orthodontist?

[gardenmom5]

what age did you start with your kids?

did they still have baby teeth, or did they have all/most of their permanent teeth?

[hornblower]

As I understand it, it depends on the issue. If you're looking at palate issues, expansion etc, you may really need to start early. 

 

But for many issues it's better to wait for permanent dentition. I was seeing a trend here where kids were going into braces early, getting them off & getting them back again.  Our dentists told us to wait & said there was nothing that needed doing that urgently and that my kids' issues could be fixed with one course of treatment once they were older.  Mine did it around 13 or 14. 

[TammyS]

Mine started at 16. I would liked to have started a little earlier, like 13-14, because he may have to wear them to college cross country (which will be logistically complicated), but there just wasn't money until then.  Oh, and he did have 3 baby teeth that we had to have pulled.  Those suckers just did not want to leave.

Edited June 13, 2016 by TammyS

[wapiti]

One of my kids needed a palate expander - we did that around 9 y.o.  Then he got braces at 12 with most of his adult teeth in - there were a few on the "corners" that finally came down during treatment with the braces - we needed to make room first.  Another kid only needed braces, got them at 12.  I have another one, dd7 (wait, she's not actually 7 yet LOL), who will probably need the palate expander in a few years and I won't hesitate to do it when the time comes.

 

My recommendation would be to get free consultation(s) on the earlier side rather than on the later side.  You can always decide to wait a year after you see what the ortho recommends, but if you wait to get the consultation, the ortho's treatment choices may be limited.

Edited June 13, 2016 by wapiti

[Guest]

We started at the tail end of 11. She had to have a couple of teeth pulled and then the dentist and Ortho gave the green light to go ahead and start. I wished we had waited. Or at least not used Invisilign for such a young child. She didn't want them, was resistant to them and then became passive aggressive about them to the point where we got to spend a few thousand extra fixing issues that happened because she quit properly caring for her teeth. We pulled the plug six months early on the Invisilign. Her teeth look straight and I was sick or fighting. Mine is a definite worst case tale of caution I'm not sure I would've listened to had someone else told me.....but if at all possible I would wait until the kid is on board if they aren't at the moment.

[Jan in SC]

My ds who needed the expander had it at 7. He got braces at 14, and will have them off before he is 15.

[Laura Corin]

We had a dentist recommend orthodontics (palate expander) for Calvin when he was about eight.  Our regular dentist said that there was no need to do anything before the adult molars were in.  We waited and it worked really well: he had one tooth removed and one set of braces (his teeth stuck out so far before that he could not close his lips).

 

Hobbes also started into braces once his molars came in.  He had to have a twin block to bring his lower jaw forward, then braces to straighten his teeth.  No extractions.  It took a while (because of the two stages, one after the other) but it worked really well.

 

Both boys have fully functional teeth that also look fine.  No regrets.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Laura Corin

[dirty ethel rackham]

Our ortho recommended waiting until the baby teeth were gone and enough permanent teeth had come in ... for the most part.  However, for certain issues where sooner is better, like palate expanders, he will want to forge ahead without waiting for permanent teeth to come in.

 

My oldest needed a first round of braces due to a cross-bite that was an immediate risk to the health of his teeth.  He still had some baby teeth, but he had enough permanent teeth to move this tooth from the hard palate.  After that issue was fixed, they waited for the permanent teeth to come in.  When one tooth did not come in, the ortho put braces on to help make room for the tooth that would not come down.  He ended up needing oral surgery to free that tooth from the bone so that it could be pulled down. 

[Jenn121]

I took 2 of mine (1 is still only 2) in for a consult at 7. They were checked every 6 months after that baseline was established. Both end up needing braces for a short time to make room for the adult teeth coming in. Then they had retainers until the baby teeth fell out. We then did a second and final round of braces. My 15 year old got her braces off at around 13.5. She is very happy not to have them now. My 8 year old is in the 1st round of making room for the adult teeth coming in. 

