LisaKinVA Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Well, I've made an appointment for my 3 oldest to be evaluated for Damon Braces. I figured, since I needed to bring my daughter in, I may as well see what they say for the other two. My oldest ds's smile looks beautiful on top, a bit crowded on the bottom, but nothing drastic. My 10yo dd, OTOH, her mouth is a train-wreck waiting to happen. She had her 4 baby canines pulled to make room for her incisors (4 teeth take up the space of 6), and all of her baby 1yr molars have just come out on their own (with her permanent canines coming in where they were). I figure, if we don't try to make some room in her mouth, we'll be looking at impaction (or worse). My younger ds is also crowded (but not nearly so bad as dd's). Anyhow, it means an hour drive (one way) for appointments, but fewer appointments. There is no one locally who uses these. We go on the 21st...hopefully we'll get some good news (although I already found out that they accept our insurance, which is a huge PLUS). Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 My son has Damon braces. So far so good. Part of his problem is that his baby canines never fell out, therefore his permanent canines are impacted in the roof of his mouth. He has surgery scheduled for the 11th to have them exposed and brackets put on them to guide them into the space where they should be. This is going to be an awful surgery. I remember a dentist recommending braces when he was 8 yrs. old but because of his Aspergers we didn't think it was a good idea. Now I have to wonder if it would have prevented this. Ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 My son has Damon braces. So far so good. Part of his problem is that his baby canines never fell out, therefore his permanent canines are impacted in the roof of his mouth. He has surgery scheduled for the 11th to have them exposed and brackets put on them to guide them into the space where they should be. This is going to be an awful surgery. I remember a dentist recommending braces when he was 8 yrs. old but because of his Aspergers we didn't think it was a good idea. Now I have to wonder if it would have prevented this. Ugh. I have no idea...but it certainly doesn't sound fun. I have to admit, though, that due to my own long, involved ordeal, I'm probably pretty vigilant about stuff like this, than anyone else in my family. Until I read about the Damon Braces here at the hive, I just figured DD would *have* to get those teeth pulled. Now, I'm hoping we can avoid that altogether. Based upon some of the case studies I've seen, dd's issues look pretty mild by comparison (but that's probably due to the fact we pulled the baby canines, because her big incisors were coming in under her tongue and in front of the baby canines on top. It wasn't pretty. Today, If you aren't ipaying attention to which teeth you actually see when you're looking at her, you wouldn't notice any crowding issues...lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Woods Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I just had mine taken off in June. Amazing results!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Both of my dc had Damons, they are great! Dd's teeth were very crooked, and it wasn't very long, and they looked much better. Ds had a few teeth that hadn't fully come down, and again, they came right down w/the Damons. Be prepared to drive, because when a bracket breaks (they do and you can't do much about it) you have to go right in to get it fixed. But it is still worth it. They are lighter, less metal, work very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Damon braces are fast. We love them. 18 months for a crooked overcrowded mouth here. Awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 How much faster are they? I have two boys that we plan on getting braces in October and they will need traditional braces for 16-22 months. Something that requires less appointments for me to schedule and look better and takes less time over all for better results sure sounds like a no brainier wagon I'd like to jump on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted September 3, 2012 Author Share Posted September 3, 2012 How much faster are they? I have two boys that we plan on getting braces in October and they will need traditional braces for 16-22 months. Something that requires less appointments for me to schedule and look better and takes less time over all for better results sure sounds like a no brainier wagon I'd like to jump on. From what I read, an avg. of 6 mos. faster. Which, considering my dd was looking at 8 more pulled teeth (not including wisdom teeth), and a minimum of 2 years is HUGE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Woods Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 From what I read, an avg. of 6 mos. faster. Which, considering my dd was looking at 8 more pulled teeth (not including wisdom teeth), and a minimum of 2 years is HUGE. It is less time in most cases. I also loved only going in every 6-8 weeks for adjustments. The visits became for frequent the closer I got to being retained for fine tuning. :) My total time in braces was 15 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plucky Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 It is less time in most cases. I also loved only going in every 6-8 weeks for adjustments. The visits became for frequent the closer I got to being retained for fine tuning. :) My total time in braces was 15 months. Yes, few appts. My dd was supposed to have braces for 28-36 mos with traditional and it looks like she'll be out in 20 mos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Just scheduled my to get Damon instead of traditional braces. Very excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 I did braces as an adult, and they were offered to me. I declined, but mostly because the ortho put me on the spot about the decision, and I wanted to research on my own. Apparently it was supposed to be discussed prior to the apt when I was getting my brackets on, but it wasn't. As an adult, yes, I was vain and wasn't sure about all metal. If I had time to research it, I might have gone the other way, but at the time I was really pressed on the decision and not happy about making it in the chair :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 Just scheduled my to get Damon instead of traditional braces. Very excited! