DS 13 is a nightmare with braces

[Anonymous]

My son is 13, is on the autism spectrum, and had braces put on about six months ago.

The day we had the braces put on, he had a meltdown the entire day. I had hoped that would be the end of that, but at each adjustment appointment, we find no less than three or four brackets were broken off, and broken wires twice. I am very certain he is either popping them off at school somehow, probably getting a hold of food and snacks he is NOT supposed to have!

I am infuriated with this boy. He doesn't care. He does not think he needs braces. We paid 5,000 dollars and in return, he has something to ruin when he gets mad. I refuse to let him go through life with his teeth like that, though. He has a really bad cross bite and crowding, and are just too horrible to leave alone.

He is on a soccer team, and I threatened to pull him off if he doesn't take care of his braces and tells me he does not are and to just go ahead and do it. The problem is that it is the one thing that I found to get him to regularly exercise, so I really do not want to do that.

How am I going to get thorough this with his attitude?

[Anonymous]

Even if they are careful brackets and wires break.

[Anonymous]

Does it cost more $$ when they’re broken? Can you put money in an account for that, and however much is left at the end of treatment he gets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it cost more $$ when they’re broken? Can you put money in an account for that, and however much is left at the end of treatment he gets?

Good idea!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does it cost more $$ when they’re broken? Can you put money in an account for that, and however much is left at the end of treatment he gets?

I have tried just about every other incentive I could think of. I even tried offering him a new Xbox if he finishes braces and now all of a sudden he doesn't care about gaming anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if they are careful brackets and wires break.

I would say he is doing it deliberately to try to get the orthodontist to cancel treatment. There is NO WAY that many brackets breaking off at that rate on accident.

[Anonymous]

I also have a 13 year old with autism and braces. I give my kid Advil starting about 30 minutes before the appointment and then pretty consistently for the next 3-4 days because adjustments hurt.

The end of treatment is a really long time away. Can you do an incentive for a shorter period of time? For example, check his mouth once a week and if there is nothing broken, give a couple extra hours of video game time?

This might be a situation where the two of you can brainstorm together what would work, like from Ross Greene’s the explosive child. You really need his buy-in.

[Anonymous]

What about Invisalign? Would that be a better option?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about Invisalign? Would that be a better option?

If op is approaching her kid the way she writes here, I think that only elevates his stress and discomfort with the braces. Op needs to cool the temperature and have a clear calm talk, offering dc a few options. There can be incentives offered, which he can collaborate on. You can go as far as to offer removing the braces and trying again when he's older. You can clearly lay out the ramifications of that and verify he understands the pros and cons. In short, this kid needs calm and to feel like he has options. This is the reason I waited until my similar dc was 16 to start orthodontia. So far, so good.

[Anonymous]

I think you likely made a mistake putting them on him at 13, given his problems. This could have waiting until 14, 15, 16, or whatever age it would be for him to be mature enough and understanding enough to tolerate treatment.

If he is having multiple broken brackets at every appointment, his progress is going to be super slow. Every time you break a bracket, unless it is fixed within a week, you will have little to no progress that month.

[Anonymous]

Talk to the dentists. Do not battle with your son. If something hurts bring him to the dentists asap, do not say anything negative to DS.

Can you have your husband handle this Op?

[Anonymous]

I agree with Invisalign poster. You get the same end result and only have to go to the orthodontist every 12 weeks to get a new set of retainers - no wires to break, etc. Most orthodontists do both and I think at this point Invisalign might actually be less expensive. And if you lose a retainer, you can just move ahead to the next week’s retainer and it’s not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with Invisalign poster. You get the same end result and only have to go to the orthodontist every 12 weeks to get a new set of retainers - no wires to break, etc. Most orthodontists do both and I think at this point Invisalign might actually be less expensive. And if you lose a retainer, you can just move ahead to the next week’s retainer and it’s not a big deal.

Unfortunately, he has problems that Invsialign can’t fix, and it would probably be a constant battle to get him to wear them.

[Anonymous]

Hugs! I’m in the same place. Mine is not intentionally popping brackets and breaking wires, but it’s like a tic he can’t stop fooling around with it. Also same on food. I can show him what he can’t eat from the orthodontist, but he like crunchy things. We need them, he is missing adult teeth, and chose a doctor that is full time so we can get in lots, but they are now threatening more charges, which are totally reasonable, but we are giving consequences of no screens next time we have to bring him in early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hugs! I’m in the same place. Mine is not intentionally popping brackets and breaking wires, but it’s like a tic he can’t stop fooling around with it. Also same on food. I can show him what he can’t eat from the orthodontist, but he like crunchy things. We need them, he is missing adult teeth, and chose a doctor that is full time so we can get in lots, but they are now threatening more charges, which are totally reasonable, but we are giving consequences of no screens next time we have to bring him in early.

Oh, I wish I could find a way to give consequences. I already can't bribe him, and promising consequences does nothing to prevent anything. He has already shown he is willing to have consequences than to cooperate with this orthodontic treatment.