Dreaded braces

[Night Elf]

Have/do you have a child that had very high anxiety and/or developed depression because of braces? Ds15 has Aspergers and is getting braces put on in January. We were first introduced to the idea when he was 7 yrs. old and he had an expander. They wanted to put braces on at age 8. I couldn't do it to my little Aspie. I was afraid it would be a nightmare. But his underbite has gotten worse. In fact, there are several issues including his eye teeth never falling out. The braces will pull those teeth down. He was so nervous at the consultation yesterday that he felt nauseous. He has been depressed, moreso than usual, for the week leading up to yesterday. And now it's all been confirmed and he's definitely getting them, he barely talked to me the rest of the day. His shoulders are drooped and his chin is basically on his chest. He is dragging his feet. It's a pitiful sight. But I don't see any way out of this. Will this get better? Because of his food issues, I have a feeling he's going to lose weight once the braces are put on. I'm just going to have to keep an eye on him. I am hoping his sensory issues don't go on overload.

[kathymuggle]

Would Invisalign work? They are removable orthodontics.

 

For a list of reasons I cannot get into now, I have issues with braces in general. My middle child needs (or close to needs) orthodontia. We have decided on Invisalign as they are removable. She is happier with the idea of removable orthodontia as well.

[zaichiki]

He already went through a lot of the same stuff with the expander. Maybe you could point out how much of the experience will be similar?

[Night Elf]

Invisalign won't work. It is strictly for straightening crooked teeth. My son's lower jaw extends farther than his top jaw. The teeth are crowded and his eye teeth are impacted.

 

He had that expander 8 years ago. He barely remembers it except for the day he swallowed the key. I took him to the doctor and they xrayed him. He thought it was too cool, so that is quite a memory for him. It was extremely small, so um.. passing it was not a big deal. I remember he also asked me if we could get a new key. :lol::lol:

[Tess in the Burbs]

My son is anxious about most things and the expander was worse than the braces. Honestly I think having someone willing to understand the anxiety is important. My guy would always stop and explain again what he was going to do and let ds see as much as possible as they went along. The expander was hard b/c I didn't know what to expect and couldn't prepare ds. The braces he was a mess emotionally that day but it went smoother than either of us hoped. It was replacing the wire recently that brought tears and upset us all b/c it was such a hard visit. However, his mouth issues are almost resolved and while it's been emotionally hard at times on both of us, lol, it's almost over for now.

[Susan C.]

Both dc had braces (at the same time), we couldn't do invisalign because teeth needed to be turned and brought down. Invisalign can only move teeth forward and backward. I can't remember the name of what we got, but they were minimal, the brackets were put on the teeth, then a wire fed through. The wires got steadily stronger, but at 6-8 weeks, dd's teeth were straight (they were very crooked). Rubber bands are inside the mouth, no retainers on the outside. If you pretreat with ibuprofen and keep it up the first day, it cuts down on the pain a lot. (we also ate spaghetti a lot....) But, you do need to use wax, and the inside of the mouth gets scraped up a bit until the mouth adjusts to the braces being in there. And you can't eat chewy, sticky, hard things or you will pop a bracket. Even if you eat all the correct things, brackets pop, and you have to drop everything and go to the ortho. to get it fixed. We were definitely bff's with everyone at the ortho office we were there so much....

[Night Elf]

I can't remember the name of what we got, but they were minimal, the brackets were put on the teeth, then a wire fed through.

 

That sounds like the Damon system that my son will be getting. I love the idea that the wire is free floating. But yeah, he warned us that the wire coming off the very back teeth could sometimes poke because as the teeth straighten, the wire moves too. We're paying the extra fee to have the front top brackets be clear. It's the one request my son made and DH and I both agreed if there could be anything positive about the experience, we should do it.

[AngieW in Texas]

My youngest is the only one of my girls who is NOT Aspie, but she started having anxiety issues right after she got the braces. She's had them for 2 years now and will probably have them for one more year. We didn't have any choice. She had 11 baby teeth pulled (5 at 7yo, 4 at 9yo, and 2 at 12yo), but we managed to not have any adult teeth pulled and they are all in now.

 

We are still waiting to find out if she's going to need jaw surgery. She has the opposite problem of your ds. Her lower jaw is recessed and it is also tilted. If it's still within range, then she won't need surgery to reset it. The diagnostic xrays she is getting next month will let us know how much longer she'll be in braces and whether her jaw has shifted further out of position. If it hasn't shifted more, then she won't need the surgery.

[Sara R]

I've got an Aspie who was afraid of braces and has had some sensory issues, although she did want to get the braces deep down so our situation is a little different. It took her some time, but she has gotten used to it.

 

We approach things like this as a life skill for her. This isn't the first time (heavens no!) and it won't be the last time that she must do something scary that she doesn't want to do. But even an Aspie gets better at facing uncomfortable/scary-but-necessary situations with practice. And after a while she gets used to it and it becomes the new normal.

 

Your approach and your child may vary, but this is working well for us.

[Pretty in Pink]

I have the Damon braces and they are nicer and more comfortable than my first time around, which was during my teens. My dh had an underbite and had to have his jaw broken and reset. Is your ds going to have to do that as well?

 

No experience with Asp. though, sorry.

[J-rap]

Three of my children had braces, and one of them in particular was very unhappy about it, PLUS, we couldn't afford the older two's braces until they were juniors and seniors, so they had to wear them as older teens. BUT, they are so happy now that they had it done. No aspie experience, however.

Would it help him to talk to someone who has gone through it, who can tell him how worthwhile it is? Or look at before and after pictures?

[Night Elf]

Ugh. I know you all are right. I'm sure he'll adjust and be okay. Well, mostly. Hopefully!

 

As for the question about jaw surgery, we aren't totally sure. The orthodontist that we visited when my son was 8 yrs. old said he would need to have that kind of surgery when he was older. He wanted to do braces with head gear, but said he thought the surgery was still inevitable. I was completely freaked out and figured that man was a quack. However, now that ds is 15 and our regular dentist has suggested it, we have consulted 2 orthodontists. One didn't say anything about surgery, but seemed to be more aggressive with treatment. He wanted to pull teeth and then put on braces. The 2nd doctor, that we've decided to go with, mentioned surgery as a last resort but didn't think my son's issues were severe enough to warrant it. This orthodontist actually has an underbite himself. Hm.. I wonder if that is why he went into this field? But I like the fact that he doesn't want to do anything that isn't totally necessary. He does not want to pull teeth and says it's probably done more than it should be done. We feel more comfortable with him.

 

January 11th will likely get here too fast. *sigh*