 

Jenn

[redsquirrel]

we were sent for a consult with both boys when they were about 8.  DS1 needed braces right away, at age 9 and they were on until he was 15.  He had some issues that needed fixing, lol.  DS2 had his put on at age 10, and still has them on at 11. I hope they are off sooner than his brother's.

 

Both boys have had braces when they had a mix of adult and baby teeth.  It's been fine.  Ds1's friend was told by the same orthodontist to come back when she was older, around 12, because it was too soon to make a decision about braces for her particular situation.

[ScoutTN]

DD started hers in January at age 10.5 to make room for the rest of her permanent teeth. They will come off early next year and then she'll have a second round when all her teeth are in.

 

We don't have the $ to start Ds, but I wish we did!  

[cjzimmer1]

My boys started at 13 and 14 my daughter at 12.  All had seen the ortho a couple of times before actually starting (the ortho shares a floor with the dentist my kids see) for evaluations.  The start time was timed with the onset of puberty and the natural growth cycles that happen then.  My 9 year old gets yearly evaluations with the ortho (and has already had to have 2 teeth removed because her jaw was starting to twist due to teeth coming out prematurely on one side but not the other).

[Ali in OR]

Youngest started at 9 with head gear for jaw issues--she had a second phase 2 years later. Older dd had one phase (no unusual issues) from 12.5-14.5. The ideal time is middle school--everyone else has them and it's kind of cool. High school is not so cool.

[zarabellesmom]

Our ortho recommended waiting until the baby teeth were gone and enough permanent teeth had come in ... for the most part. However, for certain issues where sooner is better, like palate expanders, he will want to forge ahead without waiting for permanent teeth to come in.

 

My oldest needed a first round of braces due to a cross-bite that was an immediate risk to the health of his teeth. He still had some baby teeth, but he had enough permanent teeth to move this tooth from the hard palate. After that issue was fixed, they waited for the permanent teeth to come in. When one tooth did not come in, the ortho put braces on to help make room for the tooth that would not come down. He ended up needing oral surgery to free that tooth from the bone so that it could be pulled down.

We are waiting for my oldest and she will be eleven Sunday. My youngest is seven and has a crossbite, needs a palate expander and braces across the top front to make room for her teeth to come down. What a pain!

[rebcoola]

Our oldest got hers on at 7 her few adult teeth were migrating into the empty spaces and blocking her other adult teeth from coming in.  She had them for about 9 months she now has a bonded retainer and a regular retainer for nights.  She may have to have braces again but overall she should have an easier time then if we had waited.

[Jaz]

We started both of our dc at 11. Both needed palate expanders but we were able to do it all in one round.

[bluemongoose]

We have one Ds that should have started with a palate expander at 7.5 but the dentist said wait. We waited and the result was fractured teeth when the 6y molars came in under baby molars that were not supposed to come out yet. The ortho said she wished we had come in sooner. He got his palate expander just after his 9th birthday. He is now in a holding pattern with a retainer as we wait for more permanent teeth to come in. Later he will need a lot more work...braces, headgear etc.

 

I have recently taken in DD 11.5 and DS 7.5 for a consult.

 

DD has much less issues and will need a spacer for just a bit to help teeth line up well as permanent molars come in. She may need a short round of braces and maybe even head gear if the spacers don't help enough to reposition the teeth to line up better. She will not get the braces and headgear until she is about 13. If the spacers do the job, she may have a choice on not having braces at all...it could end up being only cosmetic. 

 

Poor DS 7.5 is a mess. He will be closely watched. None of his baby teeth have fallen out yet, but the xrays showed massive amounts of problems. His permanent teeth are so crowded they are piled on top of each other before they even start to come in. Ortho said she was glad I brought him in earlier. He would have had lots off issues without intervention. He will likely have some baby teeth pulled just to prevent the permanent teeth in coming in in very wrong places.

 

All that to say, depending on the extent of the problem, sometimes early intervention is warranted...sometimes it isnt.