11 Year Old Getting Braces

One of my kids began braces at 8. All three of mine had braces -- 11 seems like the right age to me.

None of my kids had much pain with adjustments, etc. that I can recall.

And my kid had the herbst too. It was a good thing. I think his lower jaw would have been too small otherwise.

My daughter is 12 and got her braces on last March. Her teeth were not crooked (yet) but, the ortho could tell that when some of her adult teeth came in, there would not be room in her mouth for them. They are shifting things around now to make room for them to come in correctly. She will have her's off by 8th grade. The younger the better I say. I am glad she will not have them at all in high school.

It is not too early, and he is right about the growth spurt. It also matters what he needs done.

My son could have (probably SHOULD have) had his done about a year sooner. He has to have a herbst (the inside-your-mouth alternative to headgear) to help lengthen his jaw (big big overbite), and he was halfway thru his growth period already when it was installed. He still has grown A LOT this year... but the rapid growth was last year. He might have not had to wear it as long. As it is, we are expecting 9 months to a year. It could take longer though, depending on if he continues his growth rate or if it slows way down, because that will affect how quickly his jaw grows as well.

I read absolute HORROR stories about the herbst (and braces, too, but mostly the herbst), but it really wasn't that big of a deal. The spacers they stuck between his teeth before installing everything was the worst of it, at least judging from his behavior during it all. He cried at night a couple nights with those rubber band spacers. With the herbst? He took some advil, ate soft things, and took a week or so to adjust to chewing. No big complaining or anything.
He is 14.
My daughter is 11, and will need braces too, but she still has too many baby teeth, otherwise, she would be in them too right now.

The younger they start, the easier it is.
When I had braces many years ago - expander s had not yet been invented - they had to pull 8 adult teeth (wisdom and bicuspids) in order to fit all the remaining teeth into my mouth.
It took 7 years of braces to get everything lined up - I got them off just in time for my senior year.
My son only had braces for 2 years.
He started in the 4th grade and finished in the 6th grade.
He had an expander for 6 months - this is easy to do now while their bones are growing - when they are older and the roof of the mouth calcifies - it's too late to expand the jaw.
With more room in the jaws, it's a simple matter to line the teeth up.
My son wears retainers only at night and his teeth are perfect - well before he gets into high school!
11 is not too young for braces!

Actually, by age 11, some kids are on their second round of braces as part of a multi-stage treatment. My girl had her first set (upper front teeth only) at about 9 for around a year or less, and now, at 11, just went into her full-on, all-teeth set and is about to get a new appliance inside her mouth (to correct specific teeth now in the wrong locations).

If you wait longer to even start your son on treatment, it will only become more difficult for him.

Be aware, though, that estimates like "It will only be two years" are just that -- estimates. Things change and as the teeth shift, the orthodontist may find that things just need a little more time, or your son's growth spurt may come sooner or later and affect his mouth's growth too. But it's MUCH better to do treatment in the next few years than as an older teen or even an adult.

As for pain -- I don't know if you had braces as a kid. I did, and it was a very, very different process from now, with very different types of braces than are used now. Yes, there will be some level of pain, mouth soreness or a headache after an adjustment, etc., but the process and appliances are nowhere near as painful or invasive as they were years ago. It's still a mouthful of metal, of course, but overall it's not what it was when I was a kid. I hate that my lovely girl has to go through it but it is for her oral health. We're going to have an extra year of treatment because of her two teeth that are in the wrong locations, but in the end, it may well prevent her from having serious bite and jaw issues as an adult-- and she gets that.

My SD needed them sooner than my SS because her mouth is 2 years ahead of her chronological age. She also got her wisdom teeth in (and out) earlier. If you think that it's too soon, then consider a 2nd opinion (your insurance may require a pretreatment report/review before paying anything).

Sometimes it is painful. Usually ibuprofen and soft foods helped. Make sure that any broken wires are taken care of ASAP and keep a supply of the wax that covers the braces and protects the mouth. You can buy it at the store in the dental aisle. Our biggest problems were having a bad ortho with SS, sneaking food, and having a wire break out of town. The kids were pretty good with brushing properly. When they came off we gave the kids a "you can eat this now!" party. Instead of popcorn, consider things like Pirate Booty.

My SD has a permanent retainer behind her bottom front teeth. She hopes to one day get it removed as an adult. She has not done it yet. I don't think SS has one.

One reason we did go for the braces was because they both did have crooked teeth, and my sister never got hers fixed ($$). Now as an adult she was told that she would have to have her jaw broken to fix her teeth. So it depends on how bad it is, too.

My son got his braces at 11 and the ortho was dubious that we might have to take some more "drastic" measures because he was "so old." My understanding is that the ortho can move the teeth and adjust the bite while the bones are still growing much more easily then when the kids are older. I had six teeth pulled at age 14. My son only had two teeth pulled, because the ortho was able to affect the jaw growth and make room. He gets his braces off in 6 months and his severe over bite is completely gone.

