Last week my son's expander (RPE) got loose and came off of his lower jaw. This is the last one he has in. He has used a retainer for the top jaw for a long time.
We had an urgent visit to the orthodontist to address this fallen out expander. We were all surprised to hear news that the thing is to be kept out and it may be gone for good. Hooray!
The orthodontist is designing a lower retainer for him now.
The upper teeth are coming in, in ways that makes the upper retainer not fit right. That retainer was cut so the teeth can come down. Once they are all down a new retainer will be made with a piece across the front teeth because now his two front teeth have a little overlap starting to occur.
It looks like this boy may completely avoid braces!
I'm happy for him to avoid the braces for the pain and annoyance they cause. (I had braces for 3.5 years with headgear so know this all too well.) My husband has perfect teeth and never needed any braces so I can only assume that son inherited his jaw and teeth from his father.
I'm also glad to not have to pay for braces, another reason to rejoice.
At this moment dental insurance usually doesn't cover much for orthodontia. Braces remain largely an out of pocket expense. This spells G-O-O-D I-N-C-O-M-E. Based on the bodies I see sitting in the orthodontist's chairs, more and more adults are getting braces, which surprised me as I only know one adult with braces. I had no clue so many adults were getting braces. And with the use of palate expanders kids aged 7 and 8 are sometimes getting those and some still need the regular braces later (like my younger son).
My point is that if any of your children are interested in a career in health care perhaps they should look into dentistry or becoming an orthodontist!
Especially since so far the big health care reform or health insurance reform that President Obama wants to pass seems to not touch either plastic surgery or cosmetic procedures for dental (teeth bleaching, veneers, etc.) or orthodontics. Anyone who wants to work in people's mouths could stand a chance at a very good income compared to other types of doctors who are already saddled with dealing with insurance companies and forever being threatened to make less money due to health care reform.
I have a feeling that no matter what health care reform comes down the pike, American citizens will always be willing to pay out of pocket for cosmetic dentistry and cosmetic medical procedures. (If people are so unable to pay for medically necessary medical prodedures one has to ask how the others can afford to pay for so many botox injections and breast enlargement surgeries!)
But Wait, There's More!
2 hours ago
1 comments:
Good luck with the retainers and braces experience. I'm 53 and had braces last year to close up a gap that had opened between my lower front teeth. It only took a year, and everything looks great - I'm so pleased I did it, even with the cost. Also, according to the American Association of Orthodontists, more than one million adults wear braces. My own mother, more than fifteen years ago, got braces at age 68 to correct some turned-teeth. They say it works for any age, and I think lots of adults do it because braces weren't affordable when they were young.
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