Braces at Age 7 - Fremont,CA

Nope, I would not do it. The only time it's really necessary is when you have kids with severe abnormalities of the jaws/palate, for example in kids with cleft palate.

My niece also has severe crowding... and after reading up on the "stage 1" braces my sister asked both her orthodontist and her dentist about it (she lives abroad) - they both laughed at this and confirmed that even among dental professionals there is pretty much agreement that "better get them when they are young" only applies to the amount of money parents are going to spend on orthodontic treatments - not on the actual results.

I would at least get a second opinion.
Good luck.

They're putting them on while they're much younger these days. My son got them at 9 but there wasn't any phase 1, phase 2 stuff. Confused by that myself. I'd get another opinion.

Yes. Braces can go on 7 year olds. It sounds young, but it's really the best age. They can expand the palette if need be and extend the jaw if need be, while it's growing.

My oldest son got braces at age 8. They were off when he was 10. He's now 15. He MIGHT need a second set. He keeps using his retainers.

I would get a second opinion just as a matter of course and see if another ortho looking at your daughter would agree.

My two younger sons are both doing two rounds of braces starting at age 7 or 8 and will do round 2 at 12 or 13 and maybe even another at 18 if needed (hopefully not!). The first round is usually shorter and less expensive than the second. For my boys, it's to correct an underbite. There is ample evidence that correcting the bite at this phase of facial growth makes it more likely that a jaw misalignment such as theirs can be corrected with orthodontics instead of surgery. I have the same problem and mine wasn't addressed until I was 15 and I ultimately needed surgery at 17 to reduce the size of my bottom jaw. It was major surgery with an ICU stay, 3 days in the hospital and weeks of having my jaw wired shut.

Usually the two-phase treatments are to expand the upper palate and/or pull the lower jaw backward. If her crowding is in the top teeth, then it makes sense that they would want to expand her palate at this age. As the upper palate plates are pushed apart, more bone grows in the middle making the top palate larger and allowing more room to fit the adult teeth. That's the preferred treatment now vs. pulling teeth.

I asked our dentist why they put braces on children at such a young age, he looked at me and said to make money.

Get a second and if necessary, a third opinion.

I had one child who we waited and did full braces in middle school. My younger had a cross bite so she did the phase 1/ phase 2 thing.

With my older child, the first provider we saw was ready to put her into phase 1 right then and there. He was recommended by our pediatric dentist. The second provider was recommended by my own dentist and several families we knew. He said she didn't need phase 1 and to come back in a year so he could look at her again. This went on until 6th grade when she had all of her adult teeth then we went ahead with braces.

When we learned of the cross bite on our younger child, we went back to the same orthodontist and he put her into phase 1. He added bands on the front teeth to straighten them while she had the palate expander. Her top teeth looked great. That treatment went on for about a year and then he changed the palate expander to a retainer that held the palate open and we were on a "wait and see" status until her adult teeth all came in. At that time we opted for Invisilines and she will finish her treatment this summer.

A couple things I learned...

-If you have any orthodontic coverage on your dental insurance, phase 1 will probably exhaust it leaving you to pay the full price of phase 2.

-No matter what the orthodontist tells you about possibly not needing a phase 2, don't believe them. You will still need phase 2. My ortho said in his years of experience only 2-3% didn't need a phase 2.

-You don't have to be an Orthodontist to practice orthodontics in CA. At least that was the case a couple years ago. Something to check out because there are a lot of dentists practicing orthodontics.

My best advice is to get second, third and possibly fourth opinions. Usually the initial consultation is free so take advantage of it. Different orthodontists have different opinions of the best treatment. Get recommendations from friends and family. Check Yelp and other sites for reviews. Beware of the recommendation of your dentist because often they have a "relationship" with other provider.

Best of luck to you!

Updated

I had one child who we waited and did full braces in middle school. My younger had a cross bite so she did the phase 1/ phase 2 thing.

