a question about braces (for teeth)

shannonandtay

shannonandtay

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My daughter is due to have top and bottom braces on in a few weeks time. The full set top and bottom and fixed, bless her.
I hadnt thought about her riding but she does ride our boy six times a week, mostly schooling and some jumping. I saw on a leaflet somewhere that children with braces should wear some type of gum sheild when horse riding and some other sports, but i've never heard of anyone using one before. Obviously I will bring it up with the orthodontic next time we visit but just wondered if anyone else had used a gum sheild when riding?

Thanks
 
I used to have top and bottom 'train tracks' and I never wore a gum shield, although I did land face first in the mud once and the braces cut the inside of my bottom lip, but it was nothing serious.

I'm not sure if you could even have a gum shield over braces, how would you get it on?? :confused:
 
Chances are she will not wear a gum shield anyway. Braces will be a mouthful, a gum shield on top for me would ruin any enjoyment of riding! I'd ask the orthodontist what the risk is exactly (ie really serious or superficial injury potentially) and take it from there. No way they can do removable?
 
I had top and bottom train tracks 20 years ago and the orthodontist gave me a roll of wax to press on them when playing sport. Worked really well. Think of a wax shoelace and it was about like that. You just pressed it on then peeled it off and chucked it once no longer needed.
 
thanks everyone, I wish she could have removable but they have to be fixed according to the orthodontic, which is a shame.
The wax strip sounds interesting I suppose I had in mind something like a boxers gum sheild which would be a bit of a mouthful!
I imagine things have moved on a bit although the braces are still the horrible railroad type things! I probably wouldn't have given it much thought if she was still doing her riding at the local riding school once or twice a week but now we have our own and shes riding everyday I'd better mention it when she has her next appointment.
 
The wax does sound good.

To be honest op, all braces are horrible. As an adult I have done Invisalign (clear removable retainers) and the first fortnight of them was pure hell, despite them being removed to eat. Hope she copes ok. It will be worth it to have lovely straight teeth but the interim will be tough.
 
FfionWinnie said:
The wax does sound good.

To be honest op, all braces are horrible. As an adult I have done Invisalign (clear removable retainers) and the first fortnight of them was pure hell, despite them being removed to eat. Hope she copes ok. It will be worth it to have lovely straight teeth but the interim will be tough.
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I know I'm dreading it for her, but shes looking forward to it because she hates her teeth, you know how kids can be. I think its definately worth it and so many kids have braces now so its quite normal these days. I've heard of Invisalign I had no idea they would be painful, I saw a video of it while we were waiting in the dentists, they made it look so easy.
 
i had top and bottom train tracks for about three years rode as normal and competed and never wore a gum shield - my orthadontist was horsey and i remember her saying one of her kids had braces and she didnt wear a gum shield either. i fell off alot at that time and dont ever remember cutting my lips riding, i think i cut them more not riding - if you ask the orthadontist they will give you this little tray of wax that you can put over the metal squares so they dont cut your lip - i had some when i had to have elastic bands because the hooks used to cut my lip

ETS my cousin had a special mouthgard when he played rugby and had braces and it wasnt too bulky but he had to have it specially moulded around his braces and was about as bulky as a normal mouth guard
 
I had ''train tracks'' top and bottom, never wore a gum shield but saying this i did buy those little 'wax sticks' and used to put them on when they were sore but after about 6 months it was natural for me as i forgot about them.
 
I had train tracks for 3 years and regularly competed xc and pony club ODEs with out a gum shield. I used to get the coloured bands in my cross country colours so my teeth matched the pony!! :)
 
Obviously a shield is something we should all wear when riding to prevent dental injury should we fall off - but I don't and do not know anyone who does.

You can't really have a shield whilst undergoing ortho as the teeth are constantly moving and the shield would need to be constantly altered to fit so a traditional shield is not practical. Other forms of shield that could be used are not retained as well so can be loose (they have to be loose to allow teeth space to move). Indeed a retainer used to keep the teeth in place once ortho is finished can be made the same as a shield. Wax would do the job and is easy to apply yourself, other products are rubberised materials which could coat the brackets, but would be more messy for self use. TBH damage to the inside of the lips is as likely from day to day trauma so unless she falls off a lot or has a horse that is into head butting then it is probably not needed. Most Ortho consults I know do not recommend it.
 
Also, used to hate my teeth but having braces did help a lot & they are pretty much straight :)

Although it hurt rather a lot each time they tightened the fixed braces!
 
My son has recently had fixed braces fitted at the top only. He plays rugby and we've got him a gum shield to wear for his sport (matches and training). Not sure I would have bothered to get one for horse riding as it's not a contact sport like rugby. Just make sure if you do buy a gum shield they are specifically for use with braces.
 
As cyber horse said, teeth will be moving all te time, any proper mouth guard will not fit for long and if it doesn't fit it will do more harm, putting pressure on the brackets and pulling them off :( not what you want. I've worked in dentistry 16 years and never had problem with horse related issues as far as braces go. Worst that can happen is a bracket loosing and believe me that will happen at some point anyway. Not an issue ;)
 
Thanks for your replies, I also thought a shield wouldn't be practical but the wax does sound interesting maybe even just for jumping, just in case! It will be interesting to see what the orthodontic says about it. Things seem to change all the time, so maybe there is something new out. Initally we were told that four teeth one from each side top and bottom would need to be taken out prior to the brace being fitted and then a message left on our phone the other day saying this would now no longer be necessary as they have a new way to do the braces without removing the teeth, so will see what thats all about as well at the next visit.

Cello-song if she can have coloured bands then its going to be purple all the way, both her and the pony are always in purple and if possible it will be purple teeth as well :D
 
I had double thickness train tracks and never wore anything, I had to have ridiculous fixed braces as none of my baby teeth fell out, so I was kinda like a shark with double rows and then had to have all this super strong coiled wire to help tug things down/up/face the front instead of sidewards.
Never bothered with the wax and didn't get offered any kinda gumshield, although mine were in such a state I don't think they could have even designed one to fit!

I did discover that ice lollies numb the pain in the first few days of them being adjusted though! :) :)
 
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