Braces CRISIS !!!!!

LB6

My 13 year old daughter has to get braces. Once she found out she started bawling and she is begging me for the invisible braces. I'm just wondering how much do regular braces coat and is there a different between the normal ones and the invisible ones.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Invisible braces wont work usually in cases with any more than a small bit of crowding unless you go for lingual braces which are twice the price. So unless you want to burn money it not on.

She is 13, tell her she is lucky your spending thousands on her teeth and its either that or have a crooked smile when she is 16 and will really feel the social embarrassment. all her friends will have braces anyway this is just a tantrum.

Joncol

Ok I'm going to tell you my experience of braces, and I seriously don't want to seem negative but I'm going to be honest.

I got braces two years ago and they were definitely definitely definitely NOT WORTH IT.

I would 110% get a second opinion from another dentist s I genuinely feel my dentist was a complete crook and was interested in his own pocket over the patient.

Of course all not dentists are not like this and I'm sure the majority are really good at what they do but the dentist telling you she needs braces is going to financially benefit from her getting them so best to get a second opinion.

Just being honest.

peggie

its hard when a child objects to a treatment, especially one like orthodontics as they will have to attend every 1-2 months over the 2 year treatment and will have to comply with the instructions of the orthodontist.

i would suggest asking the orthodontist if the treatment is time sensitive- ie would it adversely affect the result if you waited a year or so to start?
if they say no it may be worth giving it 6 -12 months and bringing it up with your child again, at this age i've found kids can change their mind and want braces even though they said no initially, if you have a child who is keen it will make it a lot easier experience for you all

best of luck
peg

Joncol

Once again I don't want to seem too negative but I was told my treatment would take 10-12 months, it took 26 months. I was told I would get certain results, I didn't and the reason was put down to my genetics.

Oh by the way I was offered no form of refund for the time delay or lack of results.

If I could turn back time I would of definitely get 2nd and 3rd opinions before agreeing to any form of long term treatment.

If your daughter does opt for braces then the most important thing is that she is in the hands of a capable and honest dentist.

Oral Surgeon

peggie wrote: »

its hard when a child objects to a treatment, especially one like orthodontics as they will have to attend every 1-2 months over the 2 year treatment and will have to comply with the instructions of the orthodontist.

i would suggest asking the orthodontist if the treatment is time sensitive- ie would it adversely affect the result if you waited a year or so to start?
if they say no it may be worth giving it 6 -12 months and bringing it up with your child again, at this age i've found kids can change their mind and want braces even though they said no initially, if you have a child who is keen it will make it a lot easier experience for you all

best of luck
peg

True and as her classmates get them and she becomes conscious of her own teeth- she'll accept them more....

Oral Surgeon

Joncol wrote: »

Once again I don't want to seem too negative but I was told my treatment would take 10-12 months, it took 26 months. I was told I would get certain results, I didn't and the reason was put down to my genetics.

Oh by the way I was offered no form of refund for the time delay or lack of results.

If I could turn back time I would of definitely get 2nd and 3rd opinions before agreeing to any form of long term treatment.

If your daughter does opt for braces then the most important thing is that she is in the hands of a capable and honest dentist.

Why did you get braces if you didn't want them. Is the appearance of your teeth improved after your 26months?
OS

checkcheek

I had braces and its deffo worth with, and im so glad my parents payed for it!!

Now not to be bragging but i have one amazing smile(like a hollywood smile). But it took four years to get and there was times it hurt and i got frustrated But it was worth it.

Plus straighter teeth are so much easier to floss and clean and just easier in life!!

Im sure she will be begging for them soon.,

And anyway, all and i repeat ALL her friends will prob have them.

I was glad i get them when i did, cause now i see people going into college and they have just gotten braces, at least at 14 all 14 year olds have them

Joncol

Oral Surgeon wrote: »

Why did you get braces if you didn't want them. Is the appearance of your teeth improved after your 26months?
OS

I got them as I wanted to improve my smile. I did want them as my dentist explained how the treatment would improve my smile and what to expect.

The problem is the treatment did not improve my smile to the level he told me, not alone this but the treatment time was more than double.

