My 8 year also got spacers and braces in the bay area. She's now 16, and has been wearing a retainer ever since. She has not needed braces again, and her teeth came in really beautifully. She needed the spacers to give her teeth room to come in. (Her eye teeth were coming in way above the gum line). By doing that, we avoided extraction, which was our goal--a fuller smile is a more beautiful smile after all!
There are definitely pros and cons to going this route. First, to your point, you really don't know if she's going to need braces when she gets older, so you may have to pay for additional work when she gets older. Also, because she's 8, you're going to have to actually crank the spacer on her palate. (If it's the same kind of spacer we had). It is not pleasant, and it does hurt them, at least in the beginning. My daughter complained a lot when she first got it, because it's a fairly large piece of metal in the mouth. She did get used to it though. The braces really weren't that big of a deal. Another advantage of doing this is that they get the whole braces phase of their lives over early. Many of my daughters friends got braces for the first time in middle and high school, and they absolutely hated it--it was 'social suicide', according to my daughter. My daughter had already completed this 'rite of passage' before she hit puberty. She thanks us to this day, but again, we were lucky in that she didn't need braces again.
The main pro for us was that she didn't need to get any teeth pulled. It was clear that by the size of her teeth and the size of her mouth, that there was no way her teeth were going to fit. The spacers are a method to help size the mouth for the teeth, and in our case it worked with great results.
Hi Sally-
I had alot of ortho work done when I was 6 years old and it lasted for 3 or so years. I had a cemented piece which straightened my teeth, then I had a retainer with a key that we cranked a quarter turn every night until my teeth and jaw were spaced correctly. My parents never had my bottom teeth done, which are slightly crooked now as I have aged. The costs were covered (over what dental coverage would pay) through Care Credit.
For your daughter, see if you can just get a second opinion without much cost- call ahead. The work is easiest when they are younger because their bones are still growing. If you wait until she is an adult and she decides she wants it done then, it requires (at least for a co-worker of mine to straighten the teeth and widen the upper) the upper palette to be broken, stretched, set, and then months where the teeth are slowly growing back together. This process has been over a year in the making. Def. get another opinion, and weight the benefits. If it is not worth it and her teeth are just barely off, don't worry about it. But if it is something that has been getting worse and probably will continue to do so, budget it out, do care credit if you have too, and see how you can make it work.
Hope this helps!
-Erin M.
I don't know about all this early ortho work. I see a lot of kids having it done, only to have things re-done later. I'd wait till middle school till you have it done.
Sally
If your instinct is bothering you then get another opinion however I will tell you my daughter who is almost 20 went thru what your daughter will go thru.As they are young and the teeth are coming back in they want to start them earlier I think when we were little they just put on those stainless steel bands for yeqrs tighten the wires and that was that but as they do studies it is more involved with jawline teeth placement etc. Go with your gut but since I experienced first hand and with different orthodontist ( i had moved)and the results were perfect straight teeth.
When I was told at 7 years old that my daughter neeeded braces, I questioned it as well. However we went ahead with treatment and she had 2 phases of braces starting in second grade and again in sixth grade. She got her braces off in time for graduation in 8th. I have to say that her teeth are absolutely beautiful. What we could see from the treatment was the first round of braces corrected the structural issues and the second did the actual straightening. When I look at pictures from before and after, I can't believe the difference. At the time when the first round went on, I didn't realize how much correction was needed. I just thought that she had a bit of an overbite. If they start when the child is younger they can get alot more movement in the bones and avoid pulling teeth. I don't know about you but as a child I had four teeth pulled before I had braces. With my daughter between spacers and the first round of braces they we able to make enough room for her adult teeth to come in correctly without having to pull any teeth. I know it is expensive, but I look at my daughter, who is now in high school, and I am really grateful that we were able to do it for her.
First thing - an initial consult with a orthodontist is free. So get a second and third opinion. We saw two orthodontist for 2 years (for free) because they had recommended a wait and see approach. Then we decided who we wanted to continue seeing for the work. We are paying $6500 for neck gear and braces. We paid $1800 down and $180 a month. Everything is covered. My daughter is 10 1/2 and today we're taking her to get her neck-gear and basically start her treatment. Definitely get a second opinion, get referrals from friends, and if that first orthodontist charged you for the visit let that be a tip off that they are not very honest. Good-luck!
I'm sure every case is different, but at the time we were first referred to the orthodontist by our pediatric dentist (10 yo) there was no way we could afford to do the phase 1 treatment of spacers. We waited and it has actually worked in our favor...my son's teeth got much worse, but when we finally were able to afford the $100+ monthly payment, the orthodontist told us he would have to have an expander to widen the upper palate and our son would be put in braces right away and would only need to wear them for two years. The previous plan was two years with spacers and the expander and then two more years of braces.
