Anonymous wrote:OP here...wow that's a lot of opinions!

We just had a virtual consult with a 3rd ortho who now is suggesting a face mask?! But suggested we just come in to the office in a few weeks to discuss in person since they had to go off of my photos vs in person exam. Price wise, around $6200ish if we pay in full but covers all work, whether or not we need this mask, this doc prefers invisilne vs the last dr who said my son can only do braces. They did say, we could do a mix of braces on top, invisiline on bottom and also moving back and forth as needed based on patient, so I like the sound of that...even-though I'm dubious about needing another expander/face mask.

I'm leaning towards this 3rd dr but will have to see how the in person session goes. Appreciate all the thoughts here and personal experiences!

One more opinion, OP. I had ortho when I was your kid's age, but I was really opposed to braces, so we did the "not perfect" option. 15 years later, my teeth were a mess, and I wound up doing Invisalign. My teeth still aren't perfect. If your kid is willing, and you can afford it, it is absolutely worth it to get all the work done when they are a kid. Ortho when you are a grown up is expensive and annoying.

Ironically, I went on to marry an orthodontist. He will do clear aligners (Invisalign, etc.) for people who want them, if their case can be treated with them (not all can). But, he always tells me he can get better results faster with traditional braces. When you think about how braces versus aligners work, this makes sense. So, if it were my kid, I would go with the doc who can make his teeth perfect with braces, and forget about half measures and/or face masks.

OP here...wow that's a lot of opinions!

We just had a virtual consult with a 3rd ortho who now is suggesting a face mask?! But suggested we just come in to the office in a few weeks to discuss in person since they had to go off of my photos vs in person exam. Price wise, around $6200ish if we pay in full but covers all work, whether or not we need this mask, this doc prefers invisilne vs the last dr who said my son can only do braces. They did say, we could do a mix of braces on top, invisiline on bottom and also moving back and forth as needed based on patient, so I like the sound of that...even-though I'm dubious about needing another expander/face mask.

I'm leaning towards this 3rd dr but will have to see how the in person session goes. Appreciate all the thoughts here and personal experiences!

Can you switch insurance during open season soon, like fed MetLife high option, and get braces in January?

Do full teeth. Can't he just get the 1 metal wire glued across the back of all his front teeth after braces to hold in place for a few years? It's much easier than wearing a retainer. I never wore mine. Awful

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised anyone would not consider getting their kids braces if they had the financial means. Sadly, people with bad teeth are judged in adulthood. It's just how it is. You can't control if your kids wears the retainer but you can give them the benefit of nice teeth.

+1. In the US, it is a class signifier.

This.

Facts are all kids who grow up in families with means now have perfect teeth. It wasn't like that when we grew up.

You can get a permanent retainer put in and not worry about it. Band glued behind the teeth.

you are talking about the difference of less than 2k. Fix his teeth.

Yeah get your kid evaluated young. I had an expander and a Herbst appliance staring at ten.

My husband never had braces and he looked into it. Because he's an adult the expander wouldn't work.as well, so he'd need surgery.

I don't wear my retainer anymore but while my teeth aren't perfect they aren't even a tenth as bad as they were pre treatment.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised anyone would not consider getting their kids braces if they had the financial means. Sadly, people with bad teeth are judged in adulthood. It's just how it is. You can't control if your kids wears the retainer but you can give them the benefit of nice teeth.

+1. In the US, it is a class signifier.

I don't judge or think less of adults who didn't have braces, but I notice. If you can afford it, do it.

Anonymous wrote:I would do full treatment. You don't need to wear the retainers for life. No one does. If he wears them until he is 100% done growing, so for men, probably early 20s, that is good enough. Sure there will be some mild shifting, but his teeth will be mostly straight and perfect.

I had braces from 10-12, probably wore my retainers until college (had been done growing by 14). I'm 38 and my teeth are pretty close to perfect. The shifting has been very subtle.

Wait til you're 50...the shifting will be much more noticeable!

--- got invisilign at 50 after never having had braces because teeth on lower arch were seriously jacked up. I see others my age with very crowded teeth on bottom as well.

Anonymous wrote:I am surprised anyone would not consider getting their kids braces if they had the financial means. Sadly, people with bad teeth are judged in adulthood. It's just how it is. You can't control if your kids wears the retainer but you can give them the benefit of nice teeth.

+1. In the US, it is a class signifier.

We’re at $11k between braces and the oral surgery to remove four adult teeth to make space for what the braces have to do. I told DC that if they don’t wear their retainer after the fact I’ll strangle them

Making a big deal for around 1000 bucks. Crazy

Don't be cheap. You may not value perfect teeth but your kid might.
I had ONE tooth out of alignment. My parents were cheap like you. I had to get braces at 22. Embarrassing. So did my siblings.

My parents put off this decision, I would up having to do braces in college (which sucks) and then I had them take off early because I couldn't stand it anymore and my teeth aren't straight. I'm over it now but it really bugged me in my 20s and I still subconsciously don't smile with my teeth for pictures.

Just get him braces. This is the time to do it, when it won't be weird with his peer group and before he starts dating and stuff. And the difference in price is so small. Why pay 5k+ for one tooth when you could pay just a little more for straight teeth? PPs are right no one wears their retainers religiously forever and most people don't have that much shifting. Plus what happens a lot is that people wear them until college (which preserves the bulk of the straightening) then they stop wearing them in their 20s because it's not cool, then they start up again at the urging of a dentist in their late 20s or 30s, when they realize it's dumb to worry about how you look in a retainer if it's going to make you look better the rest of the time. You can get new ones done to accomodate any shifting that has happened and as a bonus, they will minimize grinding at night that can impact dental health as you age.

My parents could have afforded braces for me in my early teens but they were trying to save a buck and then basically forced me to get them at 18. It was so, so dumb and had a really negative impact on my self-esteem throughout my teen years. I cannot tell you how unpleasant it was to spend my first two years of college trying to date and make friends with braces and just feeling like an idiot. I hated it.