Advice needed: Braces keep falling off

[KayMichigan]

My twin sister and I both had braces in the late 1970s. I had to have bands on all of my teeth but she was able to have the brackets on her front teeth (I guess my teeth were more messed up than hers!). Can't recall any of the brackets ever falling off of her teeth. But yeah, the bands were awful to put on and get off.

I'd say definitely get a second opinion and ask about using a different adhesive. Clearly something isn't right here.

 

[Skippy918]

My son has been in braces for 2 years and a bracket has never come off. It could be bad adhesive or the wrong type.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Both our girls went the oral surgery then orthodontist route, just like the OP. Both needed chains attached to pull impacted eye teeth down & into place.The brackets on our youngest’s braces used to pop off all the time. It was a real problem when she’d be away for a month at summer camp & we’d get a letter from her alerting us just a few days in. I don’t think it affected the length of her time but who knows? That said, she was tough on her braces, continuing to eat candy & whatnot so that was definitely part of the problem. I always just assumed that loose/broken brackets were part of the deal. Gotta say, she’s got a great smile now. We just dealt with it.

 

[starry_solo]

You can certainly ask for a refund. I don't think you would get all of it but you might get 60-75% of it back.

 

[C&Jx2]

This happened to my son the few months of his braces and he was being way more careful than he does now towards the end of his treatment. I don't know why though...

 

[DLgal]

Had them decades ago. But the one thing I remember was that a few fell off and the orthodontist decided that he'd use bands instead. But the smallest he could use was for a bicuspid. I do remember they were a huge pain to mount though. Normal brackets just glued on, but these things had to be hammered in along with a lot of glue.

I didn't even get the option. My teeth were so small that I got bands on ALL my lower teeth and most of my upper teeth. I only had brackets on the top 4 center teeth.

 

[DLgal]

$10,000??? Holy cow. That is WAY too much money to spend on what seems to be low quality work. I'd be pretty annoyed and want to switch to another orthodontist altogether.

 

[QueenIsabella]

It does seem very expensive. All four of mine needed braces, it was ~$4k per kid. Probably more for #3--she needed a palate expander when she was 8 or so, then did Invisalign as a teen, then had to have wire braces for 6 months or so for one stubborn tooth. The orthodontist didn't charge me for the metal round, since they thought Invisalign would work, and it didn't for that one tooth. But, we had to pay for the expander, and then later the actual braces.

All four of mine had some form of metal braces, and I've never, ever had a bracket come off. It sounds like a glue problem, especially so early in the game. My kids were mostly good about not eating things they weren't supposed to, but even eating banned foods shouldn't have brackets falling off left and right.

 

[Cheburashka]

It does seem very expensive. All four of mine needed braces, it was ~$4k per kid.

This orthodontia is in coordination with oral surgery (although the cost of surgery isn't included) so it's more complicated than most orthodontia cases. The standard price we were quoted (by multiple different orthodontists in different parts of town in our city) for braces about five years ago before the recent inflation and before surgery was a consideration was $6,000 - $7,000. Never saw anything below $6,000, let alone $4,000.

Inflation sucks.

 

[DLgal]

This orthodontia is in coordination with oral surgery (although the cost of surgery isn't included) so it's more complicated than most orthodontia cases. The standard price we were quoted (by multiple different orthodontists in different parts of town in our city) for braces about five years ago before the recent inflation and before surgery was a consideration was $6,000 - $7,000. Never saw anything below $6,000, let alone $4,000.

Inflation sucks.

That doesn't sound like an inflation thing. Sounds like price gouging for the sake of it.

 

[justafigment27]

Both my kids had braces from the same orthodontist. My oldest had one bracket fall off over the course of 4+ years of treatment (she ate a raw carrot that I packed in her lunch), but my youngest had braces for under 2 years and probably had 5-6 brackets fall off in that time. It always made her so upset because she always felt like she was in trouble since the orthodontist always demanded to know what she ate to cause the issue. I don’t know what it was - she was so careful and was literally eating mashed potatoes at the dinner table in front of me when one fell off.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I'm so sorry this is happening.
Since the pain seems like the biggest issue do they have a way to numb him somewhat? I was recently introduced to Magic Mouthwash and it numbs everything for a while, including deadening the ear/eustachian tube discomfort, it is, in fact, magical.

 

[lifesavacation]

All four of my kids had brackets pop off but never in the first week.

