Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After three years of braces and teeth removal, my kid is having surgery to fix her jaw. The doctor also mentioned maybe having a genioplasty. I'm sure it will take her a while to get used to her new mouth!

Did the braces and extractions necessatate the surgery?

This. Sorry for the sidenote but my kid also had years of: turtle, teeth removal and invisilign (recommended to avoid jaw surgery) and may still need the jaw surgery. So I'm wondering if the ortho is just not that good. Were they trying to fix the jaw while she was young?

(my ortho seems to be good in that nothing is expanding to wallace and grommit and they are waiting on the other kid before doing any work because they do want all baby teeth out and teeth settled in for her- she's 13 and impatient for braces!)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the palate expanders. Every braces-wearing Gen Alpha kid got a palate expander, sometimes for years, which creates a Wallace & Gromit smile (Google it). Orthodontists push kids palates so far out that they all have this same weird cartoon smile when the braces come off.

Nope, not mine. There are still some reputable orthodontists left who don’t push this two-phase plan. Just wait til they’re teens.

Not mine either. One kid had 1 phase of braces and didn't want the expander in afterward, just promised to wear her retainers faithfully. Other kid really needed 2 phases, but has just done a removable expander and will get the teeth aligned in phase 2 in a year or two. You don't have to agree to everything the orthodontist wants to do.

How many orthodontists did you consult with on your second child?

Just 2. It was the second one who offered the removable expander. Kid wore it faithfully as a 3rd/4th grader and never lost it. Pretty amazing honestly.

Is it like this? You can see so many teeth

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the palate expanders. Every braces-wearing Gen Alpha kid got a palate expander, sometimes for years, which creates a Wallace & Gromit smile (Google it). Orthodontists push kids palates so far out that they all have this same weird cartoon smile when the braces come off.

Nope, not mine. There are still some reputable orthodontists left who don’t push this two-phase plan. Just wait til they’re teens.

Not mine either. One kid had 1 phase of braces and didn't want the expander in afterward, just promised to wear her retainers faithfully. Other kid really needed 2 phases, but has just done a removable expander and will get the teeth aligned in phase 2 in a year or two. You don't have to agree to everything the orthodontist wants to do.

How many orthodontists did you consult with on your second child?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the nuttiest threads I’ve read in a long time.

It seems like it would be…and I would have never thought to verbalize something like this, or really know how to, but now that it is a post, I get it! All of my friends with teens that had palette expanders or some two phase process starting at 7 have this look (and that is most of the teens I know). But the ones that had braces on in one phase and later, say 13+ don’t have this look

Thank you for that info! I waited for my now 17 yo to start braces for partly financial, partly sensory issue reasons. He is nearing the end of treatment and will need cosmetic dentistry to complete the process. I wonder if I can deter the ortho from shaving/ filing his teeth. If his teeth will be altered, I'd rather have the best cosmetic dentist in our area do it. Who is the best cosmetic dentist around here?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s the palate expanders. Every braces-wearing Gen Alpha kid got a palate expander, sometimes for years, which creates a Wallace & Gromit smile (Google it). Orthodontists push kids palates so far out that they all have this same weird cartoon smile when the braces come off.

Nope, not mine. There are still some reputable orthodontists left who don’t push this two-phase plan. Just wait til they’re teens.

Not mine either. One kid had 1 phase of braces and didn't want the expander in afterward, just promised to wear her retainers faithfully. Other kid really needed 2 phases, but has just done a removable expander and will get the teeth aligned in phase 2 in a year or two. You don't have to agree to everything the orthodontist wants to do.

Anonymous wrote:It’s the palate expanders. Every braces-wearing Gen Alpha kid got a palate expander, sometimes for years, which creates a Wallace & Gromit smile (Google it). Orthodontists push kids palates so far out that they all have this same weird cartoon smile when the braces come off.

Not if you have a good orthodontist. I had 3 kids in braces and only one had a palate expander and she absolutely needed it.

Anonymous wrote:It’s the palate expanders. Every braces-wearing Gen Alpha kid got a palate expander, sometimes for years, which creates a Wallace & Gromit smile (Google it). Orthodontists push kids palates so far out that they all have this same weird cartoon smile when the braces come off.

That makes sense and now I can envision what OP was saying.

Anonymous wrote:This is one of the nuttiest threads I’ve read in a long time.

It seems like it would be…and I would have never thought to verbalize something like this, or really know how to, but now that it is a post, I get it! All of my friends with teens that had palette expanders or some two phase process starting at 7 have this look (and that is most of the teens I know). But the ones that had braces on in one phase and later, say 13+ don’t have this look

I can’t believe people are arguing about the word uncanny. Set that aside, think about the concept the op was saying

I actually don’t agree with OP. I don’t see this happening—teens looking toothy or smiles looking toothy etc etc. OP, maybe the orthodontist near you has the same style, and you don’t like it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uncanny? I have no idea what you’re talking about.

It means something's off but you can't quite put your finger on it. Like how a humanoid robot's movements and expressions aren't quite natural, but it's difficult to articulate exactly how.

Uncanny seems like the right word for a kid with new braces. They move their mouths in unnatural ways until they get used to the braces.

No, I don’t think you really understand the word. There can be an uncanny resemblance. And uncanny coincidence. But an uncanny smile post-braces? Sorry, it doesn’t make sense.

+1

Anonymous wrote:It’s the palate expanders. Every braces-wearing Gen Alpha kid got a palate expander, sometimes for years, which creates a Wallace & Gromit smile (Google it). Orthodontists push kids palates so far out that they all have this same weird cartoon smile when the braces come off.

+1. Read the whole thread waiting for someone to say this. The palate expanders cause that look with the 4-6 front teeth straight across not curved around. It's hard to find an image of it (what Orthodontist would post photos like that?) but I know exactly what OP means. It's everywhere in tweens/teens today.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a bunch of people's before and afters with braces. None of them look uncanny to me -- they almost universally look better, or they look the same just with straighter teeth. With a lot of the kids you can tell they underwent puberty changes during their braces so some of them have more dramatic changes in appearance, but I think a lot of it has nothing to do with the braces themselves. It's normal for a a kid's face to mature a lot between age 10 and age 16.

Sorry, forgot the link: https://www.roederorthodontics.com/braces-before-and-after/

These teens all look great. I think it’s that post-braces and other adjustments to their bites, their mouths close better so they are able to smile wider and have that upturned smile showing more teeth closer together instead of spaced apart.

This is one of the nuttiest threads I’ve read in a long time.

I think it’s when all 6 top front teeth are lined up straight across. So top teeth almost have corners as opposed to a softer “u” shape.
In Baltimore so orthos are known for that. We stayed away.