With my older child, the first provider we saw was ready to put her into phase 1 right then and there. He was recommended by our pediatric dentist. The second provider was recommended by my own dentist and several families we knew. He said she didn't need phase 1 and to come back in a year so he could look at her again. This went on until 6th grade when she had all of her adult teeth then we went ahead with braces.

When we learned of the cross bite on our younger child, we went back to the same orthodontist and he put her into phase 1. He added bands on the front teeth to straighten them while she had the palate expander. Her top teeth looked great. That treatment went on for about a year and then he changed the palate expander to a retainer that held the palate open and we were on a "wait and see" status until her adult teeth all came in. At that time we opted for Invisilines and she will finish her treatment this summer.

A couple things I learned...

-If you have any orthodontic coverage on your dental insurance, phase 1 will probably exhaust it leaving you to pay the full price of phase 2.

-No matter what the orthodontist tells you about possibly not needing a phase 2, don't believe them. You will still need phase 2. My ortho said in his years of experience only 2-3% didn't need a phase 2.

-You don't have to be an Orthodontist to practice orthodontics in CA. At least that was the case a couple years ago. Something to check out because there are a lot of dentists practicing orthodontics.

My best advice is to get second, third and possibly fourth opinions. Usually the initial consultation is free so take advantage of it. Different orthodontists have different opinions of the best treatment. Get recommendations from friends and family. Check Yelp and other sites for reviews. Beware of the recommendation of your dentist because often they have a "relationship" with other provider.

Best of luck to you!

No way in my book. Same thing happened to my youngest son, and we went to an ortho who had some extra teeth pulled, and all his teeth ended up coming in straight and nice. We don't need braces now. Why would you do this, considering your daughter still has her baby teeth, and they will come out anyway? Why would you straighten out teeth that will be coming out anyway? I'd get them checked AFTER all her baby teeth are gone.

It's actually better to catch them early! I know it sounds sooo young!! Talk to the orthodontist about your concerns. Go get a second opinion.

My question is - what brought you to the orthodontist? Did your dentist tell you to go or did you notice the crowding of the teeth and decided to take action?

When my oldest son got braces, he was 8. Our insurance covered 50% of it. They were $3,200. They were on for 18 months. That was Phase 1. Phase 2 might be coming up soon. I don't know. Overall, his teeth are still in good shape. His teeth yellowed when he had braces so he's trying teeth whitening.

My youngest son will be 12 soon. And his teeth are messed up. We waited a little too long to get his done. As our orthodontist said - catching them young allows them to manipulate the jaw bone and palette during growth so it will be a natural progression. When they are older, the bones aren't growing so it's harder to extend the jaw, etc.

With my daughter is was very obvious that she had a cross bite and so when we were sent by our dentist when she was 6 to the orthodontist for a consultation I didn't question it...I could A. see the problem B. google the solution and C. price out different practices.

He upper palate was widened in 21 days and her teeth that didn't even meet aligned perfectly. They are so mold able at that age. We are still in Phase 1 where her front teeth are being aligned and room made for two permanent teeth to come in the correct place (they were going to come in the roof of her mouth due to the misalignment).

She will need phase 2 work done later as she is also missing a permanent tooth and we will have to decide how to handle that...

Our orthodontist told me that the longer you wait to correct certain issues the longer and harder it is to fix. With a cross bite once they reach the 10 to 12 year range they can become unfix able until after the age of 18 and it involves major surgery, breaking the jaw and shortening one side, gack!!

We have a very reputable professional the price while not cheap seemed reasonable for the amount of work and he offered a payment plan that didn't charge interest.

Most orthodontists give free consultations so get a second or even third opinion. Good luck!!

http://www.archwired.com/12_Things_To_Know_Before_Getting...
Its an article on braces.