I would pay for a second opinion before I went forward with 4+ years of orthodontia, especially considering how your teeth self corrected. I would wait at least two years and see how her face and jaw grows and explore it again when she is 10 yo unless she is really self consciuos and it is going to cause her emotional anguish.
PS: In using the palate expander, the orthodontist was able to avoid pulling any of my son's teeth. We are only halfway through the 2 year tretment and they are already gorgeous! He is now wearing the rubber bands to correct his bite. He thanks me all the time and cannot wait to get them off next January. It is worth it...just follow your instinct.
Even though it may be difficult, I would try to take the financial aspect of your daughter's care out of the equation. Would you still be questioning it if it was of no expense? If not, you have your answer. Also, maybe a second opinion would help make your decision easier. Many of us don't have dental insurance at all....and still have teeth to take care of and mouths to fix. Good luck.
Take several opinions, but if they all recommend work please get it done! My parents didn't always have dental insurance when we were growing up, I didn't see a dentist from the ages of 12-24 and while my teeth held up cavity wise I missed a great deal of time in which they could have corrected my bite, my top jaw is smaller than my bottom, and not a single one of my teeth line up, my dentist is amased that I can even chew.. my teeth don't looked to badly out of line when you look at them (like when I smile) but I can feel it with my tounge.. my Mom thankfully got insurance before my little brothers palate had time to fuse and his (he had the same problem I do) was corrected with spacers, or stretchers or whatever they use to push the palate further apart to where it needs to be, and about 2 years of braces.. Me on the other hand need to go and have my palate broken, and my jaws wired together while it heals and then I don't know how many years of braces and probably at least 4 teeth extractions, its a lenghtly process that is costly near $40,000 and if I don't have it done at some point I will get TMJ... Insurance coverage will always be an issue, from all the insurance research I have done with both medical and dental they don't cover much of this type of procedures, most good dentists and ortho's have wonderful payment plans, and maybe for the time being it might not hurt to pick up secondary insurance.. to make your out of pocket a little smaller...
I think 8 is still too young to do phase I. I had Phase I done on my son when he was at the end of 6th grade only because he started to get self conscious about his teeth. We are done with phase I that I paid almost $4,ooo for out of pocket because our insurance didn't cover at the time. Now they want to start him on Phasae II and we now have coverage for $2,ooo lifetime, but the other $2,500 would be out of pocket.
At the time of Phase I, he still had baby teeth (late bloomer), so that is why they started with phase I. Because of the spacers and expanding his lower jaw, there was nothing to push out his baby teeth, so we had to take him to the dentist and have them pull out 3-4 teeth. He was 13 with baby teeth because his teeth were being expanded. (He jokingly asked if he was going to get paid from the tooth fairy for those ;)
I would wait as long as you can. I knew for a while that my son needed braces, but I waited until he was uncomfortable with his teeth and did for him at the time. Now we are getting ready to look for a place to do Phase II because I thought the last place was expensive, even though they do a lot of things for the patients, it's small when I have lots coming out of my pocket.
I've always wondered the same thing. I'm not sure what the point of doing it twice is, unless it's to line the orthodontists' pockets. All 3 of my kids had braces, and with my oldest we began at 8, with the jaw widening and then braces, but luckily with him one time did the trick, and we didn't have to do the whole procedure again later. The other two started at about 11 and 12, I'm not sure why -- different orthodontist, maybe -- they only did the whole process once, and now their teeth are straight too.
How perfect does a mouth need to be? It seems to me that unless they have freakishly messed-up mouths, one time ought to do the trick. At approx. 5 grand a pop, it seems like doing it twice is extravagant, and more than most people can afford.
In terms of teeth aligning themselves - I don't think that is common - so you may have to do the braces, but maybe start later so you only have to do the procedure once??
Wow - you have a lot of responses! My teeth had gaps and one tooth jutted out. I was told braces etc. at my age was not a great idea because I may be more prone to cavities and that when my back teeth grew in it would change everything. I think I was ten..?
My teeth did move together and by pushing on my tooth with my thumb (advice from the dr.) it was in place in about 6 mo. No braces, no dental work , perfect teeth. I am 40 now and have never had a cavity.
I think every case is different and I bet if you tune into your mom instincts you are going to end up doing the right thing, I find instinct is almost always right. And getting a 2nd op. is not a bad idea either! Good luck!
I would talk to a regular dentist first and get his opinion. My dentist, Dr. Dave Aronson, in Vacaville, goes more along the lines that if it's needed, he'll recommend it, if not, he won't worry about it... so he gives care based on what is covered and lets you decide when it's not covered what is really necessary for you... he won't push if you can't afford millions of dollars unless it's medically necessary. I remember my teeth coming in very crooked... they aligned themselves somewhat and I still needed braces in jr. high, but it never got to the point of needing headgear. Keep in mind that dentists (and I assume orthos as well,) make their money off of the other treatments fillings vs. cleanings. They don't make much off of cleanings, but fillings..... and whitenings WOWOWOW! I'd really go for a dentists' opinion before I go to an ortho. Good luck!
