Question re second timers in braces

[sjsarre]

I have a question which is two fold.

My son who is 11 in December has severely crowded teeth and requires a brace (gets it from his mum poor thing!)

I've spoken to a few parents whose children were in braces around the same age and have since grown up into adults only to now find in their 20's that they require braces again.

My question is. Does having braces as early as 11 potentially increase the likelihood of having braces as an adult?

Alot of teenagers have braces. 14/15 year olds. I'm wondering if my son is a bit young to have his braces yet. Taking into account the fact that he could potentially have alot of growing to do and his jaw could change quite dramatically? How do they know what size a jaw is going to be in an adult? Every child can be different genetics etc.

I will obviously speak to the ortho about the treatment plan, but I have come across several 2nd timers on this website and wondered what your / their thoughts were and why they got braces a second time. Is there an incidence of potentially having orthodontic work too early on in childhood?

[designermom]

This is my second time (I'm almost 40). I had braces (4 teeth pulled) when I was 10 - 13 years old because of crowding.

Well 15 years later I was having migraines and grinding my teeth. A visit to the orthodonist confirmed that my mouth and jaw grew AFTER I got my braces off. They are still perfectly straight, but my bite is horrible. They are now having to push my teeth back out so that I can chew properly.

I would hesitate in doing much more than a retainer that young and definitely not pulling any adult teeth!

[rsprouse]

There is no research that I am aware of that indicates a higher likelihood of needing additional orthodontic treatment again as an adult. That being said a lot of adults end up needing braces again after orthodontic treatment as a child. I do suggest you start orthodontics early as you can circumvent a lot of potential problems if you get into treatment at a young age. That being said most parents do not like the idea of their child being in braces for 4+ years. So the pressure is on to start small and as the child develops finish up in the mid teens. Don't forget that the body is still developing and growing into the late teens and early 20's. So with orthodontics you are trying to reasonably predict what additional growth a patient will have after braces. And when dealing with the human body there are no guarantees (well there are but not good ones ). The other thing is that you need a solid stabilization period to make sure the dentition is balanced and will hold. And finally you really need to wear your retainer your whole life if you want to keep your results. If you ask every adult in braces that had braces as a child if they wore their retainer, 99.9% will say No. As always YMMV.

Good Luck,
Rory

[mackenzie]

Usually they will say you should take your kid to the ortho at age 7. This is to check for any major huge problems that need to get treated right away. Normally they will tell you to come back around age 11-13 and get treatment, that way the braces will be off around age 13-15. If they wear their retainer for life after that they should be good, it is probably people who didn't wear their retainer that get braces again. I'm 17 and getting mine off soon, my teeth were perfect until I was about 14, but if I had had braces sooner and been using a retainer they wouldn't have gotten crooked anyway. I think anyone, even people with perfect teeth should go to an ortho and get a retainer to keep them that way for life.

[Joanna20]

Hi! I had braces put on at the age of 12, for about 2 years. They were alright for a while but I needed extractions, because my jaw was still growing I couldn't get them. I had to wait untill my wisdoms came out and untill I was fully grown to have my jaws corrected. I think that in some cases it can be corrected at an early age though..

Joanna

[sjsarre]

Hi everyone.. Thanks for replying

My son did go to the ortho when he was 7 and they didn't see any real issues with his teeth. Now at nearly 11 he has pretty severe crowding starting to develop. I know he has an awful lot of growing to do and I do wonder how hard it is for the Ortho to predict what his mouth will be like. For instance my sons father had a brace when he was very young and has ended up with not enough teeth in his mouth because he had extractions and his jaw grew quite substantially when he hit 15/16 years old.

I know every case is different and appreciate your comments.. The one thing I don't want to have to do is see my son in braces for 4+ years. Then end up with them again when he is older..

I will of course go to the next Ortho appointment and voice my concerns. The Ortho has not seen my sons father and cannot in my opinion really consider how much more his jaw has to grow. I obviously want to avoid the issues that his dad has had. Whilst his teeth are amazing and straight he doesn't have enough teeth at the back.

I will post the information once i've been to the ortho to try and get my questions answered.

[designermom]

I wore my retainer, but had late jaw growth. My teeth looked perfect, except the front teeth were coming down right on top of eachother. It's supposed to be rare, but like alot of things - it could probably be hereditary.