Just know that, after braces, a retainer will have to be worn, for probably the rest of your life, even if it is only at night. If not, the teeth/jaw/alignment can and does, shift. And the mouth/teeth/jaw has 'memory.' It will shift and will want to go back to where it was.
I have been, wearing my retainers since I got my braces off in middle school.
If I do not wear it, even for one night, my teeth shift. Back.
My Dentist, says that is how the jaw/teeth/muscles are in the mouth.
It shifts. It is not a static thing. And it also changes per age etc. and normal physiology. Even the bite of a person's mouth, can change. Naturally or via braces that a person had.
I know someone, who's tooth cracked after she had braces. Because her 'bite' what incorrect. It was her permanent tooth that cracked. And she lost that tooth. Her bite, is not what it was. After to braces.
Braces is not only cosmetic of course.

Many perspectives on it.
And in the USA it seems, more highly perfunctory to get braces and/or per medical approach/perspective.

My daughter also had crowding at age 7. She wore braces on her top teeth, then a retainer. She had a lip bumper on her bottom teeth, to create room. She wore braces or a retainer for about 2 years.

I remember thinking, "She's so Y.!" When I was growing up, teenagers had braces, not 7 year olds.

Now my daughter is 12 and is doing "phase 2", a year with top and bottom braces, to finish straightening and correcting her bite.

I am so glad my daughter got her braces at 7. Many of her classmates had braces at 7, so she was one of the crowd. Her mouth/teeth were still growing- it's much easier to make corrections when there's still space in her mouth and teeth just coming in. And at 7, there's less worry about appearance, "what other people will think" as compared to the teenage years.

Phase 2 has been a breeze. My daughter is a veteran at the orthodontist, knows the routine and what to expect.

I would recommend getting braces at 7. Many orthodontist offer a payment plan and some dental insurances will cover a certain amount of orthodontist expenses.

Good luck
T. Y
SAHM of 5
13, 12, 6, 4 & 2

Expanders now will mean a lot less work/pain later on.
Our son had them and then had braces for only 2 years - he was finished by the end of 6th grade.
They didn't exist when I was a kid.
I had 8 adult teeth pulled in order to get the rest the room to fit in my jaws and it was a total of 7 YEARS in braces (grades 5 through 11).
It was total misery.
Get a 2nd opinion now if you want to but expanders now when their pallet is soft and their bones are growing is much less painful than pulling/moving the teeth around later on.

Years and years ago no one had braces, then everyone had braces, now two phases. Second opinion. Sounds like a way for orthodontist to make more money!

What they have learned even from when I had my braces to now is so much different.
Yes, they do treat orthodontics differently then they did when I was young. Instead of pulling out a ton of teeth to try to make room for at least some of them they do things like expand a narrow pallet in order to make more room for all the teeth.They would rather make room for the emerging teeth then have to wait and pull out ones to make things fit. It is better to do some of it before the roots of the adult teeth are fully formed. It goes a lot faster and causes less pain for the person.
They also look at things like improving narrow nasal passages that may be caused by a narrow palate and crowded teeth.
My son will be getting his splitter very soon. At the appointment we had a million questions about why they were doing things the way they were and why we shouldn't wait. They were very thorough in showing on xrays and explaining in depth.
I had a horrible experience with braces and after telling them about my concerns based on my experience they said that it has been discovered that there are better, faster and less painful ways of fixing teeth then the hell I went through. Part of that is doing some things earlier when needed to make room before the teeth have even finished coming in so the adult teeth come in correct in the first place and to do everything possible to not have to pull teeth other than perhaps wisdom teeth.
It's expensive but my husband and I both felt it was worth it. He gets his palate splitter in a few weeks.

I'd get a 2nd opinion. We had one orthodontist telling us we should do 2 phases and one saying one phase later was going to be enough. The pricing per consultation was 2k different. I'd rather postpone for a bit, and then we won't have to worry about the permanent retainer part of braces too. They have to wear it forever if they don't want their teeth to move. At least that is what we were told. I'd rather not have an 8 year old with a retainer. I think it really depends on the way the teeth are coming in. If they are crowded now, they might need to make room rather than fight that down the line.

