago, when it wasn’t popular, and he got teased a bit, but his protruding teeth annoyed him more, he has never regretted it.
Your son must really need them if they are being covered by the NHS, they have a very strict criteria nowadays.
My daughter had them, she had a big gap between her front teeth, it completely closed it.
There will be pain (keep paracetamol on hand) and tears, give lots of suppport, comfort, encouragement, and distraction.
It will be well worth it, especially in a few years, when he has romance on his mind.

If you give him the option to not wear his braces your letting him down I'm afraid and he will resent you for it when he's older. All kids wear braces it's not the end of the world, he will have to just get on with it like everyone else.

Just a note of warning to say your son has the final choice. The orthodontist in our area has turned away several children where he asks them in his surgery if they consent to braces and they say no, it's mum making me etc. At 13 he has to give informed consent and parent cannot overrule unless life threatening medical situation.
So talks at home about the importance of it and making sure he goes into the office ready to say yes.
Point out it will be much worse when is older if he makes the decision then. A friend of mine ended up with braces at 30 before her wedding! At least people in his age group will have them too.
It's very hard as they don't want to be different at this age.

Don't dread it. Twin blocks are fine - a bit obtrosive and they might need removing to eat (and some paracetamol for the first couple of days) but if he commits to wearing them all the time then they can work very, very quickly and be very effective. DS had them at nearly 13 year old (slightly delayed because of covid) and they reduced his overbite/jet from 14mm to 5mm in 16 weeks. He then had traintrack braces for about 18 months and his teeth look fantastic. His jaw and bite has been massively improved - he can chew food much more efficiently and sleeps better too. At the time he had them I estimate about 1/3 of his friends and classmates had braces of some sort - it was a totally normal part of growing up.

If you want some before and after photos as encouragement send me a DM.

I had them - age 10 and again 16/17.

I wasn’t bullied either time. Mine were bad and I had to wear the head gear at night. At nearly 40 I have a fixed retainer on the bottom teeth (inside so can’t be seen). I have perfect teeth now.

It will be a lot worse and a bigger of steel issue in adulthood than a shorter period just wearing them now as a teenager.

Loads of kids wear them, it’s pretty normal. However adults with horrific teeth and needing a brace will struggle much more.

That’s awesome thanks! DS is constantly chewing and I do wonder if his bite isn’t satisfying so maybe braces will help that. And he’s a bad sleeper!

I would highly recommend getting them done now if the NHS recommemd it. My DS refused them & then decided a year later he did want them after all. Unfortunately by then the wait times in our area had increased to 3yrs!! And he would've gone back to the bottom of the list! So we ended up paying £5k to have them fitted privately!!
His teeth are perfect now though & he's gets many compliments, but our bank account really suffered!!

I didn't occured to me until he started the process but DS's bite just didn't work well - I always thought his was just a day-dreaming slow eater but actually he was finding it hard work. Also - his front teeth protruded badly and were cosmetically damaged because they weren't properly protected by his lips and bottom teeth. So now everything is properly alinged it should be much easier to keep his teeth and gums healthy.

My daughter had an overbite and got the blocks, you couldn’t really tell. After about a year her jaw shifted and she had the option of train tracks, but her teeth were quite straight so she said no.

all her mates had braces, so it wasn’t a thing.