Do your kids have braces? Please advise me!

amother

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 2:46 pm

My daughter got braces a few weeks ago. First of my kids to get so I need some help.

I had braces as a kid, but I see they are somewhat different now. Look much smaller than what I remember on my teeth, wire is different, etc. So the rules I had (I'm in upper 40's) for my braces might be different than today.

DD was told a whole list of foods to not eat. It seems really over the top. I get no biting into apples, carrots, no corn on the cobb, etc. but they told her no chips, no pretzels, no popcorn, no cereal. I seem to remember eating all of that when I had braces with no issues.

She is taking it seriously and being really careful what she eats. But the first week a brace fell off and then a week later another. They brought her in to put them back on finally Monday and then last night one came off again.

I am dreading calling to ask them to squeeze her in and put it back because though the doctor was nice enough about it, his assistant was a total witch, accusing my daughter of sneaking hard foods and causing it. She's really a good girl - so if she says she's not eating those foods I believe her. PLUS like I said, I never had all those restrictions AND DD claims her school friends with braces are eating popcorn and chips and they have no issues.

I don't know what to make of this. I just paid this guy a lot of money. And I really like him. He tracked my DD for 2 years before he decided she needed the braces; didn't rush to grab our money, very conservative and I liked that about him. But this is crazy! Do I need to go to a new ortho???

My4Jewels

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 2:56 pm

That’s really not ok to be treated that way.

I have 3 kids in braces.

That list seems quite over the top.. cereal??

My ortho sent out a list too. One of my kids brackets are always breaking. He is super careful as well. They said that it’s just the way his bite is where he hits the brackets no matter where on the tooth they position it and also they said that some kids saliva chemically makes the bracket not as sturdy.

Im my opinion I would not continue a relationship with a practice that makes my kid feel badly like that. Certainly when it’s not even their fault. Braces is a long term commitment .. years.. and if you’re cringing calling them now imagine in a year from now.

I say switch

amother

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 10:58 pm

Thanks, My4Jewels. I was thinking maybe it was her bite. Never heard about saliva being an issue.

Anyone else have any comments? Would love some more feedback. I think I will probably bring her for 2nd opinion. The orthodontist himself made a very good impression on me but I am very upset about the accusations his assistant is leveling against my daughter. And I am very concerned that with the brackets falling off like this so much, progress is going to be way too slow.

Oh, I also would love to know from any moms.... if brackets do fall off, how quickly is your child seen to fix it? And does that end up pushing off the next scheduled appointment or not?

amother

Smokey

Thu, Feb 06 2020, 6:28 am

Another ima here with three kids in braces. One of them (specifically) always seems to have his brackets falling off. He was never scolded about it and we’ve never really thought much about it-it’s just a pain in the neck and unfortunately something he seems to be prone to.
I used to run the next day to replace the missing bracket but it seriously happens so often, I no longer do 😳

amother

Lemon

Thu, Feb 06 2020, 7:06 am

I had 2 kids in braces and one just started. No one ever made my kids feel bad. Even when they had to tell my kids to brush better.

Only one ds had a brace fall off. He didn't tell me, they saw at the regular scheduled visit. They told him that had he told me, his mom, I would have called the office and they would have been able to fix it. They made us come back a few days later. I totally understood, ds needed to learn a lesson about being responsible.

They told me it wasn't an important brace, no harm will be done.

We got immediate appointments when DSs wires came out. He has a problem with it, it was because he had alot of space between his teeth and hard food hit the wire.The orthodontist figured out a solution and bh it never happened again.

amother

Brunette

Thu, Feb 06 2020, 7:18 am

My DS has ASD, and braces were really hard to get used to for him. Took months to get him to stop absentmindedly pulling things in his mouth!

Our orthodontist is very patient, and fits us in whenever something needs immediate attention, and tells us when it can wait a few weeks.

I think you should talk directly to your current orthodontist, and tell him what the assistant said, and ask for his opinion.

Maybe the issue is the assistant, not the orthodontist?

amother

Gray

Thu, Feb 06 2020, 9:50 am

I used to just show up in the morning if my kids bracket fell off. Now I just wait for their next appointment and don't bother going in before.
I have 3 children with braces and two of them never have brackets falling off and one of them constantly has them falling off. The Orthodontist does scold him about it and about not brushing his teeth well enough.
I truly hate Orthodontist appointments and wish I would have waited a few years until my children were older to get them braces, that way I would be able to send them on their own.

small bean

Thu, Feb 06 2020, 9:57 am

My daughter doesn't have brackets falling off but she has the rubberband on two teeth pop and they told me it is because of the closeness of those two teeth.

My ortho has a fee in place if brackets fall off too often.

I would call and ask for the ortho to call you back. Ask him why does he think they are popping off so much and what you can do about it.

amother

Papaya

Thu, Feb 06 2020, 10:11 am

There is a learning curve for the child and for the orthodontist about the child's mouth.
I went to "the" (expensive) orthodontist in my community who is really a great doctor.
Child #1: no problems
Child #2: Almost all of the braces fell off within 2 days of them being put on! She has the kind of saliva that regular braces glue didnt work --but once put on with "super glue", she rarely if ever had a bracket fall off.
Child #3: For the first approx 2 months, we practically lived in the orthodontist office. This location is only opened 2x a week (besides Shabbos) and we were there every day they were open. Also, tough saliva and figuring out how to chew... After the learning curve, things were fine for the duration.

shanie5

Thu, Feb 06 2020, 2:21 pm

Only had 1 kid whose brackets fell off often. Was her saliva, not her cheating. My orthodontist has a "1st 3 brackets are free,then you pay to replace them". This was to teach kids responsibility. She never charged us for dds brackets as it wasn't her fault.
Talk to dr about the assistant before switching doctors