How can I get my 7 1/2 year old daughter to get her expander

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#16 Post by **badbite** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:14 am

I'll let you know what works for her, however she won't go back until August. The ortho is waiting for her to loose and get her two front teeth. She may also need headgear. Fun, huh?

#17 Post by **sauerkraut** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:17 pm

My younger daughter had an expander and headgear and survived OK. Sorry, I can't offer too many tips as she was quite co-operative, thank goodness. She did say the worst part was being fitted for it in the first place.

I don't think anyone likes having impressions (molds) done much. Good tips for that are to sit forward and breathe through the nose as mentioned above. Also distract the child by getting them to do something else they have to think about. At our ortho they ask the child (in a nice calm voice) to slowly raise the left leg, then lower it again, then the same with the right leg, and by the time they've done that it's all over. You can also try getting her to wiggle her toes or tighten her tummy muscles.

I shall be interested to see how my son copes, though, when it's time for his braces as he's very nervous at the dentist and they also have some trouble getting him to open his mouth. Last appointment, when they wanted to seal his molars, what seemed to bug him most was the bright light shining on his face. The dentist suggested he wears trendy dark sunglasses next time. Possibly a tip for others to try?

#18 Post by **smf1971** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:48 pm

Headgear... That brings back memories! I had the night brace when I had braces. Gee, that was real fun to sleep in!

My daughter goes tomorrow to the dentist with my husband. She seems ready to go and doesn't seem to be nervous. It is not the first time so I believe she will be ok with getting her teeth cleaned. I will be interested in hearing if they believe she will need teeth pulled out because of the adult teeth that are coming up through and they are not taking out the baby teeth. She is starting to look like a shark with two rows of teeth!!!

LOL

Thank you for the wonderful advice of trying to get her to think of other things to do while they are trying to work on fitting her with the bands. I will try that out. My brother is a pyschologist and he told me to desensitize her by having he listen to music and someone else here on this forum did mention that too. So, I am willing to try anything, so long as we get this expander in!!!

I did hear about wearing sunglasses at the dentist because the over head light is bright. That is a great idea and hope that it will help your son out.

#19 Post by **Beckalicious** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:33 pm

I don't know how much help I will be to you on this topic, but I know how irritating it must be for you wanting to have your daughter started on her way to a beautiful smile. I'm now 25 and wanting to finally get going with getting braces. I was told when I was 7 that I needed them and gave my parents hell about getting them since my friends' dad was my dentist and I couldn't stand the smell in his office, and every time I saw him he kept informing my mom that I needed braces. His wife would have been my Orthodontist and she scared me as well every time I saw her. I know he kept doing everything he could do when I went to his office to try to straighten my teeth without braces, like pulling baby teeth to get them to come foward, but even now I still need them, and am envious that my 11 year old brother has straighter teeth than I do. My parents kept asking me if I wanted to get them and I kept refusing to get them probably due to their approach as well as my dentist's approach. Now I'm a brand new mom and am begging my husband to let me spend the money on finally doing what my parents should have just not even told me that they were taking me to an Orthodontist and let me get them when I was 7. I still wish they would have had an Orthodontist place a habit crib in my mouth to help me not suck my thumb any more which is what one my friends had to help her. I don't know if they make any anti-anxiety medication that you might be able to ask your daughter's doctor that might help relax her before going in to have her expander placed in. My parents have advised me of that even late into my teens just to help me with my nerves of the dentist and it has helped. Hopefully that helps you out

#20 Post by **smf1971** » Thu May 01, 2008 4:08 am

Well, My daughter made it through the dentist appointment. They did talk to her and told her every step that they were going to do to her. She was ok with that. The Hygenist did say that she has a terrible gag reflex. So, my husband is going to talk to the orthodontist and mention to them what the dentist told him about our daughter. She will be going back when school is out in June. IF, everything goes right she will have the expander in on July 18. So, please keep your fingers crossed that she goes through with it! I keep praying every day and night that she will get the courage to go and get this done. I just know that this would be so much easier for her if she got this done now at the age of 8 than to wait till she was older where she will have to go in for surgery.

Keep the advise coming!!! I really appreciate it and I do like knowing that I am not the only one going through this with my child.

#21 Post by **laurahalvey** » Fri May 16, 2008 7:56 am

I'm not one to medicate my child unless absolutely necessary. But my ortho suggested a dose of Benadryl before the appointment to calm her down.

It made her just calm enough to let them do the molds, and I am hoping it works when it comes time for the braces.

However................before this happened I called the pediatrician to make sure it was okay. Again, I am not very pro-medication unless it's necessary.

#22 Post by **smf1971** » Fri May 16, 2008 10:18 am

I took my daughter yesterday to the doctor for her yearly physical and talked to her pediatrician. He feels the same way about drugs. That is too risky to use. I can try the Benedryl and another way to help her was to try to desensitize her. By taking a spoon and laying it on her tongue like a doctor does with a tongue depressor. He wants me to take the spoon and each day try to touch the spoon to the insides of her mouth and then gently lay the spoon on her tongue and press down a little. This will help with her sensitivity for gagging. So, hopefully, that will make things easier when I take her back next month to be fitted for her expander. Thank you for your advise!

#23 Post by **smf1971** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 7:28 pm

UPDATE! I am a very excited mom!

My "now" 8 year old daughter finally faced her fear and got her expander in last week! It took a couple of times going to the orthodontist but she finally got it put in! Her pediatrician told us to desensitize her by taking a spoon and laying it in her mouth. So, I would take her and have her lay on the floor in our living room and sit at her head and pretend that she was at the orthodontist and pretend to be putting in her bands and having her bite down on the spoon handle then go on the to the next tooth and the next doing the same thing. I layed the spoon upside down and stuck it up to the roof of her mouth so that she had a feeling of something in there and had her swollen a couple of times. I also took my finger and touched the roof of her mouth. This all is suppose to help with her gag reflex and being familiar with someone playing in her mouth. As a mom, I will try almost anything to help out my daughter so that she can face her fear of the orthodontist and help her to get this going! So, I just wanted to share with you our update. So, thank you to all that have given me advice! It really helps knowing that we are all going through this together and knowing that I can come here to this message board and find help/advise from all of you!

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How can I get my 7 1/2 year old daughter to get her expander

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