Has the appearance improved? I would say yes but in all honestly only 30 - 40% of what was promised. I definitely don't have streeth teeth and I am still extremely concious of my smile. After spending over €5,000 on the treatment I feel incredibly cheated. As I say I am sure the majority of dentists out there are v v good at what they do but I absolutely hate my dentists for how (in my opinion) he ripped me off.

My experience from braces is not good and that's what I would always tell people to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion.

Joncol

Again I don't mean to be negative. I'm just advising a 2nd opinion and make sure your dentist tells you everything. I was never told I'd have to wear a retainer for a year after my treatment (maybe extremely naive of me but I never knew I would have to wear one and my dentist never told me until I had my braces off). That's another factor your child needs to think over.

Just make sure your dentist tells you everything and doesn't leave anything out.

Oral Surgeon

Joncol wrote: »

I got them as I wanted to improve my smile. I did want them as my dentist explained how the treatment would improve my smile and what to expect.

The problem is the treatment did not improve my smile to the level he told me, not alone this but the treatment time was more than double.

Has the appearance improved? I would say yes but in all honestly only 30 - 40% of what was promised. I definitely don't have streeth teeth and I am still extremely concious of my smile. After spending over €5,000 on the treatment I feel incredibly cheated. As I say I am sure the majority of dentists out there are v v good at what they do but I absolutely hate my dentists for how (in my opinion) he ripped me off.

My experience from braces is not good and that's what I would always tell people to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion.

That's unfortunate and clearly the dentist over-promised or you understood the endpoint to be better... Either way, there was a breakdown in communication and explaining the expected final result and managing expectations is a big job in dent and orthodontics....
But despite that, most patients who have a full course of braces with an orthodontist have a good improvement and are happy.
I often tell patients that if you start out thinking your teeth are a 4/10 and end up with a 8/10 result- you will be delighted but if starting at 8/10, you won't be happy with 9/10...!!! It is harder to get that extra grade....

Good luck,
OS

Joncol

I'd agree that braces in many many cases (your probably right when you say the majority) work extremely well but again I would always urge a 2nd opinion as I found a complete crook of a dentist.

By the way I never expected perfection. I would of been happy with relatively straight teeth that look good, not great, good would be enough.

After spending 26 months and €5,750 on treatment I don't have straight teeth and I am extremely concious of my smile. They are the facts so just be careful of your dentist.

There's a lot of very very bad dentists out there who will gladly rip you off.

During my treatment I had to get a palette expander fitted. It was a removable device that my dentist charged me 78 euro for. He gave it to me in it's packaging. Out of interest I went onto the manufacturer's website just to take a look. I found that the device itself could be purchased direct for €4. So my dentist was charging me €78 for something he sources for €4. That's what your up against and that's why I would strongly urge to get a 2nd opinion to find a trusted dentist, not one that will promise you everything and rip you off while you are at it.

Orthoman

" I found that the device itself could be purchased direct for €4. So my dentist was charging me €78 for something he sources for €4."

JONCOL, Could you supply us with the link for the €4 expanders?

Jusan

Joncol wrote: »

Once again I don't want to seem too negative but I was told my treatment would take 10-12 months, it took 26 months. I was told I would get certain results, I didn't and the reason was put down to my genetics.

Oh by the way I was offered no form of refund for the time delay or lack of results.

If I could turn back time I would of definitely get 2nd and 3rd opinions before agreeing to any form of long term treatment.

If your daughter does opt for braces then the most important thing is that she is in the hands of a capable and honest dentist.

Another way to look at it is that you got an extra year of treatment at no extra charge. Does your orthodontist know you are not happy with the result?

abbey2000

i had braces for four years and am so so glad i got them. your daughter is 13 and probably worried about how she will look with braces...ask her to think forward 3 or 4 yrs and how will she feel if her teeth are crooked and all over the place?

the one thing i would recommend is to go to an orthodontist and not a dentist. they specialise in this area and this is what they are trained to do. my orthodontist was very good, explained different options to me, all about cost, what results i could achieve depending on what route i went, and about the need for a retainer after treatment. really, the retainer is no big deal.