How Invasive are you in your kids treatment.

[oldfart]

Basically if I am paying $5K for them, I will want to inspect them to make sure they are cleaning them. Do you find yourselves more involved in keeping track of your kids brushing or just wait until the ortho says they are slacking.

[Tobilei]

My daughter is pretty slack with hers. I scare her sometimes by keeping an eye on her when she thinks I'm not or popping in with a surprise plaque staining tablet (she hates that one) but with 3 kiddies I don't have time to stand over her twice a day (and I have not a whole lot of control over what she eats while at school that she gets off her friends). I've dealt out all the information to her about what happens when you don't brush etc. Both the ortho and our dentist tell me they look fine so I'm hoping she's doing a better job than I think she is!

I'm kind of concerned about when she gets her retainer though. If she doesn't wear it during the day (and I suspect that at high school there's a big possibility) her teeth might move again and the whole amount we've spent on fixing her teeth will be wasted

[metalmom40]

I became a little bit of a nag.

[Kipepeo]

I'm in exactly the same situation as Tobilei. I can't tell my 13 year old daughter what to do. She knows what can happen. I do insist on brushing morning and night. I'd say she averages mornings at least 5 days and nights maybe 4-5. There is no such thing as floss for her, no way.

The good news for me is that her best friend had her braces removed almost a year ago and is in retainers. So hopefully she will be a good roll model. My daughter has about 9 months left.

[Tobilei]

My daughter has apparently never heard of floss either

I have 2 different sorts plus threaders out where she can see them, but nope, unless something is stuck and bothering her it just sits there looking pretty and waiting for me to use it.

[oldfart]

I am now officially a nag.

My son makes a small hogie style sandwich, and is eating in the car next to me. I dont consider it hard, but kinda like toast. Since his teeth doesnt meet he cant completely bite it off, so he takes a bite, and just yanks it sideways like a lion, eating a piece of his catch.

"Sam.. don't do that, you'll break something. And btw how was music practice."

"It was good. What did you say?"

"Music practice, how was it"

"No before that"

"Be careful, don't break anything"

"I think I just did."

So one kid was back within one week after getting his quad helix (not his fault, the bloody thing half fell out). And other kid with top only braces was back after three weeks.. Oh yeah, he actually had pulled off two brackets.

I had to do a quick visit also.. But nothing major. They had cement stuck between two molars and couldn't floss there.

It's going to be an interesting three years.. The Quad Helix kid gets his top braces next month.

of

[dobiegil]

Oldfart,

I am a nag, especially at first. Then slacked away because of the conflict. Now that I have my braces on, she has picked up the pace with care. However, I must say she has had better luck with breaking appliances. She broke her very first archwire and had the quad fall out once (in the past four years). Now me, hmm I have had four brackets fall off, and might have swallowed an archwire that was 1 inch long. I told my ortho, that I was worse than my daughter. Everyone got a kick out of that in the office.

Robin

[Tobilei]

I'm definitely worse than my daughter. I've never had to take her in for anything between appointments. Me? I'm back one week after every single adjustment (off today in fact!) for an emergency appointment for one reason or another