Yep, my 8 year old will get her Phase 1 expander off on her 9th birthday. She's had them on for about 18 months. Her adult teeth are HUGE, and she's a very small girl. The orthodontist gave us two options:
A) Phase 1: expander at age 7, Phase 2: braces (if needed) as a teen
B) Do nothing now, remove 6-8 of her adult teeth when they grow in, then braces as a teen

The cost for both options was the same in terms of orthodontics (because either way, she requires the same number of months of treatment, just with one way it's split up into 2 phases), but Option B didn't include the cost of the oral surgeon removing the adult teeth (which isn't cheap), not to mention how horrid it is to have teeth pulled (especially molars that have big roots). So, we decided to just make room now so she can keep all of her teeth, and avoid having to remove 6-8 teeth and still end up in braces anyway.

My 8-yr old just got braces last week for the same reason. He is way too crowded making his new permanent teeth come in sideways. In fact, his 6-yr molars have been stuck for well over a year and unable to properly descend. The ortho put brackets on his back three teeth on each side (nothing on his front teeth) to move those teeth forward to give room for the molars to descend. Once that happens then he will extract four teeth.

This is called early intervention. And yes, it's expensive! But with these procedures, hopefully his molars will come into place and all of this new permanent teeth will straighten out.

Our dental friend did similar treatment with her daughter at age 8. Now she is 11 and should be done with braces very soon! While we have only been doing this for a short time, I feel like it's a good thing and will definitely help in the future.

I say go for it!

The longer the teeth are there, the more pain she will have with the braces. At this point, the teeth will move easier so the discomfort when they have to be adjusted is minimal. Also, you might find, as in my GD's case, the older she got, the worse the condition and it started to become painful for her to eat. I say get them now; it may save you from having to do Phase 2 in the future.

My daughter had really crowded teeth, and got a palate expander at age 8 (that's when the soft palate is more movable -- as you age it hardens and you can't expand it). She got braces after that to move her teeth closer together to make room for molars. She then got another set of braces when all her baby teeth were gone and molars were in. It was well worth it. We were finished with orthodontia by 8th grade. And she has a beautiful smile. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

People are always judging orthodontists as money grubbers who are putting on braces at earlier ages to make more money. We actually probably saved money by doing it in two short phases. We did get a second opinion at the time, and that doctor concurred with the first. You can always get a second opinion.

My friend that has 7 kids all got their dad's huge teeth. They got their mom's small mouth. So by the time they were 7 they had already had several adult teeth pulled and were starting pre-braces care. They all wore braces and have the most beautiful smiles.

My youngest is 9 and we are doing braces on him. He has had the expander on his top to make some room. In about 2 weeks he gets his top braces. His problem is his mouth is so small it wasn't letting any adult teeth come in. The baby teeth weren't coming out and when the adults tried to come in they are way crooked. In fact some of the adult teeth under the gums are already crooked. Everything I hear is that starting earlier is easier on the kids. The phase 1 is most of the work. The phase 2 is a shorter time frame and easier from my understanding. If you are unsure - get a 2nd or even 3rd opinion then make your decision.

You can always get a second opinion. My son has very crooked front teeth a huge overbite and he is ten. Our orthodontist has been watching him for 18 months. He is waiting on a couple of permanent teeth before he puts him into braces. I am on board with his treatment plan. He said if my son becomes self conscious he will put a couple of brackets on to help him show others he's working on it. Right now it's not a problem.

My daughter's friend had brackets put on at 7 and at 15 is about to be in a full set of braces.

My daughter went into braces at 13 and full expander appliances as well as two surgeries because of an impacted tooth that was in the top palate of her mouth. I'm glad she was older when we started her treatment and I'm thankful for that for my son as well. Gives him more time to mature to take on the cleaning and everything else required for braces.

