OT: Kids Dental Question

[Steviedpsu]

A backstory...a few months ago I took my 11 year old son to the dentist for his regular check up. He has a larger overbite and his chin is sunk in a bit. The dentist recommended a bionator to push his lower jaw out and close up the overbite.

So we took him to the orthodontist to get a second opinion. After a couple of evaluations they recommended putting 4 braces on his front teeth to push them back. They told us there is a good chance that he would need braces again in the future so we decided to hold off and just get it all done at one time. We figure it would be better to only have them put the braces on once instead of twice.

Today I took him back to the dentist for his check up and the dentist was discussing the bionator again. He said it would help his facial profile and told me that if we went with the braces they would probably have to pull teeth to get the front teeth to fit and there is a chance the teeth would push back out. He said the bionator would help push the jaw bone out as it grows, like an orthodepic used if you have a shorter leg.

We are thinking of going to another dentist to get another opinion in addition to research on the Internet.

So, my question is has anyone used a bionator for their kids or themselves? Any feedback or opinions are appreciated!

 

[Aardvark86]

Bionator? Who is this, professor dufensmartz?

Seriously though, we got the teeth yanked

 

[Steviedpsu]

Bionator? Who is this, professor dufensmartz?

Seriously though, we got the teeth yanked

Funny thing is when the dentist originally said something about the bionator, I thought of that since my kids were into that show at the time.

 

[PennStJeff]

My 11 year old child has a similar appliance right now. He wears head gear at night to continue aligning his jaw and we just got the optional front braces put on knowing he will still likely need full braces down the line, although the dentist did say it could potentially help reduce the total amount of time he would need to wear them. So the extra front braces add a little to the overall cost, however, my son was starting to get a bit self conscious about his front teeth that stuck out a bit, and so we got them so he didn't have to wait so long to see some results. After only a few weeks we are already noticing change to his alignment and we are happy with the decision.

 

[katchthis]

Your child has a dental deformity secondary to a jaw size discrepancy. It sounds like a small lower jaw, mandible. But clinical and radiographic images are required. Bionator will stimulate growth of his lower jaw by posturing it forward. Simply stretching the soft tissue envelope will stimulate the lower jaw to grow. In this way you are correcting the deformity and not masking it. Plus it decreases the likelyhood of snoring or potentially obstructive sleep apnea at a later point in life. OSA is often due to a set back of his mandible tongue and related soft tissue complex and a narrowing of the pharynx. He will also end up with a better facial profile, as over time extraction and pulling back the upper teeth leads to a sunken in look. A weak jaw/chin is considered a feminine quality, and many pretty women can pull it off. For a male, this trait is considered not as attractive.
I would recommend seeing another orthodontist. One who is comfortable using devices to stimulate growth.

 

[Steviedpsu]

Your child has a dental deformity secondary to a jaw size discrepancy. It sounds like a small lower jaw, mandible. But clinical and radiographic images are required. Bionator will stimulate growth of his lower jaw by posturing it forward. Simply stretching the soft tissue envelope will stimulate the lower jaw to grow. In this way you are correcting the deformity and not masking it. Plus it decreases the likelyhood of snoring or potentially obstructive sleep apnea at a later point in life. OSA is often due to a set back of his mandible tongue and related soft tissue complex and a narrowing of the pharynx. He will also end up with a better facial profile, as over time extraction and pulling back the upper teeth leads to a sunken in look. A weak jaw/chin is considered a feminine quality, and many pretty women can pull it off. For a male, this trait is considered not as attractive.
I would recommend seeing another orthodontist. One who is comfortable using devices to stimulate growth.

Thanks for the info. That goes with a lot of what I have been reading. Are you in the dental/orthodontist business?

 

[Limestoner]

I am a dentist. I am not going to attempt to diagnose and treatment plan what your child needs from your description on a message board. I wil tell, though, your thought of waiting and only having braces on once may make sense to you but it is not necessarily the way it works. The better, more progressive orthodontists these days often treat children in two, or sometimes more, phases. This is done to correct abnormalities, deficiencies and discrepancies early on taking advantage of a young child’s growth and plasticity. I have three boys and all three are crowded(Italian teeth in an Irish mouth). I’ve extracted 12 baby teeth between the three of them so far. My first two were done with their first phase of orthodontics before they were your son’s age now. My third one will be going for his consult soon and he is eight. I have sent children with severe issues as early as five. There are so many issues that can be corrected early versus waiting and have your child deal with extracting permanent teeth, traumatic bites, etc. down the road. So do your child a favor, and take him to a good orthodontist where they will come up with a comprehensive treatment plan and treat him from start to finish. Mind you this may not be the cheapest orthodontist or one that participates with your insurance but you will be thankful you did it in the long run. Hope that helps. Just curious, where do you live?

 

[Steviedpsu]

I am a dentist. I am not going to attempt to diagnose and treatment plan what your child needs from your description on a message board. I wil tell, though, your thought of waiting and only having braces on once may make sense to you but it is not necessarily the way it works. The better, more progressive orthodontists these days often treat children in two, or sometimes more, phases. This is done to correct abnormalities, deficiencies and discrepancies early on taking advantage of a young child’s growth and plasticity. I have three boys and all three are crowded(Italian teeth in an Irish mouth). I’ve extracted 12 baby teeth between the three of them so far. My first two were done with their first phase of orthodontics before they were your son’s age now. My third one will be going for his consult soon and he is eight. I have sent children with severe issues as early as five. There are so many issues that can be corrected early versus waiting and have your child deal with extracting permanent teeth, traumatic bites, etc. down the road. So do your child a favor, and take him to a good orthodontist where they will come up with a comprehensive treatment plan and treat him from start to finish. Mind you this may not be the cheapest orthodontist or one that participates with your insurance but you will be thankful you did it in the long run. Hope that helps. Just curious, where do you live?

Thanks for the input. I go by the do what the doctor (dentist or orthodontist in this case) says, but my wife wants to research and all that fun stuff. I appreciate the feedback. We live near Bloomsburg. We did go to one orthodontist, but we are thinking of going to a second one for a second opinion.

 

[Ceasar]

A backstory...a few months ago I took my 11 year old son to the dentist for his regular check up. He has a larger overbite and his chin is sunk in a bit. The dentist recommended a bionator to push his lower jaw out and close up the overbite.

So we took him to the orthodontist to get a second opinion. After a couple of evaluations they recommended putting 4 braces on his front teeth to push them back. They told us there is a good chance that he would need braces again in the future so we decided to hold off and just get it all done at one time. We figure it would be better to only have them put the braces on once instead of twice.

Today I took him back to the dentist for his check up and the dentist was discussing the bionator again. He said it would help his facial profile and told me that if we went with the braces they would probably have to pull teeth to get the front teeth to fit and there is a chance the teeth would push back out. He said the bionator would help push the jaw bone out as it grows, like an orthodepic used if you have a shorter leg.

We are thinking of going to another dentist to get another opinion in addition to research on the Internet.

So, my question is has anyone used a bionator for their kids or themselves? Any feedback or opinions are appreciated!

stevie, my daughter had a bionator at around the same age as your son. I can't offer much in terms of the clinical pros and cons but it worked well for her, was relatively easy for her and today at age 17 she has a beautiful smile. That was step one and braces followed for a couple of years. It is a long and expensive process but for us, it worked out. Good luck!