Did/does your preteen have braces?

[Corie]

Nope. Ds1's bite is perfect. The spacing is a smidge wider than some might like but he's cool with it (teeth are straight too). We let it be his choice; he didn't want braces. Easy.

This is also my daughter. Her bite is perfect but the spacing between her teeth is wider than most. But she wasn't happy about it. So she got
the Invisalign purely for cosmetic purposes. She's worn the Invisalign for a year and her teeth are now perfect. She is very happy!

I should mention that my daughter got her Invisalign at age 13 (almost 14).

My son is 11 yrs. old. The orthodontist has a "let's wait and see" attitude with DS. There are no major issues with his teeth either.

[khm]

My daughter has braces. She had slight bite issue, but most was just the incisors were WAY out. It's only been 3ish months and they are looking great. They are going slow-ish with her because she has a tooth that was impacted in a fall when she was very small years prior. The tooth grew in fine, but the roots were stunted, the ortho is actually the first to see it on x-ray. She required an appointment at the endodontist for a root canal, a 6 month wait, then braces. Since it is "shored up" the ortho is being pretty cautious with it.

My son's teeth are better. He may or may not need anything. I had them give him a glance and they agreed unofficially. If he does, it'll probably be less involved than my daughter. Some kids get only invisilign or only head gear, etc.

[niccig]

DS's teeth are straight but he has an overbite. He's 11 and still has too many baby teeth to do anything with braces, but he just got a bite plate retainer he wears at home. He could have it for 1-2 years until more adult teeth come in.

I have an overbite, but my dentist pointed out its not as bad as DS's and concern was the bottom teeth were touching gums behind top incisors. My dentist said to fix it now before he's an adult and has issues with receding guns.

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[essnce629]

DS1 is 13 and doesn't need braces. Teeth are straight with no bite issues.

DS2 is just 7 and had a slight under bite that we were watching. We go to the dentist tomorrow and I'm not even sure if he still has an under bite anymore. He had one crooked adult front tooth, but it seems to be getting pushed straight as his other adult teeth grow in.

Neither DH or I had braces and we both have straight teeth.

[pinkmomagain]

Both my older girls had braces in middle school and were done by freshman year of high school or so. My youngest is just entering middle school next and still has too many baby teeth for braces yet. Will be curious what the dentist will suggest at her next appointment.

[Meatball Mommie]

Yes. Our dentist recommended an ortho for a panoramic x-ray at age 10 for both our kids.

The orthodontist charges $130 for that (not covered under our dental insurance and we don't have orthodontia coverage). After that he makes recommendations and monitors until it's time for braces, etc.

DS1 was ready for braces within 1 year (needed to lose baby teeth). DS2 has needed teeth pulled (first canine baby teeth at age 10, and just recently 4 permanent - extreme crowding). No braces yet for him though - probably not for another year (so age 12).

I prefer that approach because I figure the orthodontist knows best. He doesn't charge for the monitoring and we could have shopped around, but basically he's the preferred orthodontist in our area and I trust him.

I think braces have become the norm for the pre-teen set in the US. I don't know a single kid who hasn't had, doesn't currently have or won't have them at some point. Sometimes, it's twice...like get them on top for a while, then off and wait, then get them on top/bottom again. It depends on the individual situation and what's wrong with the teeth/jaw alignment. I'd love to be an orthodontist - totally fascinating imo.

It's funny because we visited family in Ireland for a big reunion and both DH and I noticed that none of the kids there had braces - not a single one - and they really could have used them, too! Definitely more prevalent in the US.

eta: Forgot about this, but when I was a kid, my pediatric dentist eventually had an in-house orthodontist. This was after I already had braces so I didn't use that service, but it certainly makes it convenient!

[MelissaTC]

This is also my daughter. Her bite is perfect but the spacing between her teeth is wider than most. But she wasn't happy about it. So she got
the Invisalign purely for cosmetic purposes. She's worn the Invisalign for a year and her teeth are now perfect. She is very happy!

I should mention that my daughter got her Invisalign at age 13 (almost 14).

M too. He did 6 months of Invisalign express. He had a space between his front teeth and a little bit of crowding on the bottom. He needed very little, obviously, and we encouraged him to let us pay for it and perfect his smile. Who knows what the future holds and he may regret it not doing it. He agreed and now his teeth are so gorgeous. I'm jealous. He did it at 13 as well.

[mom2khj]

I see it some, but still not very often.

Our ortho prefers to wait until all baby teeth are out. DD1 just got her braces on at 13.5 due to two very slow baby teeth (they eventually had to get pulled). DD2 at 10.5 only has two baby teeth left and one is already loose. She just had a palate expander removed and I can see her getting braces within the next year.

[KpbS]

Soon. We didnt do first phase braces and he's lost all of his baby teeth about 6 mo ago. He didn't have any pressing issues so ortho said it was fine to wait and just do one round. Thank goodness

[Meatball Mommie]

I think I was a little confused...are you asking specifically about 2-phase braces or braces in general?

I have definitely seen an increase in the 2-phase approach. I think it's the new method of orthodontia. Move some permanent teeth around early do others come in properly thus avoiding major issues. Kids may only need the second phase for a short time to do some minor re-alignment. While my kids didn't do this (their issues where not correctable by this method), a lot of their classmates have.