Sunday, August 7, 2011

My 10 Year-Old Got Braces

This child and his teeth...SIGH. It has been a topic of discussion since the day he was born. He constantly cried, and I wondered if two months was too early to teethe. There was lots of drool, but that was normal, right? The first teeth arrived at three months of age. By the time he was ten months old, he had ten teeth. By the time he was four years, he had his first root canal. His teeth were not healthy, and at age five, more (expensive) dental work was done. You can read about our journey here.

Last year, I noticed that his twelve-year molars were already erupting. He was nine! Once they came in fully, his bottom teeth began crowding. He already had an overbite and a tooth that did not come down fully, which the kids were beginning to pick on. He began asking me regularly for braces. I could not afford them. But even more, I was afraid that he would have to endure the same trauma I did: extractions, including permanent teeth. As an adult, I REALLY wish I still had those teeth, because they do come in handy! All together I had ten teeth pulled, obviously most of them baby teeth. I was not looking forward to dealing with that and making permanent decisions for my son's mouth!

Luckily, I did not have to make that decision. Though some orthodontists still pull teeth, it is usually only in extreme cases. A new system of braces, the Damon System, made it possible for us to rely only on the braces to move the teeth and make more room in his mouth. Here is a video that shows this system:


It didn't even occur to me to ask, until I was speaking with my neighbor, if my son had any baby teeth left. My son says he lost them all, but I can't remember! So I will have to ask the orthodontist at our next visit if any of the teeth remaining are baby teeth. It is odd that a ten year old would have all of his permanent teeth already, but this child's teeth have been odd since day one! The orthodontist did say that he saw tiny buds developing...wisdom teeth! Ugggghhhhhh!

Anyway, he is on day three with braces. Not going too well so far. He was not estimating the pain factor very well and was asking to take the wire off on the first day. I am running out of ibuprofen and he is likely losing weight he can't afford to lose because it hurts to eat anything. I'm pumping him with raw milk and Ovaltine, and anything else he can squish with his tongue on the roof of his mouth. We are already seeing a difference in his teeth. He's hoping it won't take the full 24 months, but I told him that's NOT what he wanted as that probably will mean more pain to move them faster. He has an overbite, and four of his brackets have hooks for future rubberbands. THAT should be fun.

If you live in Wichita, KS, I suggest Trimmell Orthodontics. They have an office on the east and west side. They are great to work with, and were $500 cheaper than the first orthodontist we visited.

1 comment:

dentist sydney said...

You really have to undergo all these pain and inconvenience if you decided to get braces. The results are always worth it anyway. I know the people in Trimmell Orthodontics, I would highly recommend them too if you are in the area.