Dental Braces

There are different braces types. Teen Invisilign isn't as often as regular braces. That's what my son had. There is also the Damon System. That involves less time at the orthodontist too.

Look into both of these by googling them and then click on what orthodontists offer these services. Not all do. If you can use an orthodontist who TEACHES the method to other dentists, that's even better. I wanted the Damon System for my son because it's less painful than traditional braces, but Invisilign Teen was the best method for him, as an older teen. (Also less painful.) It worked out well.

I have never had them, but I do know that. Lot of it will depend on the severity of the teeth. I had a friend in school who got hers taken off in 7th grade, but her sister (whose teeth were REALLY bad) was still wearing them when she graduated high school even though they got them at the same age. It seemed like the sister was constantly missing class to go to the orthodontist, but my friend only missed a handful.

A lot really depends on what treatments are needed and how well your child's teeth respond. We just got started with a top and bottom expander for my son who's 10. The top expander is cemented in while the bottom is a removable retainer. We had the first couple appointments a month apart where they did the consult then took all the pictures and x-rays and charted the initial course of action. Then there was 3 appointments, one a week, to take the molds then install the appliance then come in after a week to make sure the appliances were holding up. The appointments have been spread out after that. The appointment we're working up to is 6 weeks out from the last.
In our case, further treatment is dependent on how he responds to the expanders. His teeth are already moving faster than anticipated. He doesn't have all of his adult teeth in yet and hasn't lost all of his baby teeth yet so we are making the room before they are even in so they come in straight to begin with.
The orthodontists will explain to you the appointment schedule and such during the consult when they have had the chance to see what treatment your child needs.
I can tell you that things have come a long way and improved a whole lot since I got braces in the 80s. Even just seeing the expander my son has compared to the one I had is stunningly improved.

It varies on the treatment needed. I had braces in my mid 20's. Initially I was there a little more to make sure everything was ok but after the initial settings, etc, I was there once a month. I was there pretty routine monthly for almost 2 yrs when they were removed. At that time, I was fitted with a retainer to wear at night especially to keep them in place.

Overall, my teeth have not shifted much. I do wear a night guard for have for many many years due to my clenching at night.

In in the beginning, it was an adjustment for me to eat. Very sore in the beginning. I lost over 10# that I didn't have extra to lose due to not being able to eat and to adjust to them. The monthly tightenings were not painful until the next day for me.

One thing I still swear by is the water pik. It helped SO much with keeping clean in my mouth.

Good luck.

ETA: I had the clear brackets and just in case you choose those... keep in mind that they stain easily, especially with red sauces.

For both my girls it was about a 20 to 24 month period of treatment, which I think is about average, but it REALLY depends on how much work your daughters need and how well/quickly their teeth respond. We went in for appointments about every four to six weeks, mostly we were in and out in ten minutes but some appointments were longer.

My son just got his braces off.

Appointments were about every 6 weeks. Many of the appointments took less than 10 minutes. The longest ones were getting braces on/off and took maybe an hour.

It was about 15 months total time from consultation to braces off. We still go once every few months for a checkup since he is now wearing a retainer at night.

It depends on their needs. This is just not something anyone but an orthodontist can answer.

My kids had their braces on anywhere from a year and a half to almost four.

It varied per kid, but it was about a year to year and a half of mostly monthly visits for adjustments plus any initial work pulling any teeth necessary (my SD has a small mouth), the evaluation and the visits to put them on and take them off. A friend's son is basically doing invisalign for kids so her experience is completely different than ours with the wires. Did your dentist say they need braces or are you just thinking they need the eval?

My girls (11 and 16) currently have Invisalign. They go to the orthodontist every 8 weeks for a check up and to get their new trays.

To start with, they had molds taken of their teeth, then returned about 6 weeks later once their trays came in. The first appointment took about 1 hour so they could attach "buttons" to their teeth.