My son had pain for about 24 hours after the initial "installation"; remedied with ibuprofen. He has never really complained since, except sometimes there are rough edges or a wire is sticking out and the ortho will fix it right away.

My son is ecstatic about how beautiful his smile is, even with the braces till on. "I'm gonna be so hot when the braces come off. The girls are gonna be all over me."
Good luck to your son!

My daughter got braces at about the same age. The proper time to get them is different for each person.

My daughter didn't have enough room in her mouth for all of her teeth and they were crowding each other and crooked. She had some teeth pulled on the top and bottom and then braces.

She doesn't tolerate pain well and tended to be a bit on the dramatic side, but she was pretty miserable at first each time they tightened her braces. Ibuprofen and ice packs made her feel better. As her teeth began to align correctly, it really didn't bother her at all.

The best thing to do is get a treatment plan from the ortho so you have an idea of what the procedures entail and what stages things will be done in. Like I said, things are different for everyone.

Your son will be fine. It's best to just get it taken care of.

Best wishes.

By GD is 10 and she just got her braces. I don't know what "milque" is but if that is baby teeth, my GD has ALL of her baby molars. The ONLY teeth that they said had to be permanent teeth were the front ones.

The day she got the spacers, her mouth was a bit sore and she had a soft diet. Advil worked great. Two days later, she was absolutely fine.

Same when she got the wires on. Two days of some soreness and taking advil and then no problems.

She has her first adjustment on 11/28. I'm anticipating the same thing - a couple of days of soreness and then good!

I can honestly say I have always seen the kids in my life in them much younger. They also didn't have to wear them over 2 years, maybe one worn them a little longer but her teeth were pretty crooked. Most of them were out of them by the time they were 12 or 13.

The kids I was a nanny for started getting teeth pulled around 8-9 because they have a thing in their family where their mouths are too small and the teeth they have are way to large. So they have to start young so the jaw won't grown wrong, trying to get bigger to fit all the teeth in. They were all in braces by 10 or 11 at the latest.

I had braces at 10 (back in the age of the dinosaur). I had one of the first orthos that would work on children. He got a lot of flack at the time, but ended up being a pioneer in his field. And for me? All my friends thought it was pretty cool which was a plus and secondly, I believe it is a more permanent result. Its been almost 30 years and I still get a lot of compliments on my smile! If my mom could do it for me 30 years ago, I would think with the advancements the decision might be a littler easier, at least, than when she had to decide.....

I was 26 when I got mine and I should have had them earlier but due to being in a broken home and not much money, it was not a priority.

That is a rule that I do not live my life by... we do not compromise on health and safety.

That said... I've seen them younger than 11.

Mine were painful the first 6 weeks or so until I got used to them. At the time, I dropped weight because I couldn't eat which was not good because I started out right at 100#

One thing my Dr. provided with treatment was a Water Pik. That was a GodSend for me. I also added listerine to the water. This not only helped with the cleansing process, it was soothing to sore aching gums.

Good luck!

11 is beyond ready. Orthodontists put them on younger now, even younger then that.

As someone who had to wait until 26 to get braces, do it NOW. It's REALLY painful when you get older. The teeth shift easier when they are young.

If you like your ortho, why are you dubious? I would think you would trust the ortho enough to trust in his word.

11 is not too young. All 3 of my boys got their braces in 6th grade, which puts them at the 11-12 year old range.

Look at this as a new step for your son's growing up and responsibility. Because he'll have to learn proper care, do the rubber bands thing... He'll have some minor discomfort for adjustments or in the getting used to them process. Nothing excruciating at all. The molars aren't anything to worry about. Most dentists/ orthos are more concerned about the wisdom teeth. And if they think they pose a problem, they'll suggest having them removed. That will be the worst pain. And that goes away in a matter of days as well, baring complications.

I would think it depends on what kind of teeth alignment is used too. There's that clear invisalign type that some use, and then the metal type braces. Kids like the metal ones because they can have their choice of color! and that's just cool with kids.

I honestly don't think there's a thing to worry about.

A lot depends on what needs to be done. I got braces @ 10 and found them very painful, but that was 25 yrs ago and my first ortho was OLD (he died 1/2 way through my treatment period). Talk to the ortho and have him outline your options (headgear? rubber-bands? retainers?). And you have to ask yourself if he is mature enough to finish the treatment. Braces take a lot of care, you have foods you cannot eat, you have to brush much more carefully, and be careful of them. It costs a lot to fix braces and even more on cavities because of not brushing properly.

The teeth shifting is sore its going to depend how he handles pain. I would do it. It's better now than later. It's not you it's your son. I would especially if you trust them. If your skeptical go for a second opinion.