Does my child really need braces?

[Tena]

My dentist says my child needs braces to be "perfect." His teeth aren't ruler straight, but they aren't really crooked either. He has a slight overbite. I'm really torn about this decision. I want the best for my son, and obviously, if he needs them for medical reasons I have no problem with getting them. But I do have a problem with getting them just to achieve "perfection." You all are the experts here, and I am new to this. My son is twelve, and if we are going to get braces, he will need to do it soon. What would you do?

[Bekah]

My daughter is 12 and has had her braces for almost a month. I approached the dentist at her last checkup and she told me that she didn't really "need" braces. Her teeth were visibly crooked and I was concerned so I went to an orthodontist myself and found out that she does indeed need them.

Bottom line is that if you are concerned, I would make a consultation appointment with an orthodontist. They are the experts in straightening teeth and they should be able to tell you the truth.

[dugsmom]

I just got braces last year...I am an adult (32years old) and it took 2 years (I went to 5 orthos before I chose the one I wanted) to finally find the perfect ortho for me. You would be amazed at all the different opinions. A couple wanted to pull 2 teeth, another wanted me to either have surgery or pull teeth, another just wanted to squeeze all my teeth together (I am missing 2 bottom molars but pushing all my teeth together would leave my teeth unbalanced which he didn't tell me about...I found out about that on this forum), and the last (and best) said that I should never get good teeth pulled and recommended uprighting the other teeth (they had all tipped and twisted because of the 2 missing molars), opening up the spaces where the molars had once been and getting implants. So I went with him and it was the best decision I ever made... he saved me from surgery and losing 2 more perfectly healthy teeth.
So my point is, you should definitely get more opinions. Most orthos will give you a free consultation (I didn't know that and paid $300 for the first one). Make sure they just don't look in your childs mouth and then tell you what's wrong. I actually had one ortho do that...he looked in my mouth for like 30 seconds and then said I needed to have one tooth pulled...then I mention that I was told that would make my mouth unbalanced and then he says..oh well I mean you need to have 2 teeth (on each side) pulled.
It was as if he was making it up as he went along. The ortho I chose took xrays (several), pictures (several) and then did a visual check up. It was very thorough and FREE!
I had to pay for the follow up consult (140 dollars) but that was for the molds and extra xrays.

Sorry this is long but I just want to mention one more thing. My son will be getting braced on Monday. My ortho didn't want to put braces on all my son's teeth because he said he was still growing and he didn't want to mess with his teeth because it could mess things up. He's got a very minor overbite and an impacted molar which NEEDS to be pulled up. So they did the xrays and pictures but he needed to do the impressions just to make sure. Turns out he's got a severe overjet so he's got to get full braces.

So please get more opinions. Good luck!

Jessica

[GiverSSJ]

I would do it since it is not just cosmetics. With an unproper bite, your child could get a grinding problem or TMJ problems. Ask the dentist what is wrong with your son's bite, write this down, and take it with you to the othro consultation.

[darrylp]

Hey, I'm a spammer who has just been banned! Happy holidays to me from the site's Admin!

[Huggypillow]

i got braced at 28 i wish my parents had done it for me when i was younger but they couldnt afford it. my small issues back then have now become quite major.

children adapt better to these things than adults, go and see a few orthos and let the majority consult help u decide.