Braces

[daydream**believer]

My 12 year odl daughter needs braces.

What im wondering is, is it something i should "shop around" for. Do braces prices vary from dentist to denist?

And if i should shop around? How do i do that? Will they give prices over the phone or do i have to take daughter in to see every dentist to get a price?

[izabsmiling]

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@freddie*rooster wrote:

I guess it's the same for illnesses which appear to be more common now then in years gone by, every 2nd person you come across has someone in their friends or family suffering from cancer. Maybe our lifestyles really arn't as heathly as they were, food additives and environmental issues are more prominent in todays life.

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Hi Freddy, I think we hear about  it more now as there is getter awareness,improved diagnostics (in order to find a cancer) and treatment.?

I'd rather a person know they had it and asap ..than not know at all or until it was too late 

If modern medicine recognises and recommends braces as the best (or perhaps only )medical treatment for their child...what parent could rightfully go against that and decide that the best medical treament for their child now in 2013

is that which may have been considered/or was the 'best treatment' decades ago?

[azureline**]

is anyone saying they shouldn't get them?

I think it is always wise to get other dentist opinions.

[izabsmiling]

No  the opposite Az..Some parents are being told by medical professional that our kids do need to get them

[crystal**flake]

I reckon a dentist sees a woman with a couple of kids come into his office and goes.............cha ching!!!!!

[izabsmiling]

I just had to look in my kids mouth.No 1 had them and needed them .No 2 was much the same though refused.He has very crooked teeth (harder to clean,chew) an overbite (harder to chew and more liklihood of him wearing his teeth down unevenly as he ages)

,and 2 teeth sticking out in front (very far out from the tooth line) in his upper and lower jaw 

I don't think dentists will (even if requested) just pull overcrowded teeth out in such cases any more (as they once might have) without working with and under the direction of an orthodontist

[izabsmiling]

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@crystal**flake wrote:

I reckon a dentist sees a woman with a couple of kids come into his office and goes.............cha ching!!!!!

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I used to think that....after being a parent of  kids who really need them, I no longer do.

[**meep**]

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@freddie*rooster wrote:

What's with these braces, is this just an expensive trendy fad?

Back in our day there were never any such thing, we had fillings and extractions, thinking back, my brother who passed away at 66 still had all his own teeth, my brother who passed at 53 also had all his own teeth. My own son had over crowding which meant pulling a couple of back teeth, his teeth are perfect.

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malocclusion, left untreated can lead to all sorts of problems.  when i was a child, a dentist recommended treatement but because in my case it appeared so minor, my parents didn't follow it up.  Today (while my teeth appear 'normal') I suffer from TMJ and tinnitus which has had a horrible impact on my life.

My daugher suggested that perhaps she needed braces because a lot of her friends did.   According to her dentist, nope, her teeth are fine.

If anyone feels that a dentist is recommending unnecessary treatment, just get a second opinion, but don't ignore it altogether.

[*mrgrizz*]

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@freddie*rooster wrote:

What's with these braces, is this just an expensive trendy fad?

Back in our day there were never any such thing, we had fillings and extractions, thinking back, my brother who passed away at 66 still had all his own teeth, my brother who passed at 53 also had all his own teeth. My own son had over crowding which meant pulling a couple of back teeth, his teeth are perfect.

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every dentist recons every kid needs braces...........they must get kick backs.

i was told i needed braces............never got them...........teeth seem to work just fine

[bella_again]

My DD has braces, best thing we could have ever done for her.  She was lucky enough to be able to go through the public system with them which still costs, but is only minimal compared to a private dentist.  The alternative was that they wanted to break her jaw and realign.  We decided that braces while they wouldn't entirely fix the problem,  they would improve things somewhat.  She would never have coped with that kind of operation, so am so grateful we were able to access this amazing service from the dental hospital.

[ten*teeny*tiny*toes]

My daughter had a similar issue Punch where because of the alignment couldn't actually bite into a sandwich, she had to rip it or break it then hand feed. I wondered why so many had braces so early and she had to wait until she was 15.

It was because of the jaw and her still growing. Even after braces, there was talk of breaking her jaw. That never happened.