ABC’s of Parenting: “O” for Orthodontia

I didn’t have braces as a kid. Neither did either of my sisters. Today pretty much every kid has braces at some point – often, twice! Braces are about as sure a thing as death and taxes.

All three of ours had metal mouths – the girls for 18 months each, The Boy for three years (and three major oral surgeries). Hard to believe it, but Mr. Motor Mouth actually had a mouth WAY too small for his teeth.

So we have a lot of experience with orthodontia. Here are a few things we learned:

•Don’t go to the most popular doc in town. He/she will also be the most expensive. If he/she has weekly ads in the paper and gives away trips to Disneyland, run away.
•Choose a doc who has an office close to your kids’ schools. You will most definitely be pulling them out of school many, many times over the course of the treatment.
•Don’t jump into orthodontia too fast. I made the ridiculous mistake of getting Middle Sister lined up to get her braces on just a few days before I had brain surgery with a 6-week recovery time. Times of stress are not good times to make decisions. She definitely could have waited.
•That glorious day when you make your final monthly payment (for us it was SIX YEARS of those) is worthy of a New Year’s Eve in Times Square-type party. Celebrate.
•Retainers are disgusting. Don’t look.

Good luck!