Has anone had braces? - Maddie is definitely going to need them

5littleladies wrote: I am feeling so terrible right now. Maddie has a huge, and I mean huge, overbite. Her front teeth are very misaligned from sucking her thumb and I feel awful that I haven't been able to get her to stop. Can anyone tell me what to expect as far as timing-when she could possible get them, and how she might react? I never had braces (although I probably should have ) and I feel bad for her.

~KARA~ replied: I had braces but I was 16. I think if you get them to early then the teath can just go back to the way they were. My sil had them when she was like 13 or 14 and had them again 2 years ago! at the age of 28.


My oldest dd has the thubm sucking problem too!! I have done everything imaginable to get her to stop. She is definatly going to need them too!!

JAYMESMOM replied: We are going to be going thru the same thing with my 6 year old step-son due to his overbite also. They do them between 6-9 from what his dentist is saying since they are still growing and it is done more to try and strech things out.

It is not fun from what I hear but is what has to be done.

If they have a teeth problem it will not necessarily fix that right awy since their intent is to work on the jaw.

DansMom replied: Braces technology has changed since I had them (I'm 40). I had a serious overbite just from having a mouth that was too small for the size of my teeth. They removed four molars and pushed everything back, first with headgear that I wore at night, and then with braces, and let's not forget the lovely little miniature rubberbands inside your mouth and the removable retainer at the end of that process. I started this process when I was 13 and it went on until I was 16. I think they start earlier now, and they have nicer looking braces---almost invisible. I'm sure it still hurts to have them tightened, but that achiness only lasts a day or two. I'm sorry Maddie has to go through this, but if it's any consolation, I really was glad the moment I got my braces off to have straight teeth and I haven't ever regretted it.

amynicole21 replied: Tracy, I had ALL of that too. The headgear was the worst! My problem was also from sucking my thumb, but the braces weren't so bad. I had them in 6th grade I think and got them off two years later. There will be lots of kids who have them at the same time that Maddie does, so she won't feel too self conscious. Plus, she'll have perfect teeth when she's older!

ediep replied: I never had them, but my nephew has them now. He strted the process about a year or 2 ago, (he is 13 now). I hardly notice them on hos teeth. They seem like they are much smaller or less metal then they used to be

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
Don't feel bad ~ goodness knows you've tried!! I'm sure having to get braces won't be the most fun thing she'll ever have to do, but it probably won't be terrible either - and she'll be glad when she's older for her nice straight teeth.

Jamielou replied: I had them also and at the time they said age 12 was best but it has been a while and i have noticed a lot of younger kids with them on.. It does get painful but i only had to wear them for 2 years. It was either that or have my Jaw broke and realigned. Its not your fault just think about those pretty straight teeth she will have

mom21kid2dogs replied: LOL! I just went to my last orthodontist appt this morning!! Mine took 2.5 years from start to finish. I think the time it takes depends on lots of things, not the least of which is the magnatude of the orthodontic issues. I doubt you'll start on anything very soon. In our area, orthodontists won't do much of anything until age 10-11 because the more time you allow the jaw bone to finish developing, the better. If they are on too soon the chances she'll have to do them again as an adult is huge. Yes they are painful but not really worse than a sore ankle or a headache!

BTW, millions of non thumbsuckers get them, too! I've asked my orthodontist and two dentists about dentition in toddlers and all 3 said it's more heriditary than any thing else. As my orthodontist said to me "If they have good teeth it's you fault! If they have bad teeth it's you fault!"

DansMom replied: I do suspect that my TMJ (jaw click on the left side) is from the orthodontic work and having things moved around so much. I still think it was worth going through though.

5littleladies replied: Thanks everyone for the feedback. It's nice to know that she will be in good company. I do feel bad for her, but at least it will be temporary. I just freaked out a little bit when I looked at her teeth this morning when she pulled out her tooth.

iluvmysweetiepies replied: Don't feel bad. Ashlyn got her braces off last fall (inherited daddy's crooked teeth). She had them for two years. The first week after getting them she was very sore, and when they tighten them it can make you sore for a day or two, but in the end I think she would agree that it was totally worth it. Her teeth are beautiful. She also had to wear headgear (overbite), but wasn't that great at wearing it. Now she is wearing a retainer at night.

I would contact your orthodontist, but every kid I've known that has gotten braces before 5th grade or so has had to get them again. Which would be a LOT of money.

b&bsmom replied: I remember the little rubber bands. I think my mom still finds one every once in awhile in my old room from trying to put them on and they shoot across the room. Anyway, my belief is that they don't do anything till all your baby teeth has fallen out. If I remember correctly I only had one thing that really hurt but other than that was not too bad.

moped replied: I had braces two different times - when I was 15 and again at 31, I grew up in the era where everyone had them so it was sort of cool. I also had a huge overbite, but they adjust like everything else and technolgy now is amazing - they aren't so shiny anymore.........don't feel bad - I am sure 80% of kids have/had braces.

mom2lilnick replied: Kayla is just starting this process too. She just got fitted for a bottom retainer because she has lost all her bottom baby teeth, but she has three more top ones to go. She just turned nine in Jan.

We were told that we can stay with something called fixed retainers until she gets to be a tad bit older and has developed better brushing habits. If we went with braces she might just get a bunch of cavities if she doesn't brush well. She even got to pick out colors. She picked Purple! hehehehe

paradisemommy replied: i had major reconstruction on my mouth starting when i was about 8 years old. my bottom 4 teeth came in perpendicular to the way they are supposed to come in. so i had to have my molars dug up and taken out along with a handful of other teeth. i had braces for a couple years only on my bottom teeth then a few years later had to have them put on again on the top and the bottom for about a year.

like everyone says - when they tighten them, they hurt really bad - all you can eat is totally soft/mushy stuff like jello and scrambled eggs and liquidy stuff but after a couple days, it's ok.

my niece who is 13 got hers put on about a year or so ago and i've never heard her complain about them...

don't worry - she'll be fine - i don't remember ever getting teased when i had mine on..

luvbug00 replied: I had them , my brother had them and I've taken them off and helped put them on. ( at 16 I was an orthodontic tech.) It's very true that kids who have them put on at too young an age will more then likely get them again. Especialy if baby teeth or possible removal of other teeth is involved. Otherwise I think she should be fine. The putting on and removel prosses will be a little hard to be honest but the end result is well worth the effort and they have cool color bands that go arround the brackets and so she can wear her favorite color all the time!!

Good luck!!

EmilyandPhoebesMommy replied: I had braces when I was fourteen for an overbite of 8mm. My teeth were quite straight though so I only had to wear them for 6 months. It wasn't too bad although I had a little trouble speaking at first. Overall, though, it was worth the while.

lilkim21 replied: my sister got braces at 17 and some people get them at 10 or older