Braces--they have been a rite of passage of childhood since I was a teenager. Kids are getting them on these days earlier and earlier though. My husband and I both had them--we both have large teeth; both of our children have them as well. We all got braces in our teens. My children and I only wore them for about 14 months. I personally think those "phases" that some orthodontists do are not necessary but just waiting until a child is a teenager is more appropriate. Ours did not recommend that. We are thankful for dental insurance from my husband's job that covers a large portion of the costs and we also have a flexible health spending account (FSA) to set aside $$ when dental, eye or other medical expenses are anticipated.
When you have had braces, it is almost always necessary for step 2 which is to have wisdom teeth extracted a few years later. Last year our dentist informed us that younger son needed to have his wisdom teeth removed as they were coming in sideways and would probably become impacted and/or misalign his teeth that had already been straightened. [He is the last in the family to have had this procedure done.] I checked with our oral surgeon as to the estimated expense after our insurance. His father pulled MY wisdom teeth; even at the same office which has been updated which was a bit of déja vu for me! Since our son only had three wisdom teeth, insurance paid all but about $500 and there was enough in our FSA to cover that (since I had planned that the year before). Our oral surgeon used IV sedation which we consider absolutely necessary for such a procedure. If you can afford this, it removes most of the trauma which can be extreme depending on the person.
I stocked up on soft foods a few days before the surgery--applesauce, soups, pasta, yogurt, Gatorade, Vitamin C (which promotes healing)... Another mom was in the waiting room with me and she still had to go do that afterwards so I was glad I was prepared. A friend who is trained in holistic medicine recommended taking injury pellets 3 days before the surgery and 3-5 days afterwards which we have also been doing.
We were in and out of the procedure in about an hour and a half. Then the nurse care (me)--changing the gauze every 45 minutes for 4-5x, changing the ice pack they gave us every hour [pretty neat with pockets to replace melted ice packets with frozen ones], soft foods and water/Gatorade, milkshakes, pain meds every 4-6 hours and plenty of rest. [Don't tell him I have this photo.]
My son only needed the heavy-duty pain meds the day of the surgery; he used Motrin the day after when the swelling was more noticeable. You are supposed to drink lots of water which means you may swallow a bit of blood. We think that's what made him throw up 2x that first day. We stopped the water until the bleeding was very minimal (about 6 hours after the surgery). He was able to drink plenty of water without incident after that. He has complained more of a headache than of his mouth hurting so much and thankfully, the pain has been manageable. He likes the ice pack since it's nice and cool on his head and face.
The day of surgery he did not really want food other than a little applesauce. Day 1 after the surgery we began the frequent gentle rinsing with salt water and he was able to eat these foods:
- Breakfast -- applesauce, lots of water
- Lunch --soup (3 bowls of it), creamy peanut butter, milkshake
- Dinner -- creamy peanut butter, garlic mashed potatoes (2 bowls), strawberry jello, milkshake
So far, no complications and we do not expect any. Lots of tender loving care helps the healing process. If you have a child about to go through this, be sure you are available for 2-3 days. I did not need to "sit" with him but I did need to be close by when he needed something. That is always comforting to someone who is in pain or has had an injury. Another blessing of being a homeschool mom at home. :)
