pendelum t-rex

[KWK3MOM3]

One ortho that w visitied told us that my daughter would have to where this appliance before wearing braces. So far none of the others have mentioned it. Can anyone tell me more about it and if it is really necessary? One ortho told us rubber bands wuld do the same thing.

Thoughts?

[Zoso]

I would assume this means she has a Class II molar relationship, and that perhaps either her upper front teeth stick out farther ahead of the lower incisors, or they tilt in backwards to meet them? She has, I am guessing, what is referred to in the common parlance as an overbite. It's also possible that some of the other orthodontists are considering headgear instead.

My advice is to ask each ortho why. So to the pendulum doc, ask why not rubber bands or headgear. To the rubber bands doc, why he does not think that a pendulum is necessary. And so on. And ask each of them questions such as how stable the expect the results to be, and how good they will be aesthetically.

At the end of the day though, it sometimes just boils down to different ways to get to the same, or at least a very similar, end point. The main difference between the pendulum, and headgear vs. rubber bands is that the rubber bands will tend to move the lower teeth forward at the same time as they move the upper teeth back, whereas the pendulum or headgear would be acting on the upper teeth only.

Of course, one advantage of something like the pendulum is that it does not rely on your daughter using it as instructed, as usually it would be bonded in place. The flip side to that coin though is that it could be seen as more "invasive" than simple rubber bands - it has metal bands that attach to the teeth, and an acrylic plate that rests against the roof of the mouth. Sounds like a lot to get used to, but most people manage well, even after only a few days.

[KWK3MOM3]

Thanks fr the inut. I did ak the one ortho who did not think the appliance necesary why . He felt treatment time would be increased, and felt that he could acheive the same result by using rubber bands. I have a call in the the ortho who favored the appliance. hopefully I will hear from him next week.

My daughter does have a class II something going on. she does not have an over bite, but a cross bite at one point. In another post I shared how she is mising a tooth and has an impacted one, a couple of her teeth are smaller and in one place her teeth almost hit together.

My daughter i worried that wearing the appliance (and the ortho did partially confirm this) will hinder her oboe and flute playing as well as her singing (she does a lot of this).

[Zoso]

Well, I've never worn an appliance like this and nor am I a dental professional. But I am not sure why this should have an adverse impact on oboe or flute playing, since apart from the molar bands it would be entirely to the lingual side (the tongue side) of the teeth. As to the bands, plenty of folks do well with wind instruments even when braced, and even when those braces include bands. But why not take a look around at postings online from people who have worn an RPE - in many respects this device would be a similar experience.

By the way, when you said cross-bite I wondered if the upper arch is also narrow? That made me look back to your original post and realise perhaps you meant a pendex not just a pendulum - the pendulum just moves the back teeth distally (that is further back), whereas the pendex also acts as an expander - it can widen the arch.

[KWK3MOM3]

This appliance, - whatever it is called - would be used to move her teeth back. Since she is missing a tooth and has lots of space up top, he wants to move her teeth back somewhat into proper position, before braces, as they have shifted forward due to all the extra space.

I really appreciate all the input. We see one more consultation tomorrow, and then make the final decision of who to see. I will lok up the info you sugesstd and see what I can find. Thanks!