NO. Talk with DDS CYRUS OSTER. He says the mouth grows and at 8 years old there is a lot of room to grow into the teeth.
Call him for expert opinion and years of excellent dentistry.
He has spent a lot of time fixing Orthodontist' mistakes which abound.
GOOD LUCK.
If there is not enough space for new teeth coming in already, then it is likely that your child will need orthodontia sooner or later. According to my ped dentist and orthodontist, the prevailing thought now is to get the teeth in place where they are supposed to be early, so that when additional teeth come in there is more room for them. (This is different than when I was a kid, where they waited for ALL your teeth to come in and THEN fixed them.) My son started his orthodontic treatment at 8. He is now 10, his braces are off and he wears a top and bottom retainer. He sees the ortho regularly for check ins, to see if more treatment is needed down the line. It was very expensive, and my dental plan covers no orthodontics at all, but the ortho put us on an affordable payment plan - and the results have been well worth it.
I think it's not a bad idea for you to get a second opinion, if it makes you feel better. Good luck.
Orthodontics has probably come a long way in 20 years, but my twin sister and I both had braces; she got hers in 3rd grade and I got mine in 6th or 7th grade (we are now 29). We both had big, crooked teeth. But her early braces aligned her teeth for the mouth she had at an early age, and as her mouth grew she ended up with an underbite and crooked teeth. In high school the orthodontist discussed breaking her jaw to correct the problem (she opted not to), and she had braces again two years ago to finally correct the mouth problems she had due to having braces too early. I, on the other hand, had a much better experience because I didn't get braces until junior high, and my mouth was near adult size. The only reason I got braces later was because my parents couldn't afford to have us both in braces at the same time :-)
The lesson for me was to wait until their mouths are more mature for braces. I'm no expert, and it could very well be that early braces can be a good thing these days. But since you have doubts I do think you should get a second opinion, and be sure to ask about changes as the mouth grows and matures. Personally, I don't plan to consider braces for my kids until junior high, though I know braces are in their future as big teeth run in both our families!
Hi Sally:
I'm a dentist and had treated many kids with crowding problems. My approach is to take the most natural one that you can come up with. I always started with very few x rays (to not over-expose the children who must be protected). I would extract the baby teeth which may be in the way, first of all. Then, if they needed spacers, I would place spacers. This is the way the crooked teeth can align themselves, if they have the appropiate space. I would be see the kids for several years, until I was pleased with their alignment. Braces should be placed (in my opinion) later (maybe by 13-14 yrs. of age). I hate to move so many teeth at the same time, because you destroy bone tissue; even though, it forms again, but it is an unnatural process, and must be considered. Regular orthodontist, do not consider this and do not find it important. It would be too hard for a little girl like yours, to start with this unconfortable (and many times painful -when they adjust the bands) process.
I can tell you that I made very successful corrections in most of my little patients. I seldom sent any child to the orthodontist. This is just my opinion.
good luck.
I too have large adult teeth and instead of early braces I had teeth pulled to make room for the incoming adult teeth. A few of the teeth were permenent teeth. I had braces put in when I was 12 and had them on for 18 months. I do know that at 8 baby teeth are still coming out and making room for adult teeth. I dont know if this helps but not everyone has braces that early.
HI Sally,
yes, it is amazing how expensive orthodontic treatment costs. I was a dental assistant for 7 years before becoming a nurse and this is the typical course of treatment for a child. I would recommend you go have 2 or 3 second opinions from different orthodontists. these visits should be free. if they try to charge you for the consultation, walk away.
good luck
Sabryna
My son had his first set of braces (upper teeth only) when he was 7 because his front teeth were widely separated and the adjacent teeth were lined up to cut behind the front teeth (which is what mine did until they were corrected with braces when I was 12 - 14). During the years he had to wear a head piece at night, retainers both full time and only at night, and spacers. He had his second set of braces when he was a sophomore in college, which was when the orthodontist was confident that his jaw had quit growing. At this point he had a significant underbite. He was referred to a different oorthoondist because he is in college in San Luis Obispo which is too far to commute to Roseville for orthodontics appointments. This orthodontist put braces on both his upper and lower teeth to get them aligned and to prepare him to have his jaw broken. However, the orthodontist tried a new procedure that he had heard about at a dental conference in Europe. This worked so well that our son did not need his jaw broken and now has beautiful teeth. However, our out of pocket expenses for the two rounds of braces (after dental insurance was maxed out) was around $7,500, so it definitely was not cheap.