 

[VandVsmama]

$10,000 is about the going rate in our neck of the woods w/o insurance.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I've been through this same experience myself with the dentist and to me I think that the dentists are using the cheapest material to make crowns and braces from and they are simply not worthy of the money. When I have had dental work done I have always had new crowns and oral surgeries to remove cracks in my teeth but every two months it seems that a piece of a crown falls out or the entire tooth falls out as well and causes my whole mouth to hurt. I went through three different dentists before going with my current dentist which I refuse to go to because they lost some of their old staff and my dentist disappeared after the pandemic and not only that they broke my foot as well. What I think you should do is talk to your son's dentist and ask them what they actually did to your son because when dental emergencies like this happens the dentist should be watching the oral surgeon work so he can see what the surgeon is doing and watch for any problems he might find. Also before you call the dentist you should take your smartphone and take pictures of the broken teeth your son has and send the pictures via email because that's what my parents did with me with my teeth. And when you do call the dentist when he asks if you want to bring your son in simply say "no" and ask to be referred to another dentist as soon as possible and that should really start you on the hunt for a new dentist for your son and avoid dentists that are in groups too. I truly think that why good dentists are becoming hard to find now is they try to get you interested in the newest dental innoventions that cost money and these dentists should be avoided and try to get a dentist that gives your son what he really needs
Hope this advice helps you and good luck

 

[Sleepy425]

I work as a dental hygienist in a pediatric office. I usually see a kid with a bracket that is off every couple of weeks. It happens. Once years ago I had a child whose brackets were CONSTANTLY falling off - not just one at a time, multiple. Ortho decided it must be something about his saliva, and had to keep trying different adhesives until one finally works. It happens. I know it is frustrating, but it isn't a sign of a bad orthodontist.

 

[leahgoogle]

My DS had problems with brackets coming off at the beginning when he had the really thin wire. I also think the adhesive they use today isn't as good as when I had braces 30 years ago. Once DS had the more heavy-duty wire put on, he rarely had a bracket come off. I'm not sure if it was the change of wire or if they used a different adhesive though.

 

[wenrob]

I've been through this same experience myself with the dentist and to me I think that the dentists are using the cheapest material to make crowns and braces from and they are simply not worthy of the money. When I have had dental work done I have always had new crowns and oral surgeries to remove cracks in my teeth but every two months it seems that a piece of a crown falls out or the entire tooth falls out as well and causes my whole mouth to hurt. I went through three different dentists before going with my current dentist which I refuse to go to because they lost some of their old staff and my dentist disappeared after the pandemic and not only that they broke my foot as well. What I think you should do is talk to your son's dentist and ask them what they actually did to your son because when dental emergencies like this happens the dentist should be watching the oral surgeon work so he can see what the surgeon is doing and watch for any problems he might find. Also before you call the dentist you should take your smartphone and take pictures of the broken teeth your son has and send the pictures via email because that's what my parents did with me with my teeth. And when you do call the dentist when he asks if you want to bring your son in simply say "no" and ask to be referred to another dentist as soon as possible and that should really start you on the hunt for a new dentist for your son and avoid dentists that are in groups too. I truly think that why good dentists are becoming hard to find now is they try to get you interested in the newest dental innoventions that cost money and these dentists should be avoided and try to get a dentist that gives your son what he really needs
Hope this advice helps you and good luck

A dentist and an orthodontist are not the same thing. Did autocorrect change “tooth” to “foot?”

One kid is out of braces (she had them 2.5 years), one gets braces off Wednesday after 14.5 months and one who has minimum of a year left. Only one broken bracket in all that time and it was because it was in a complicated spot. Plenty of popped wires though.

I agree with others that it sounds like an adhesive issue. All my kids ortho plans are/were essentially contracts. I don’t think you’ll get your money back.

By your posts it sounds as if you/your son just don’t want to deal with the whole thing. As someone who never had the opportunity to have their teeth fixed I can tell you it’s not just a cosmetic thing. I have issues to this day having an overcrowded mouth that affect my jaws, ears and even my neck. Like your DS, my DS has had to have surgery and permanent teeth removed. He has/had twisted teeth and a crowded mouth and all his life he was only able to chew on one side. (Had no idea about this, he never told me, he thought is was normal.) The last year has been a long, painful process for him and of course, given the choice he would have opted out. I keep telling him he will thank me someday and from my own experience I know he will. My point is the pain/frustration of getting the problem fixed is temporary. Leaving things could possibly cause a lifetime of issues.

 

[lanejudy]

DD just got her braces off after almost 4 years. I think she only had a couple of brackets come loose during that time, though she never realized it until at an appointment. With 2 coming loose so quickly after first getting the braces, I wonder if the technician at that initial appointment didn't let the adhesive set long enough under the light? Hopefully he won't have any more problems, but if so I would tell them you want all the brackets checked so you aren't coming back repeatedly. Any chance your son grinds his teeth at night?

As for the cost and the distance -- yeah, I get it. We had to travel 45 minutes for DD's orthodontist. Yes there were closer ones but she'd been seen at this office since preschool (multi-discipline dental practice) and they have a great reputation with kids with special needs so we kept her there. Yes it's a pain to miss school -- I try to balance the appointments some morning and some afternoon so she isn't always missing the same classes or activities; hard to do with an emergency appointment but hopefully they are understanding for his regular check-ins. Orthodontics involves a lot of appointments. I keep a regular supply of soft foods on hand because it can take a couple of days for pain to wear off after an adjustment. Good luck!

 

[mjkacmom]

That doesn't sound like an inflation thing. Sounds like price gouging for the sake of it.

I paid $5500 for all 4 of my kids who needed braces, definitely the going rate at the time, my oldest started 15 years ago. I assume it’s more expensive now.