Blessings!
L.

My BIL in our dentist. He recommended my son see an orthodontist. We started our phase one of braces at age 8. My understanding is that there is a "sweet spot" for expanding the pallet and braces. We went in for our consult at the age of 7, but had to wait for certain teeth to fall out before we got started. Since my BIL is our dentist, recommended the orthodontist, and gave us a heads up as to what to expect, I trusted the diagnosis.

That being said, even my BIL has complained about how unscrupulous some orthodontists can be. There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting a second opinion. When my best friend needed to get her son braces at age 14, she saw SEVERAL orthodontists, because she was shopping around for the best price. If you are questioning the necessity, talk to more docs before you decide.

It was very obvious that several of my nieces and nephews needed a palette expander (phase 1). Even not being trained in dentistry it was blatently obvious there would be no room for their adult teeth to come in without having their palettes expanded. (The alternative would have been to have teeth pulled or have an extremely over crowded mouth) My one nephew, because he had his palette expanded now most likely will not need phase 2 braces because the orthodontist took care of his issue when he was 8 yo.

My understanding is that it is a whole lot easier and you get much better results when you expand the palette at a young age (6-9 yo) while the palette is still soft.

Get a second opinion and ask your dentist what they think.

(FYI... My daughter got braces (Invisalign) when she was 10 and she will have her braces off soon after she turns 12. I on the other hand did not get braces until I was 12. Things have changed).

I have two kids. The first began orthodontic treatment in 2nd grade (age 7), my second didn't start until 7th grade.

It all depends on what's going on in their mouth. My first kid had crowding and they used a palate expander, and they also adjusted/straightened the teeth as they grew in. It is far less painful than mine were when I got mine on at age13.

My second kid didn't have crowding as much as he was going to end up with buck teeth. So he didn't started orthodontia until age 12 - also with a palate expander - but a different type than my daughters.

With our orthodontist there's one global fee - whether they start at age 7 or 10 or 12 - whether they have one appliance or three or four. Over the years my first child has had 4 different types of appliances - some could be removed, others couldn't be. But since she began early we were done paying for her a couple of years before she was finished with treatment.

Most dental plans will pay some of the expenses - $1,000 - $2,000 a the most. But if you have the ability thorough your employer to open a flexible spending account (FSA) or a Health Savings Account (HSA) you can use pre-tax money and it can come out of your pay slowly. If you're in a 20% combined state & federal tax bracket that's $200 per $1,000 you get to save.

Good luck mama. It is gratifying to see those smooth pearly teeth when the last appliance comes off. And - ask about a retainer that stays in the mouth - that way you don't lose all that progroess.

I would get a second opinion. I took my daughter to an orthodontist and he said the same thing, but I chose to get a second opinion before throwing braces on. Sure enough she did not get braces on for another 3 years. I took her in and they did x-rays and watched her teeth every 6 months or so. Once it became positively sure that it was time they put them on. I can't see paying for braces two or three times.

Sigh, I had a long answer all typed out and it disappeared.

Long story short, seek a 2nd opinion if you are uncomfortable or not understanding the pros/cons of 2 phases of braces. A consultation should be free. We went to 2 consultations and had the plans, costs, time frame, etc. all printed out and then decided what plan we though was best. Not every ortho does braces the same way. The 2 we consulted both recommended 2 phase plans but they did other things differently.

2 phases can be recommended if the adult teeth do not have room to come in straight or without causing issues. That is why we chose a 2 phase plan. We started at age 10 though. My son will have them 15 months and then may need a 2nd set when all his adult teeth come in. There is a chance he will not need a second set.

The cost for a 2 phase plan was not all that much more than a 1-phase plan, for us. The orthos apply a large discount to the 2nd phase. I would have to pull out our paperwork to see exactly how much, but I do remember it was not like paying for braces for 2 children, it was just a bit more. If I get motivated, I will see if I can find the paperwork and update my post.