But no, she showed me how Emma's permanent teeth coming in are already crowded and we need to make room for them...the sooner the better. So even though my daughter is just seven years old, she is starting down the road to orthodontia (I didn't get my braces on until I was 14!) The orthodontist put in rubber spacers between her back molars, which will make a bit of a gap between the molars. That's so they can fit her with a palate expander in two weeks.
I am a bit of wreck about the whole thing - both how to swing it financially and how Emma will fare. I love my daughter to death, but I have to admit, she is a bit of a wimp. She's been complaining all day about how the spacers are hurting her teeth...I can't imagine what will happen when they put that expander on (which looks like a torture device invented by the Nazis.) And the fact that I have to insert a little key in her mouth every night and tighten the expander...I just can't wait.
Oh well, I know it's become a extremely common rite of passage for kids now - and it will be fine.
Anyway, here is Emma before we headed to the orthodontist...she looked pretty happy then!
9 comments:
She will do fine.. .
KyLee had that . .and she is a wimp also..
but she did fine.. she is suppose to get them off when she gets back..
Hugs..
Bless her little heart . . . and her momma's. That expander thing sounds like a gem!
I had braces too and remember the weekly tightenings - ouch.
But she will survive - we all do!
Good luck with that. She does seem young, but the dentist knows what she is doing. My daughter has yet to even have a loose baby tooth, and she's the same age as Emma.
The orthos do things differently now, don't they! I'm sure Maddy is headed in the same direction!
Emma looks adorable in that beautiful sun dress! Hope your summer is going well... besides that pesky orthodontist! Have a fun weekend.
Janet
Oh bummer! I put braces on my own teeth at the age of 24. I also had a palate expander that I had to crank every night. The braces weren't so bad once I got used to them. But the palate expander was not pleasant. Not so much for the pain when cranking (cuz I didn't think it was that painful)...but the fact that it fit up into the roof of my mouth and was sooooooo annoying for eating and seriously effected my speech.
I waited til I was 24 for orthodontia. So if you don't think you or E are ready then wait a bit. Just saying... :)
First, can I just say I love that dress she has on! Meisi has a friend who had braces put on in
2nd grade as well for I think the same reasons, so I don't believe it's as uncommon as it used to be.
I bet Emma will be fine, it's all about getting used to them, and Lib said the spacers only hurt for the first day, same with the braces and now she doesn't even notice them. Hope it all goes smoothly for you two!
Bummer. My best friend growing up had one of those key expanders, and I remember it was, um, unpleasant. But... she has the prettiest smile in the world now. :-) Sending best wishes!
Ugh. I can sympathize. I had a "floating tooth" removed when I was eight and had braces put on my teeth at age nine. I had such a bad overbite. I had a night brace, rubber bands, and eventually a retainer. I lived at the orthodontist office. Wishing Emma tons of luck!
Interesting! I guess all orthos are different though. Jade will be getting them this year - only on the top and bottom four for about 10 months - but our ortho is waiting until her two perms come in first. Good luck!!
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