Mother and Son in braces

[joney]

Looks like George W got that gap in his teeth sorted out somewhere along the line!

[Wingnut]

Okay, now I'm depressed. As you know, my son and I got braced together, February 9, 2005. We're still in them with no end in sight...

My daughter got her braces February 8, 2006 - almost a year later to the day! - and hers come off at our next appointment, May 9th.

Granted, her teeth obviously weren't as bad as ours, but boo-hoo. I've reached that point where people now ask, "Do you still have those things? Man, it seems like forever. When do you get them off?" and it makes me want to scream.

Thanks for the vent.

[alexa]

Okay, now I'm depressed. As you know, my son and I got braced together, February 9, 2005. We're still in them with no end in sight...

My daughter got her braces February 8, 2006 - almost a year later to the day! - and hers come off at our next appointment, May 9th.

Granted, her teeth obviously weren't as bad as ours, but boo-hoo. I've reached that point where people now ask, "Do you still have those things? Man, it seems like forever. When do you get them off?" and it makes me want to scream.

Thanks for the vent.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I got my braces in March of 2005, and all people say to me is, "So, you're getting them off soon? You've had them forever...aren't your teeth straight yet?"

Up until recently, I didn't even have a frame of reference for when they were coming off, so I'd answer the question "When're you getting them off?" with "NEVER!"

[momof3]

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[Wingnut]

Thanks Meryaten and alexa for the kind words! Waiting list for sensitivity training - I love it!

Momof3: I am so excited for you! Are your daughters excited? In addition to the three of us in my family that have braces, my 9-year-old daughter has a thumb guard (placed June 27, 2006), so all four of us go en masse to the othodontist every five weeks for our adjustments. I think that's what depresses me about my 13-year-old getting hers off next month; it will be one less person sharing the adventure. Not to mention, the thumb guard will be off the 9-year-old soon too, leaving just me and my son again. It was fun while it lasted!

[momof3]

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[momof3]

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[bracieb]

In our family of 5, only Dad isn't wearing braces. We have two dental plans- mine and his- and it covers everything for all of us, something we are very happy about!

My 10 yr old twins sucked their thumbs until they were at least 6, so we knew that braces were in their futures for sure. I was back at work full time so we signed up for the family plan again. Now it's time for braces and I shudder at the thought of 3 kids in braces and me too, and only partial coverage. Yikes!

My eldest daughter is 12, and although her teeth are pretty good, we said she might as well be perfect, so she agreed to do it with us. She is very lucky, however- she only needs 6-10 months, no headgear, no molar bands (I hate mine...).

[bracieb]

We have to drive 25min from home and about 30 from the kids' school, so we all go together when possible. The ortho's office is quite close to my work, so I can go at different times if need be. There are no orthos we wanted to work with in our immediate area (only 2 to choose from), and this guy is one our regular dentist refers patients to- we drive to see her as well. We figured it would save a lot of headaches to all go at once. We did get a volume discount on the last two of us : )

"Poor Dad" sports a nice straight set of teeth, all naturally attained, the lucky guy! His schedule means he gets to do much of the driving, so he isn't left out ; )

Yes- it does help with the menu, we all eat the same stuff, and will need the softies at the same time. We're making good progress- we're onto chicken and fries tonight! Lotsa wax and I'm ok. It also helps with knowing what needs to be done with oral hygiene and pain and such, too. That reminds me- must go remind them to wear that headgear to bed.

Elastics- I never thought of that. This could be interesting! You should see the array of dental care stuff on the bathroom counter now- with an elastics organizer (we'll need to improvise) it will be like a drug store.

Three year old twins? I remember those days- I especially remember playing catch the toddler on the play structures at the park- the other Moms could stay in one spot watching one kid but I was running all over catching the girls before they fell! Their sister was not quite 2 when they were born, we used to line them up for diaper changes. Yes- the first few years are a blur, I'm glad we took pictures!

[mrsphase74]

I am 33 and my daughter is 13. She had her braces (full metal upper/lower) applied in Oct 2005 while I was in Iraq. I had been trying to get treatment through the army but was rejected due to the fact that there was only one orthodontist to service all of Ft. Bragg so he only took the extremely serious cases. I decided to do a consultation with my daughter's ortho since he works really well with her. I was braced (uppers only) on April 13, 2006 and my daughter was more excited than I was. She was right by my side as they were putting on my brackets, and even taking pictures with my cell phone and teasing me! I thought that I would have to get on my daughter's case less since we both have braces, but nope, I still have to get on her case! So much for her following my example. Her treatment is estimated at 24 months, mine was estimated at 6 months (that flew out of the window, I still have them on!)

[bracefacebridget]

I had my braces put on July 6, 2007. Our dentist at our last visit (mid-July) referred our daughter who is 12 to the ortho. We went for a consult today - turns out she has 2 impacted teeth. She goes Tuesday for her x-rays/molds and we will know for sure her plan of treatment, but looks like surgery will be in her iminent future after her braces are on 6-8 months to pull the 2 teeth down. Shouldn't the dentist have caught that she had impacted teeth? I am surprised, but they also did not know whether she had lost all of her baby teeth or not! The ortho took one look and saw this. I am hoping we can make the time go by quicker by doing it together. So far she is ready (other than for the oral surgery which she was not thrilled about)

[oliviasmom]

I'm grateful to find this board and have been reading a ton of posts over the last two days My daughter was just placed in a palate expander last Thursday. It's been a little rough this first week....she has a very sensitive gag reflex, didn't actually swallow the whole first day. I finally got some ice cream down her last Friday evening. She will not eat anything of substance. I forced her to eat mashed potatoes yesterday. She also became constipated, so we had to fight that battle as well. I'm just hopeful I made the right decision. She's lost 4 lbs and really doesn't have it to lose as she's very tall for her age. I have to say I've been doubting our decision a little. We're turning the expander and pain hasn't been an issue at all. It's that she panics anytime anything gets caught in her expander...that's why she won't eat. We attempted mac and cheese and a small piece of pasta wound up in the expander and she completely lost it. I'm purchasing a waterpik this w/e. Please tell me things will improve. Any advice or encouragement is greatly appreciated.

[Desiree]

My son and I both are experiencing orthodontics at present. He was 14 when his were put on and I was 42. We can relate to each other, and too... he seems to maybe take better care than he would if I was not as knowledgeable on what he is experiencing!

All in all, I do think having each other going through this is good for us both.