Teenage Son - teeth out and 18 month wait for braces - or spend a fortune?

DBK1

Hi

My son has a crowded mouth and has been seeing the orthodontist for a number of years. His baby teeth have now finally fallen out.

There was another delay so he could start brushing his gums more thoroughly.

We seem to have three options.

Wait 18 months and have a brace fitted after 4 teeth extracted (free?)

Have the same treatment now for £3000.

Have a brace that pushes teeth/jaw outwards for £4500 - but may not work - in which case he'll need extractions anyway.

He saw dentist last week. He has a cavity with no tooth decay in it which orthodontist says should be filled first - she says dentist probably didn't mention it because there's no decay..

I feel tempted by 4 extractions but feel guilty about this.

On the other hand a brace that is not guaranteed to work sounds worst of all worlds if it doesn't work out.

The orthodontist is really nice - older son had much less traumatic treatment.

Obviously feeding into all this is my phobia about dentists - my mum did her best but didn't have a clue. I was basically taken to dentist only when crying in pain with tooth decay in the night.

My teeth aren't too bad but I know(think) this is partly due to the number I lost prematurely. Gaps are much too small to fit in more than half my missing teeth.

Am I being over squeamish?

Haven't consulted husband yet - teeth extractions for crowded mouth, still crowded no orthodontistry. I can predict he won't like size of bill.

Any kindly advice / reassurance? It would be most appreciated.

WantToBeSE

Personally I would wait the 18 months. If his baby teeth have only just fallen out then i would say that those 18 months may provide time for his adult teeth to come through and naturally develop as they should.

My teenage son has had a brace for about 8 months (he is 13 years old-it is all being done for free via NHS) and he had to have 2 teeth taken out first. He was very brave and i think i was more worried than he was!

Bad experiences for us as parents are hard to overcome, i feel your pain (quite literally!).

DBK1

Thank you for the quick reply. I feel slightly traumatised so it's nice to have some reassurance.

My instinct is to protect him from extractions but it seems very expensive considering there's no guarantee it will work.

He is 14 and a half ( he didn't get teeth till gone 1).

HeadAboveWater

Wait the 18 months.

DD2 is 16 with same problem - overcrowding. She got 2 teeth out last week, needs to go back get the other 2 out, then they'll finish the braces.

Fen1

I've had teeth out due to overcrowding. No problems at all. There's no point being precious about something that causes discomfort, surely?

View the extractions as getting rid of weeds: they are a nuisance. Nothing more.

aliasojo

DBK1 wrote: »

Wait 18 months and have a brace fitted after 4 teeth extracted (free?)


I feel tempted by 4 extractions but feel guilty about this.

Just to clarify...your son has too many teeth so 4 need extracted then a brace will be fitted to straighten/correctly align the rest?

I'm not understanding why you feel guilty?

I think this is the best option, personally.

My girl got loads of teeth out, her overcrowding was very bad, she had enough teeth for her and half her classmates.

She was terrified at the thought tbh, she had to go into hospital as a day case to get loads out, then she needed another 3 out at the dentists. However once she actually started the 'treatment' she was fine, the thought of it was worse than the act itself iyswim.

She's now waiting on a date to get her first brace fitted.

It's just a process that you need to go through so your 'child' ends up with as nice a mouth as possible.

Don't fret about it all.

Idiophreak

Have you been given any guidance as to whether the 18 months will make matters better/worse.

If they thought the braces would need to be on for longer, or tightened more (painful) if left for the 18 months, I'd consider going ahead now.

Likewise if the teeth were so messed up that the child was being bullied etc about it, I'd think about moving things forward.

If neither of these are major issues, I'd just save the money - sure he'll have a good use for the money at some point in his life

Gettingtherequickly

When are the teeth to be extracted, now or 18mths. I had 2 extractions when I was a little younger than that, but the rest of my teeth re-aligned naturally as there was room for them. I now have straight teeth with 2 small gaps where the extractions were carried out, only become an issue if I eat beef, so no danger of anyone passing something else off as beef!!!

DBK1

Thanks everyone for the replies.

The costs and brace options were shown me by a different person in the orthodontist. The orthodontist herself had talked about 2 options - teeth out and NHS brace or no teeth out and a different brace. I have asked for more details and they'll post them on. I was taken aback by how much extra things would cost and by the idea of lifetime retainers because the teeth will move back. Also, I got the impression I would be paying a lot even for NHS but I think that may have just been if I wanted to speed things up. I don't know when extractions would be.

peachyprice

If you're in England (may be the sane for Scotland, I don't know) you won't pay anything for NHS braces if the treatment is necessary.

I would go with the NHS ones and teeth out, TBH, growing boys mouths change a lot, in 18 months he might need less treatment by then than if you pay to have it done sooner.

Also, the 18 month waiting list may be shorter, there are always cancellation or people finishing treatment sooner.

The lifetime of retainers will be the same whether you have the NHS braces or pay, so I can't see the problem there.

Chickvic

Hi, my dd is nearly 16 (October) and she waited 18 months for an ortho appointment anyway! She has just had 4 teeth out (in the last month) and is going to have the bottom brace fitted and the top one joined to the back teeth in September. I would wait personally, her treatment is free. Just make sure he brushes well or they won't fit the brace.