the youngest kid with braces surely

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#1 Post by **jay** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 8:07 pm

I was just searching around various braces site one day when i came across some pics of boy in upper braces, the one thing that starlted me was the caption for the pic said the lad was just 3 years old.

Braces for adults are not pain free at the best of times but for a 3 year old it must be very painfull.

Why would an ortho put braces on someone so young when he no where near the stage of losing his baby teeth yet?

pic below

#2 Post by **bbsadmin** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 8:37 pm

Perhaps it isn't really braces but making way for palate expansion? Maybe the kid has a very narrow palate for his age or something -- or jaw problems? He looks older than 3 years old to me!

#3 Post by **paw655** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 10:09 pm

Absolutely older than 3, agreed.

#4 Post by **Flora2006** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 1:17 pm

3 years old would be crazy!! My ortho doesn't start any treatment on people below 10 years of age.

#5 Post by **Idislikebraces** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 1:38 pm

^^Ur ortho is my new best friend! I PERSONALLY hate it when I see kids younger than 10 in braces...its ridiculous...seriously...nd about the pic...wow...that is sad...

#6 Post by **adollface** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:17 pm

I am a parent of an 8 1/2 year old in braces and it is not ridiculous. It is necessary!!

#7 Post by **bbsadmin** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:10 pm

When treatment is started really depends on the kid's case. Like I said, if the palate is really narrow then they might want to start expansion early to make room for the adult teeth to come down properly. There are also other reasons, I'm sure, why some kids start basic treatment earlier....a class III case or whatever...

#8 Post by **johnnys_angel** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 10:30 am

My friend had braces when she was seven to help fix her bite, then had then removed in the fifth grade...she now (ninth grade) has braces again, this time to fix everything else

Sort of a strange method, I thought...but her smile is fantastic so I won't question

#9 Post by **Gennel** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 10:35 am

I have heard of kids in braces that are less than 10 yrs old. Usually the front and bottom front teeth are permanent teeth by 8-9 yrs old. Most of the times orthodontist pull babyteeth to make room for the permanent ones.

I agree the kid on the pic could 7-8 yrs old. I know an 8 yr old that is the size of a 4 yr old.
As a parent I would wait until my child was at least 10-11 yrs old .That's only my opinion though. There may be cases that require early intervention for other reasons as well...

Gennel

#10 Post by **sportsgrl97** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:36 am

maybe he is 5 or 6??? but from what ive seen in the past... if your baby teeth are perfectly straight then usually your adult teeth come in all messed up and really crowded... if you baby teeth have spaces between them then your adult teeth usually come in pretty straight or with a little crowding.... and from what i see with this kid, he has all baby teeth and they are extremely crowded!! imagine what his teeth are going to look like when his actual adult teeth come in

#11 Post by **sjsarre** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:21 am

My son will have his braces by the time he is 11 or maybe a month or two over that.

I have reservations about braces in young children, unless of course their bite or palate has serious enough issues.

Two of my friends had braces when they were 10/11 and now they are in their early 20's. Both of their teeth have started to become crooked again and it looks like they might end up with extractions and braces again. They were told when their braces came off after 2 to 3 years that would be the only treatment required, but its not the case.

The boy in the photo looks about 5 or 6 years old. If he was 3 I doubt he would have any adult teeth..

#12 Post by **juf_84** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:39 am

My top front teeth didn't come in properly until I was 14 or 15, and I lost my last baby tooth at 14 and a half, so I think I was a bit slow in the tooth department. I look at 10-12 year olds and wish my teeth had come through like theirs! Oh well, I'm on my way to beautiful teeth now

#13 Post by **Beckalicious** » Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:36 pm

I had a friend in High School who got her braces on when she was 4 and didn't get them off til she was 15.

#14 Post by **rosy22** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 3:54 pm

I can't think of many reasons why a child would have braces - fixed brackets at age of 3. There may however be reasons to have other types of appliances e.g. to expand upper palate etc. Age 3 would be young, I have read about some practitioners doing this age 6-10 and some as young as 4. This is also only time when jaw growth guidance might be possible. I only wish I had had other options available to me when my kids were younger. After growth has stopped only option to correct jaw issues is with surgery usually. Interesting sites for anyone interested in what is called functional orthodontics for jaw growth guidance -
www.aafo.org
www.orthotropics.com

#15 Post by **sparkles** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 12:42 pm

I had my first ortho appliance when I was a baby and then my mum says I had a removal brace at aged 4yrs. I didn't get fixed braces til I was around 13 or so (I forget the exact age). I was born with a cleft.
However that was 31 years ago I was born and i believe things ahve changed since then

My son is now 6, also cleft affected, and doesn't have braces yet...but there's absolutely no doubt about it, the braces will be coming his way...he has a massive open bite at the front (although all his top teeth are still babies) and he's already lost 2 bottom front teeth and only 1 adult tooth has come in in that space (there's no room for all his teeth)

So it is feasible that a young child could ahve a brace, I'm not sure about fixed ones though.

Having said ALL that, there is a girl in my daughter's class at school who had braces aged 6 years - 8 years and in my head I did think it odd because why would a child need fixed braces before all their adult teeth were in??

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the youngest kid with braces surely

the youngest kid with braces surely

Braces at 3