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Girl Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 We are going tomorrow to have my ds's first ortho. appt. and discuss our options. Damon versus traditional will be one of the decisions we have to make. I'd love to hear any other opinions on the benefits and disadvantages of either choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 We are going tomorrow to have my ds's first ortho. appt. and discuss our options. Damon versus traditional will be one of the decisions we have to make. I'd love to hear any other opinions on the benefits and disadvantages of either choice. Invisaline was not considered a good option for teens bc they need the braces to stay on 24/7. As far as traditional braces vs Damon braces - I can't think of a single positive for traditional over Damon given the information I've searched and the ortho gave me. For the life of me, I can't comprehend why any dentist still uses the traditional method other than its the one insurance "covers". Neither can the ortho we are now going to and that's why Damon method is the only method he has used for 12 years. Those insurance doesn't really cover any of it, so that's not really a valid argument. I'm sorta ticked off that our ortho didn't mention there are other dental options besides traditional braces. I expect my drs to give me all of our options, not just the one that profits them.:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted September 7, 2012 Author Share Posted September 7, 2012 Invisaline was not considered a good option for teens bc they need the braces to stay on 24/7. As far as traditional braces vs Damon braces - I can't think of a single positive for traditional over Damon given the information I've searched and the ortho gave me. For the life of me, I can't comprehend why any dentist still uses the traditional method other than its the one insurance "covers". Neither can the ortho we are now going to and that's why Damon method is the only method he has used for 12 years. Those insurance doesn't really cover any of it, so that's not really a valid argument. I'm sorta ticked off that our ortho didn't mention there are other dental options besides traditional braces. I expect my drs to give me all of our options, not just the one that profits them.:glare: Our insurance just gives us a flat amount they will cover...no limits on which appliances can be used. However, that said, even if the traditional braces are cheaper, the cost of treatment for my dd would still be a LOT more. With traditional treatment, dd will need a 6-8 teeth pulled. That includes a minimum of 4 baby teeth (at $100 a pop), and 2 permanent teeth (about $1000, including anesthesia, 4 teeth would up that to nearly $2k). Braces are about $4k for either, but our insurance won't cover the tooth pulling...(wouldn't cover the first four baby teeth we pulled, either), so that will mean about $3k OOP for dd with traditional braces vs. $1k OOP for Damons. Damons wins :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddykate Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 We love our Damon Braces here. I agree with Martha; I have no idea why any orthodontists still use the traditional methods. We are super pleased with the results on our two kids so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Our insurance just gives us a flat amount they will cover...no limits on which appliances can be used. However, that said, even if the traditional braces are cheaper, the cost of treatment for my dd would still be a LOT more. With traditional treatment, dd will need a 6-8 teeth pulled. That includes a minimum of 4 baby teeth (at $100 a pop), and 2 permanent teeth (about $1000, including anesthesia, 4 teeth would up that to nearly $2k). Braces are about $4k for either, but our insurance won't cover the tooth pulling...(wouldn't cover the first four baby teeth we pulled, either), so that will mean about $3k OOP for dd with traditional braces vs. $1k OOP for Damons. Damons wins :D Oh yes. My fourth born is also getting braces and instead of pulling teeth and chaining teeth, he will be keeping all his teeth and going Damon. I'm really rather Po-ed that we almost did that. Seriously.both these sons were scheduled for traditional braces first week of October. (because it took 2.5 months to get the appt!) Instead they should have Damon braces by the end of September. They aren't as excited as I am for them, but one day they are going to thank me big time.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country Girl Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Martha and Lisa, Thanks. It looks like I need to double check our insurance coverage. So it sounds like the child is less likely to need teeth pulled if they get the Damons, right? That is a definite plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted September 8, 2012 Author Share Posted September 8, 2012 Martha and Lisa, Thanks. It looks like I need to double check our insurance coverage. So it sounds like the child is less likely to need teeth pulled if they get the Damons, right? That is a definite plus. Yes...visit the website, there are some pretty extreme cases showcased there, that would give you an idea of the things they can do. I actually found my children's initial evaluations for traditional braces... they were saying oldest ds has an overbite/misaligned teeth, without enough room on the top or bottom for his adult teeth. While I don't know about the overbite, his top-jaw is picture-perfect spacing at the moment, and his bottom jaw is slightly crowded. DD started treatment at 8 (not with braces, but with the tooth pulling). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in VA Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 My dds both went to an ortho here that does Damon braces. In fact he goes around the world and has orthos come to him to learn about them. He was great and my dds have beautiful smiles. He is here in No VA. If you PM me the name of the one you're going to I'll let you know if he is the same. We've recommended him to lots of people and they've all been happy. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom-ninja. Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 I've never heard of this. Off to google. