Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone! I've been braced for a little over a year and only have three months left but now we are looking at my daughter. She is 8 years old and goes for a consultation with my orthodontist on Wednesday. We took her to a different ortho. last year and he felt that is wasn't the right time to do anything because he felt there was still some moving going on and he thought things would get better. Well, they didn't. The two teeth on either side of her top front teeth overlap the front teeth (which they didn't do last year). When we took her in there was a space there and her two front teeth were at an almost 90 degree angle to each other. That has improved some but now we have the other problem. She is so aware of it that she hardly ever smiles with her mouth open and I feel really bad for her. Hoping that my ortho will have a better plan than to just wait. We'll see. Sorry to just vent but I feel better now that I have.

Amy
Damon 2's top and bottom
braced 12-16-04

I can empathize with you. My younger daughter is almost 10 and a couple of years ago she was in a similar type of position, not wanting to smile showing her teeth (especially for photos).

She is a very late teether so we did have to wait until more adult teeth came in before we did anything. She got an expander to correct her crossbite last year and now her teeth are growing in pretty well. They are a bit crooked here and there. I expect that she will need braces in the next year or two to ensure that they become straight. She's very excited about it because although her teeth look better than before, she still doesn't like them being crooked. She can't wait for them to be straightened out.

Good luck with her appointment.

My oldest son is 7 and has had one consultation with our ortho because he has a small upper arch and a crossbite. He still had some molars coming in then so we waited to do anything. He needs to go back this June to be looked at again and most likely he will need an expander. We hoped it might correct itself but it's just not happening. I don't think he will handle an expander well so I'm not looking forward to him getting one.

Thanks for the support everyone. I will let you all know how things go on Wednesday.

Amy
Damon 2's top and bottom
braced 12-16-04

Well, we had our first consultation today. The news we got wasn't good but wasn't too bad either. Turns out she has a 7mm overjet, with significant crowding on the top and bottom. Her midline is also off 1.5 mm. They want to put Damon 3's on her front 4 top and bottom teeth and put a Herbst Appliance on her for a year and than retainers after that until she has all her adult teeth and we'll see from there. The ortho was great and explained all of this to her and she had no questions for him at all. Even after seeing the model of both she was fine. However after being home for a few hours she started crying because she wants brace with ligs like all her friends so she can have colors. She isn't even upset about the Herbst, it's the stupid colors that get her. She is such a girly girl!! Again venting...sorry!

Amy
Damon 2's top and bottom
braced 12-16-04

Awww, I'm sorry to hear that she is unhappy. It's so hard when you want to fix everything for your children so they will be happy and you can't. I hope she feels better about it quickly.

You should try to explain to your daughter that the Damons are better -- they are more "high tech" than "regular" braces. Less yucky food will get caught in them.

Maybe the ortho could put ligs on the brackets. It depends on whether the friction from the ligs would interfere with the archwire movement inside the bracket. Your ortho would know for sure.

I know it's hard to reason with an 8-year-old, if you could somehow get across to her that these are spiffier than regular braces, maybe that will be enough to console her about the lig colors.

LOL, most adults would want Damons instead because of the lower maintenance!

Hi adollface,

My 11-year-old daughter is getting the Herbst put on next month ( the 8th), then a few months later getting braces. When does your daughter get started? I wish you the best of luck!

If colors are of the utmost importance. ask the doc to use conventional tie wing brackets. I use Damon's but not on little folks b/c of the wear and tear and they all want colors anyhow. Besides: non-Damon braces cost him less to use.

As orthodontists, we sometimes forget how big a deal the Colors are to kids. It means everything to them!

And on a partial set up w/ a "Herbie", tie wing brackets and good old purple and pink ligs (or whatever) may not allow the wire to slide back and forth like in a "frictionless" appliance like Damon 3.

Thanks again for all the support and advice. We had a discussion today about her braces and she has decided all on her own that the Damon 3's are pretty cool and now likes the idea of the half clear half silver. We have two more consults to go to in the next few weeks. One with an ortho who treated three of our cousins recently. I'll keep you posted as to what they say. One of the appt. would be next week but I'm having knee surgery so it must wait. Thanks again to everyone for everything!

Amy
Damon 2's top and bottom
braced 12-16-04

That's great; we went to 4 different consults before we chose our ortho. Good luck!

Glad to see your daughter has agreed to the Damon 3's. That is what I have. Tell her too, that when the light hits the brackets just right, it looks like you have little stars on your teeth. It's pretty neat!

I hope your other consults go well!

Hi everyone! Well we had our second consult today. What a difference from the first consult. This guy has treated three of my cousin over the years, so that is why we went to him. First of all he doesn't want to do anything yet. He said she has a slight overbite (really different from the first) but feels that her lower jaw will grow and catch up with the upper jaw. He took no measurements at all. He said her upper jaw is narrow and that when he did start treatment, which would probably be in 6 months, he would put in a palate expander. And that was pretty much it. I was a little shocked after what we had heard from my orthodontist. Anyway, she said she doesn't like the second orthodontist and wants to go with mine. We have one more consult. next Tuesday(after my adjustment). After that we will make a decision. As of right now my husband wants to go with my orthodontist because he seems to be a little more pro-active. So for now that's where we are. Will let you know what happens with the next one. By the way my knee surgery went well, will probably have to have more done in the next couple of months so I've learned that the crutches are going to become a big part of my life!

Amy
Damon 2's top and bottom
braced 12-16-04

If your daughter doesn't like the second ortho, then it'd probably be a good idea not to go with them. Kids usually have a good sense with stuff like that.

Glad your surgery went well!

When it comes to my kids I really trust their feelings around adults. And I really want her opinion on which of the orthodontist she feels most comfortable with. I think it will make a huge impact in her attitude toward treatment. She's a really good kid and has great judgement of adults.

Amy
Damon 2's top and bottom
braced 12-16-04