mom

[blueturtle922]

my daughter visited the orthodonist and they told her that she needed another expander put in. she is now 14 but previously had an expander when she was 10 and wore her retainer as much as she was supposed to. she was upset when she heard that she had to get another expander again because now that shes older and goes to highschool, shes afraid of the gap that it might make (will it cause a gap if she had one before?) and the way she speaks in front of her friends. she was brought to tears last night because she was scared that it will make a gap and she will have speech problems and everyone will laugh at her. its hard to see my daughter in tears...i dont know what to tell her ... any tips or something that will bring her spirit up?

[platinum]

well, I did not wear my expander/activator too much when I was akid (i stoppped basically when I got a gap between front teeth). Ortho told me to have braces, I did not want..... So now 15 years later I was forced to get braces. I have had biting problems whole time after I quit my treatment. But I did not care...

Maybe you should tell her what can happen if she won't wear it...

[onedayperfect]

sort it now or she will just regret it when she matures.

[serendipity]

blueturtle922:

I agree with other posters...it's so much harder if you put something like this off and deal with it when you are older . Maybe just be there for her (like I'm sure you are) and try to look at the positive points - every cloud has a silver lining afterall

~serendipity~

[Betty Bat]

Howdy,
You might want to try posting this to the "Parents of Kids in Braces" thread. There might be more help there.

[jennielee81]

I say go to another orthodontist and see what that one says. Maybe that he can do it without expanding or maybe another ortho would use a different type, not all effect the speech as much as others.

I had an ortho say that my daughter needed an expander and then another said that if we'd waited a year she would need it, but right now he can do it without. Her arch is rounding out beautifully with just braces.

I am not saying that your daughter doesn't need it, but I just want you to be sure she does since it sounds like the last thing in the world she wants to go through.

Different orthodontists use different techniques and appliances to achieve a result.

Good luck to your daughter!!