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted September 8, 2012 Author Share Posted September 8, 2012 My dds both went to an ortho here that does Damon braces. In fact he goes around the world and has orthos come to him to learn about them. He was great and my dds have beautiful smiles. He is here in No VA. If you PM me the name of the one you're going to I'll let you know if he is the same. We've recommended him to lots of people and they've all been happy. Mary We have appointments with the one in Springfield...that's about as far as I want to travel ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in VA Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 If it's Dr. B then that's who we've gone to. He's great! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmichigan Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 My dds both went to an ortho here that does Damon braces. In fact he goes around the world and has orthos come to him to learn about them. He was great and my dds have beautiful smiles. He is here in No VA. If you PM me the name of the one you're going to I'll let you know if he is the same. We've recommended him to lots of people and they've all been happy. Mary I am really confused by all the literature. None of the medical journals seem to support these claims regarding Damon braces. My understanding is that they are also more expensive. Has anyone had cost estimates on both that would be willing to share? None of my DC will need teeth pulled, three of them are in traditional braces, although two will have two phases. I was looking into these for myself because I cannot wear the bands because of a latex allergy. :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 I am really confused by all the literature. None of the medical journals seem to support these claims regarding Damon braces. My understanding is that they are also more expensive. Has anyone had cost estimates on both that would be willing to share? None of my DC will need teeth pulled, three of them are in traditional braces, although two will have two phases. I was looking into these for myself because I cannot wear the bands because of a latex allergy. :bigear: I was all signed up to have two of mine do traditional braces up until we had an evaluation by the Damon braces ortho. The cost difference was less than $200 more for Damon braces than the ortho we had previously selected. There is approx a $200-500 difference among any of the ortho in my town even for the exact same traditional braces plan. So the Damon braces were very competitively priced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 We've had a few ortho consults and they all kind of laughed at the idea that Damon braces are somehow better. They all stated that it's just a different bracket, and there are tons of them out there. One ortho told us dd would need a few extractions, and wear braces for more than two years. The others all said they could do no extractions (but watch her carefully), and she would be in braces around 18 months. None of them said they thought she would wear braces for a significantly shorter amount of time. Dd has a lot of overcrowding. Am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 Two of my boys had their Damon braces put on last Friday. They took some ibuprofen when we got home just in case, but they never asked for it and said they felt fine. We had hibachi soup just in case, but they have been eating fine. They never used the wax either so I guess they didn't feel too irritated. The only mild upset is the thing behind one sons upper teeth keep him from bringing his teeth completely down. So spaghetti is too thin to eat. Penne and Mac is fine tho. One son was estimated at 26 months, with Damon it is estimated at 18. And after 2 weeks we already see a huge improvement. The other son was estimated at 38 months (major lower jaw misalignment) and with Damon the estimate is about 34. (he said there is just no rushing jaws.) No pain. No problems at all so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 My son has Damon braces. So far so good. Part of his problem is that his baby canines never fell out, therefore his permanent canines are impacted in the roof of his mouth. He has surgery scheduled for the 11th to have them exposed and brackets put on them to guide them into the space where they should be. This is going to be an awful surgery. Not necessarily. My dd just had it done. One tooth was pulled and another was exposed and had a bracket attached. Then the ortho put a chain on it (and pulled it across two other teeth.) Honestly, it wasn't all that bad. Admittedly, dd is probably one of the most low key people you will ever encounter, so she never complains about anything. But, I'm pretty sure it really wasn't that painful -certainly nothing Tylenol couldn't handle. Of course, you know your child and may be worried that he won't react well. I just wanted to reassure you that the procedure itself isn't any worse than having a tooth pulled so that YOU can relax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 My youngest had a very difficult mouth. I interviewed several orthodontists and wasn't happy with their plans (and the dentist wasn't either). He recommended I try one particular ortho who did Damon braces and that's who we went with. The other orthos wanted her in braces for 3-4 years with headgear and wanted to pull 4-6 adult teeth (top crowded much worse than bottom). The Damon ortho said 2-3 years in Damon braces with no more than 2 adult teeth pulled. She had already had 9 baby teeth pulled (5 when she was 7yo and 4 when she was 10yo). When she got the Damon braces, she still had 4 baby teeth. She was actually able to wiggle two of them out, but the other two never loosened and had to be pulled. She was in her braces for 2.5 years and it actually wouldn't have been that long, but her adult teeth were slow in coming. The braces took care of expansion as well. She has to wear a removable top retainer all the time (except when eating) for 6 months and then can wear it just at night. She has a glued-in bottom retainer. Damons are supposed to be less painful than other braces which is especially important when you have a dd like mine with an extremely low pain threshold. I am quite pleased with how everything turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carpe Diem Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 had 16 teeth pulled! :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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