How much pain with Damon

[mandmsmom]

My 7 year old needs braces and I was told by the ortho that Damon braces are less painful than traditional braces. I'm wondering if this is really true? Is it worth the extra $$$ to get Damon braces?

[Sunny]

I'm sorry ... but this is definitely not true! The pain or lack of it appears to be dependant on the individual. In general the larger the bracket the easier it is to adjust to ... and there's a science as to why this happens. This is because the more space the bracket has to touch on the inside of your mouth, the less pressure. To test this theory ... get a small stick and a thicker one and press them into your arm or leg. You should notice that the smaller one is more pokey, than the slighly bigger one ... because the smaller one has less space to spread it's pressure over and therefore it feels more pokey.

There is very little difference in the size of brackets ... but there's a load of poor advertising around that claims some brackets are better than others due to them being smaller ... which is impossible.

There are things a person can do when they have their braces bonded that help them to adjust. These include keeping well hydrated with water, using generous amounts of wax on any brackets that rub (leaving it on when eating and only removing to brush), rinsing with warm salt water and keeping your oral hygiene A1.

For most people, having braces causes very little, if any discomfort, but for a few it can be a really touch few weeks/months ... but your 7 year old will adjust!

Good luck!

[mandmsmom]

Thanks for the advice. I had regular braces when I was 21 so I know the discomfort involved. My daughter has sensory processing disorder so she is overly sensitive to pain, touch, smell, etc. I hate that she has to have them so young. I think as we get older we can tolerate pain better. I thought if they were not as painful I would be willing to spend the extra $$ but if there's not much difference we will go with the traditional ones. Thanks again.

[ports]

Why does a 7 year old need braces? There's no guarantee that straightening out the baby teeth will make the adult teeth come in properly... is there?

[mandmsmom]

It's not necessarily to straighten baby teeth. She has lost too many baby teeth before she should have so the adult teeth that have come in have shifted over by one whole tooth space. She is already severely overcrowded and there is no room for the other adult teeth to come in. They will be making spaces for the adult teeth to come in. The orthodontist said he doesn't normally do braces on kids her age but said if we don't we will have more problems. I have gone for 3 consultations with different orthodontists and they all told me the same thing. She will more than likely need them again when she has all of her adult teeth around age 12. Early intervention should make the second phase shorter from what I was told. We'll see what happens