I have delayed starting orthodontia. Here we are 2/3 of the way through 8th grade, and now my DD is headed off to boarding school in the fall. Time flies!
Do I find an Orthodontist 3,000 miles away; or do I start immediately close to home and try to get her through much of this before September, then go to the monthly (bimonthly actually) visits? Sept./Nov./Dec./March/June-Sept.
HELP!
What do you do? Or, if you are in the trade, what do you recommend?
I would start now asap as it can be rather disruptive with several, sometimes biweekly ortho visits initially.
Definitely start now, so that you’re not trying to manage this whole thing from afar. Then depending on where she goes to school, you might be able to find an orthodontist near there who could do any necessary tightenings/adjustments during the school year, with your home orthodontist checking on the work when she comes back for vacations.
Our orthodontist told us that although he would prefer kids to come in frequently, he has had patients temporarily disappear for very extended periods and they did fine. If you get the initial work done between now and September, you can schedule visits for school breaks. So far that is working fine for my son.
@soxmom, I am worrying about compensating 2 orthodontists. She will be in the seacoast area of NH (Exeter), 3000 miles away from home.
I would start at home. Our son had his braces on after 10th grade and our ortho worked around his school schedule. He went 12 weeks between appointments when he was out of the country for a semester abroad once. Just make sure your ortho has a plan and will work with you.
I am 4000 miles from home. I got my braces on (and off) at home as well as routine appointments. The main thing is to work out a plan with the orthodontist. I had a backup orthodontist for emergencies at BS, which I only used once to cement a bracket that came off. He did not charge me for that, but I can’t say that would always be the case.
We did the opposite of skieurope. We delayed our son’s braces and started with an ortho at school. It’s been difficult for me because I have no control over the process, but it’s convenient for my son. He would be frustrated to wait months between visits, because it would lengthen the process significantly.
I would call the health office at Exeter and ask who their preferred orthodontists are in the area. The school makes the appointments for the most part because of the travel scheduling, so they should have a list of people. Call those orthodontists and speak to them about it. As skieurope said, you’ll need those orthodontists as backups if you choose someone at home and then your daughter breaks a wire or has some other emergency.
Start now, you have a full 6 months to get it going. You will really only need someone at school for a popped brace, broken wire and an occasional tightening when there is a long stretch between coming home. OTOH I bet the orthodontist is cheaper in a small town then where I live…I have looked at these BS calendars they come home a lot!
OMG we are dealing with headache part of this right now. 7D2 getting ready to get braces removed and has now missed 1.5 days of school time for ortho appointments (one unexpected) leading up to getting them off over her Spring Break. It is a real PITA and I’ll be happy when they’re off!
For reference, we only used a local (to home) ortho and until recently were able to fit visits in during breaks or long weekends.
Never visited an orthodontist.
@mrnephew Good for you! When our pediatric dentist said S1’s teeth are 90% perfect in terms of ortho, I was like Yes! 5K in savings!
However, S2 compensated it by having needed major dental work as well as braces. 
I would start orthodontia now, at home. The modern systems are quite sturdy. With multiple children going through the process, I think we’ve had to make emergency visits twice, over something like 6 years of braces.
Make sure to schedule appointments with your local orthodontist in advance for breaks.
The school will be able to recommend a local orthodontist for emergencies.
I would see an orthodontist now for an initial evaluation to see what the recommended treatment plan is and time frame. Does she have all her permanent teeth (except wisdom)? Our son had phase 1 (expansion) done in elementary school and is still in retention phase. We can’t proceed in treatment until his second molars have all erupted. He and his sister were 14/15 until that happened.
Also as teenagers they might be less willing to comply with instructions and necessary hygiene. My daughter had to wear a facemask for a few months for an underbite, it worked best if worn every single night. Would your daughter feel self-conscious if she had to wear around roommates?
@mommdc, a year ago an orthodontist estimated about 2 years for her- I took her in during elementary school and was told there was no need for expanders, etc. The orthodontist said (a year ago) that she could start at any time, but that it wouldn’t hurt to wait a year. Her brother just had his wisdom teeth out at 19yo. She has all her teeth except the wisdom teeth, which will not have room in her mouth and will need to be removed.
I think she will be compliant with whatever is prescribed.
Thanks for the input. I am shopping for an orthodontist now.
the one thing that i would add is that the hardest time is right when they are put on, it hurts and taking care of them takes a little bit of getting used to. I would definitely prefer that my kid was home for that part
+100000 Excellent point! The memory fades over time, but those first couple of weeks were brutal.
^^ I will be sure to tell her, so she can properly prepare.
@itsjustschool I’m not sure I would tell her, it just sort of sucks and there is nothing you can do to prepare. But it is nice for them to be home for it. And it doesn’t last
@ItsJustSchool My child had crowded upper teeth… One Dr wanted to pull teeth out and others said no need to pull teeth. I think we had 3 opinions. In the end, we went with not pulling teeth. DS had expanders (that’s also painful… btw… ), then upper braces then lower (or vice versa?)… with rubber, etc. Full 2 years later we are done! We started early in 5th grade ? before all the molars were out. One Dr said we should wait till all the teeth are out, another said no, we should start right now… go figure…