We took my son in to an Orthodontist for a consultation today.
I expected him to tell me that it was going to cost a ton of money and he was ready to start right away. He didn’t let me down on the money issue but the other things he told us were horrific.
He suggested that we start off with the full course of 30 months braces, headgear, expander, and pull a few teeth to make room. He also told us that my son’s jaw(s) are not growing in the right direction and the upper jaw needs to be disconnected from his skull and moved around. The lower jaw he suggests needs to be disconnected, and have a section removed so it can be collapsed in on itself complete with titanium plates and screws to reconstruct his jaw. After all that he needs to be put into braces a second time to adjust for his new jaw structure.
WTF??? My son is 11 years old and has crooked teeth I just want to get them straightened out.
The guy is telling us that if my sons jaw continues to grow in that direction he will not be able to close his lips, and his gums are going to thin out to the point of other serious problems. We are seeking other opinions on this but again WTF?? !!!
Has anyone heard of this type of prognosis?
Has anyone had a kid with a lower jaw growing down?
We never even noticed his jaw doing anything out of the ordinary he is a good-looking kid.
My wife is freaking out, I keep telling her not to worry I don’t think all this is necessary but she thinks I am being insensitive.
It’s over $20,000 of work would an orthodontist put a kid through all of that if it wasn’t necessary?
My friend Matt recently had a boatload of stuff done to him. He had braces when he was in 8th grade (he is going to be a junior in college in the fall), and his teeth straightened out, but that’s when the problems really started. He developed an underbite, began having constant jaw pain, and started getting really bad headaches. He finally couldn’t take any more and had an 8-hour surgery. They broke his jaw, took some of it out, replaced it with metal plates and bone screws, he had his palate expanded, and had some other various procedures done. He needed it done, and would’ve been in constant pain without it.
Just goes to show you that braces sometimes aren’t the do-all end-all.
My orthodontist told me that I would have to wear my retainer for the rest of my life, or the side of my face would collapse like soft candle wax. I stopped wearing it 15 years ago and I haven’t seen any collapsing yet.
I think there are a lot of really sleazy orthodontists out there. In addition, many of the ones that are left have a very low tolerance level for “imperfections” in the teeth and face.
“If his jaw continues to grow that way…” - did you ask what the probability was that it would? After all, if I continued to grow the way I did in high school, I’d have breasts the size of watermelons by now.
My SO had an orthodonotist tell her that, get this, her tongue was too long and that part of it would have to be cut off. He said it was “forcing her teeth out” which was enough for her and her parents to bolt for the door.
Then again, she has a cousin who did indeed have to have jaw re-alignment surgery for conditions similar to the one described in the OP.
Naturally a second opinion is required here. Best of luck to you friend.
I knew a girl in school who actually did need all sorts of horrific orthodontal surgery.
On the other hand, I knew a lot of kids in school who got braces because they’re parents wanted them to have them or some other stupid, unnecessary reason.
On the third hand - I got a horrific orthodontal diagnosis at the age of 8. Never ever had braces. My teeth are so straight, though, most folks assume I actually had braces.
I guess it gets down to what you and your son believe it’s reasonable to go through for straight teeth. I know that I wouldn’t even consider the options which have been presented to you for one of my own children. That’s something they can decide upon for themselves in later life.
sounds horrendous. and horrendoulsy expensive.
you know americans make fun of british teeth?
well, part of the reason our teeth look so bad is that
ALL CHILDHOOD DENTAL CARE IS FREE. GRATIS.
so you get braces if you need them, and only then.
i wore braces for 18 months when i was 12, hurt like hell, caused incredible pain and did very little for my teeth, which are still a bit crooked…and i had 6 teeth extracted because my jaws aren’t big enough (less painful than the braces)
but i don’t have any cavities or any other work done, and i like them the way they are. would i go through another 18 months of hell for a smile like a tooth paste ad? would i hell.
waxteeth, (god, I can’t quite snickering at your username) our 16 yo daughter currently has braces. She’s had them for about two years and gets them off in July. When she was 10, our dentist told us that she would have to have her jaw broken and realigned, etc. Said that was the only way it could be done to fix whatever was wrong with her bite. We went to a different dentist the next time. He told us the same thing.
Well, I couldn’t do it to her. Just couldn’t. So we just let it go and only did the usual twice-yearly cleanings. Fast forward to high school. Her permanent incisors never came in. She still had her baby teeth, she had a largish gap between her front teeth and everything was pretty crooked.
My husband and I decided that we couldn’t put it off any longer and took her to an orthodonist. After about an hour consultation, he outlined the plan and it had NOTHING to do with breaking her jaw. In fact, she’s never had to wear headgear or anything. She had to go to an oral surgeon to remove her baby incisors and attached brackets to the permanent ones (which, btw, they cover back up with skin and it heals that way and then is slowing pulled out through her gums like when it happens naturally, way cool).
She now has straight gorgeous teeth. She only gets a little bit pissy when we won’t let her take up kick boxing. Her father tells her that since she now owns a $5000 mouth, if she doesn’t take care of it, he’s going to pack it away in a box until she’s old enough to appreciate it.
So, please be sure to get more than one opinion and don’t automatically believe your second opinion either.
Waxteeth, I myself am going through orthodontic hell right now. I’ve been wearing braces for six years now and probably will have to wear them for one more year. I’ve gone through four gum clipping surgeries, two tooth-retrieval surgeries, and will probably have extensive jaw-and-wisdom-teeth-removal surgery next summer, then my teeth (that are tiny, without much enamel) will have to be capped, bridges done, etc. etc. It’s painful, not very fun, and I dread seeing any “tooth doctors.” (Dentist, orthodontist, oral surgeon, periodontist.)
Anyhow, this work has not cost me ANYWHERE near 20000 dollars. It’s all been relatively inexpensive for the type of work I needed on my mouth, and as painful as it is, I know it’s working. My problems being as they are, I probably wouldn’t have had any teeth left by age 30, and chronic jaw problems all of my life.
I urge you to get a second opinion. My first dentist wanted to put me in braces at seven–only braces, he said that was all I’d ever need–but he said it would cost an exorbitant amount of money to get my teeth capped. We got a second opinion and ended up thousands of dollars better (not to mention better treatment.)
Thanks again for the replies especially from those that have had a similar experience.
I wanted to make it clear that I have no intention of letting anyone move my kid’s jaws around unless it’s medically necessary. I only mentioned the money as a possible reason for the diagnosis. The surgery is something I want to avoid for the reasons of pain, risk, complications, traumatizing my son, etc,
BTW Waxteeth is a total coincidence. I picked that name for something else and just started using it anytime I need to assign a username. I was thinking about the wax lips, and vampire teeth we used to have when I was a kid.
You have my sympathy, Waxteeth. Speaking as a mom who has two sons in braces, it AIN’T fun. But, I agree to the getting of a second, [and possibly more] opinion, since I think your orthodontist is selling you a bill of goods to finance his new house.
We were told on our first son, that he’d have to have four front teeth removed, plus his wisdom teeth, plus a ‘frenectomy’ [cutting of the piece of skin that connects the upper lip to the palate]. DJ did have to have the four front teeth removed, and the frenectomy, but not the wisdom teeth. Though the orthodontist kept giving me dire predictions about how his teeth wouldn’t stay straight.
It’s been four years now, and they are STILL straight. Go with your gut. You don’t need this guy, certainly not like he needs you. Good luck, let us know what happens, k?
