I took the boys in for a dental cleaning and checkup this morning, our first visit to this particular pediatric dentist since we moved, and it went fairly well. The office was neat and fun, the boys didn't want to leave afterward! The staff was just "okay" though they weren't bad either.
This was Kyle's third visit to a dentist overall, so we've already been aware of his underbite and the possibility of early intervention. I guess it's just becoming more of a reality now, and I feel badly for him. I need to do more research and find out more about the treatment, but I hope it won't be too painful or traumatic for him. Today I learned he has a cross bite with a narrow upper jaw, which also causes the underbite. He will probably benefit most from having a palatal expansion appliance placed on top to help widen the jaw, thus correcting the cross bite and allowing more room for his permanent teeth to grow in without crowding.
This won't be happening tomorrow, but it's certainly something for us to think about and consider for the very near future. We don't even have orthodontic coverage with our dental plan, but thankfully we should be able to change that once baby is born and Dom has a chance to update his health coverage.
Poor kid. But I guess it's better to take care of it now, rather than needing more extensive treatment later, right? And it appears Kevin has the same thing, but his isn't as bad. I'm not sure if it will get worse with time.
I had a plate on the roof of my mouth forever as a kid. I have a cleft palate so there is a hole from my nose into my mouth. I would guess I got my first plate when I was around 5. It was 'glued' in place. As I got older I had one that I could remove. I can't say that it was an issue at all. I do remembering thinking it was hilarious to spit at people (my sister) when I was older but until you posted, I didn't even remember I had it.
I hope Kyle has the same non-event experience with his. I know mine was for something different but it really wasn't a big deal. Kids are so adaptable.
Hey Jolynn, I am sorry you guys are dealing with this at such an early age. Just wanted to let you know that we have gone through this here, too, with no regrets. For Jake, it was his overbite that was the issue. Since he sucked his thumb as a baby, his overbite was really bad and his jaw was out of alignment. He started wearing a pallet expander and night brace when he was 7. What a huge difference it has made already! The ortho said that most pre-ortho treatment greatly shortens the time of regular ortho care, and that is definitely going to be the case with Jake. I also think that because he was so young, it was no big deal to him and there were much fewer social issues (that you may see with a teenager and braces). For us, it was definitely the right decision. Good luck with Kyle!
i think it's a great idea to deal with this at such a young age. hopefully it wont be too traumatic for him. i have a crossbite (my bottom jaw is completely crooked and it's obvious when i talk and even when i'm just sitting there - i hate it) -- there was never really any discussion of correcting it bc it didnt cause any major problems at all, and my teeth looked fine - but it's something i've always been self-conscious of. i think it's a very good thign to have this taken care of.
i also had an expander in my mouth as a kid. there was a kid my parents would turn nightly (i think).
overall, it was nbd. i remember it would hurt the bridge of my nose for a few minutes afterward, but i didn't think much of it.
hoping it goes smoothly for your boys.
OMG, me too! We're totally twinsies! ;)
DYK one time at the dentist they didn't put the string on the key (after telling us over and over how important it was) and the dang lady dropped it and I almost choked on it!
Anyway, totally agree with this. Other than the initial day of learning how to talk with it in my mouth it was NBD!
I'm already starting to feel a little better about all of this. Thanks for all the positive replies! I just hope Kyle will be cooperative, but I'm sure it will all be okay. Thanks again.
Well Jo ,it looks like Kyle and his girlfriend Lauren will be expander buddies! Lauren has an upcoming appt because she started getting her 6 ys molars about a month ago and her mouth is just too small to fit all the teeth. Her teeth are already tight and there is no space at all so we are hoping to avoid terrible crowding (on the bottom).
I hope you can find an ortho you like and it won't end up being too difficult of an experience for Kyle.
Never fun to have teeth issues, but I'm sure many of us will be going down this road sooner or later.
I had an expander in early first grade. Like April's, it had to be turned to expand. I remember thinking I was pretty cool because the kids in my class thought it was so neat.
Hope fully these corrections will be quick and easy!
Well Jo ,it looks like Kyle and his girlfriend Lauren will be expander buddies! Lauren has an upcoming appt because she started getting her 6 ys molars about a month ago and her mouth is just too small to fit all the teeth. Her teeth are already tight and there is no space at all so we are hoping to avoid terrible crowding (on the bottom).
I hope you can find an ortho you like and it won't end up being too difficult of an experience for Kyle.
Wow, Michele! Good luck with Lauren's treatment. We can share our expander stories. :)
Well Jo ,it looks like Kyle and his girlfriend Lauren will be expander buddies! Lauren has an upcoming appt because she started getting her 6 ys molars about a month ago and her mouth is just too small to fit all the teeth. Her teeth are already tight and there is no space at all so we are hoping to avoid terrible crowding (on the bottom).
I hope you can find an ortho you like and it won't end up being too difficult of an experience for Kyle.
Well Jo ,it looks like Kyle and his girlfriend Lauren will be expander buddies! Lauren has an upcoming appt because she started getting her 6 ys molars about a month ago and her mouth is just too small to fit all the teeth. Her teeth are already tight and there is no space at all so we are hoping to avoid terrible crowding (on the bottom).
I hope you can find an ortho you like and it won't end up being too difficult of an experience for Kyle.
she is already getting 6 yr molars?!! crazy!
good luck as well.
Yes and it totally threw me for a loop. She kept running low grade fever after christmas and I would catch her putting her hands in her mouth a lot (like jamming them in there) and when I looked I was shocked. Huge lumps in the back where they are coming up. I already knew we were looking at her teeth crowding based on our previous dental appt but that was when we were just talking about permanent teeth coming in some day. The early arrival of these molars will surely guarantee it now. Who knew that perfectly straight and tight baby teeth would/could mean problems down the road. Well I sure didn't. :(
But I guess it's better to take care of it now, rather than needing more extensive treatment later, right? And it appears Kevin has the same thing, but his isn't as bad. I'm not sure if it will get worse with time.