My nephews have regular braces and are on the same 8 week schedule as my girls. When they go to the orthodontist, he just takes out the old wire and puts in the new wire.

We are typically in and out of the office in 15 minutes or so.

Number of visits will vary a lot depending on what needs to be done and how well instructions are followed.
If they have to wear rubber bands and they don't wear them as often as they should they will make the process drag out longer.
Sometimes a bracket breaks/detaches and you need to make an unscheduled visit to have it repaired.
For me (this was like 30 years ago) I had braces for 7 years (5th through 11th grade) and had 8 adult teeth extracted to get the rest to fit into my mouth.
Our son was in braces about 2 years (4th through 6th grade) (they start earlier now and the expanders make the jaws big enough to hold all the teeth so they don't have to pull them).

My daughter just got her braces on and we had about 5 visits before getting them onto her teeth. They do paper work and had to take molds (that's the worst part) to be sure they would fit in her mouth (my daughter will be 8 next month and her mouth is very small with only 3 baby teeth left).

We have to go back in two weeks then every few weeks in between. The office is only 15 minutes away so its not a big deal for us. My daughter will be happiest when the expender comes out, hopefully by Christmas, and they should be off by this time next year. Other then that they are not a big deal and there is a lot less pain then when I had them in the 80's.

My daughter goes every four to six weeks.

My daughter went for a braces appointment and she was younger than yours. The dentist basically said the only way he could do anything that would fix her teeth would be breaking her jaw and starting over.

The youngest I've seen a dentist start preparing a mouth for braces was around 7 years old. All the kids in the family had teeth too big for their mouth. They all had to have a minimum of 4 teeth pulled on each side. Two on top and two on bottom each side.

They had beginning braces on at 8 or 9 and still had them on in their early teen years. They all have perfect beautiful smiles.

I think if the changes needed are more major they can't get away from pulling teeth. They only have so much space in their mouth. Nothing can be done without the room to do so.

Just take it one appointment at a time. I think it will be a unique experience for everyone. I hope they come out with very pretty teeth.

she went for her expander in Sept, got her brackets in October, got her actual braces in November, had the expander tightened at home that first week, and checked up on in 10 days I think, so that is 4 appointments in the first 3 months. Then the appointments went to every 6 wks or so. At one of those appointments the expander was taken out. She's worn them 2 yrs now, all of 8th grade, all of 9th grade. No idea how much longer she has. Not everyone needs an expander. The hardest part is the hours the doctor has are stupid - M- F 9:30 - 3:30 - in other words only when the kids are in school!

It depends on the dental problems. I had mine for only 6 mos as my teeth are pretty straight, just had two that were extra long, my sister had hers for 2 yrs. I had friends who had theirs for 4 yrs.

Your questions could be best answered by the orthodontist as they will be the one treating the girls & will know what types of treatment they need & how long it'll take.

For us, one visit for evaluation, the next visit was braces & then monthly treatments til done. Another visit for removal & fitting for retainer then two wks later for the retainer fitting. Hope this helps! Good luck. :)

my younger had his on for 2 years, and it was fairly intensive. but he had a tooth growing haywire through his upper gums, and it had to be teased down, so was an unusual problem.
mine own were so far in the distant past that i doubt my experience would be of any use to anyone today, other than for funny stories.
:) khairete
S.

My oldest has been in braces for almost a year now, and my youngest just got out of a jaw expander that she had on for 18 months. In short, we are paying for our orthodontist's new Mercedes. ;)

So, the process for us was a visit to make a mold of the child's mouth. Then a second visit a few days later to place the bands, brackets, expander, or whatever. After that, visits approx every 8 weeks. They send you home with LOTS of information on how to care for the braces/expander/ retainers, and what to do if something breaks or becomes too uncomfortable. My younger daughter had a band come totally off one time, and the orthodontist saw us same-day to fix it. The fix took 5 minutes.

All in all, once they're on, it's a fairly hands-off process with infrequent checkups.