Retainer to Correct Underbite in 7-Year-old?

Both my sons had the lower jaw widened, and my youngest son got a stronger chin out of the deal, which was a good thing. It was at around 8 years old for both kids.

I can't remember what the cost was for my oldest, but my youngest got it really cheap -- $300, but that was a deal he gave us because we were paying him $5500 for braces afterward. So $1100 is probably ballpark.

I got something similar to that when I was 7. It was called a bianator (it was a retainer that fixed both top and bottom...for what reason, i don't even remember. i just remember that i had to wear it at night and gradually wear it in the day as well). 1100 isn't bad, especially if it can save you braces in the future (usually they do). it's better to have him wear it now than the adult teeth come in and need all sorts of work :( good luck.

This sounds right to me, based on reading and talking with others. Having this done now will most likely reduce the cost of braces when he's older. Braces are much more.

Look into dental plans that reduce the price. They are not insurance. Membership entitles you to a lower rate. Ask the billing office of the dentist you're seeing now. Not all dentists belong to such plans. It may be worth it to ask around.

I don't have dental insurance and have belonged to a couple of different plans. The one I use now is called Willamette Dental. I think they are only in the west but you can look at that plan on the Internet to get an idea about them. It costs me $78/year. I think they cover orthodontics but they may not. I have seen a plan that did but I don't remember it's name. Google dental plans.

I have been in search of a good dentist this week and have read website after website trying to decide and one thing that was a common statement on their websites was 7 years of age being the key age to have an orthodontist take a look if you feel there is an issue. The sooner the better because if you wait the treatment later could take the longer process and in the end costing even more money!!!!
I do not know about the cost involved but you could always call around and see what the going rate is-for everything. Plus if you are a "self-pay" meaning no insurance sometimes some places will give a discount. Also they will give you a discount if you can pay a certain deposit amount it just really depends on the orthodontist but most are willing to set up a payment plan for you.
I dred this because I have twin girls and I already know they are BOTH going to have to go through this at the same time. Just imagine if you had to fork out 1100 x 2 at the same exact time! However I am used to it at this point-lol! My twins are 7 as well so I might be having to explore this sooner than later.

The price sounds about right. it is a shame ins dosen't cover this stuff. 7 seems young to me. It does seem to make sense to widen the jaw but I would get a second opinion. If you're going to spend that much, whats one more visit to ease your mind and know you're doing the right thing.
When my son broke his front adult tooth ( he only had it about three days)
The dentist bonded it. Amonth later he said it needed root canal. I went to another dentist who said root canal and it is infected. I guess my motherly instinct made me question this as I went for a third opinion. The third dentist
said there was way too much bonding it will rot the tooth plus the ones on either side of it. He cleaned it up and my son is fine two years later. No root canal!! By the way, we have no dental coverage and are not wealthy by any means. Sometimes you got to go with the gut feeling.

When I was in the third grade I had oral surgery to remove teeth because my mouth was too small to fit them all. I had a spacer (like a retainer) that I wore all the time until my adult teeth came in. I don't know the cost but I remember my friends all thought it was really neat that I got to wear such a cool thing. I actually remember doing better with the spacers than I did with a retainer in high school. I never lost the spacer but did throw away the retainer once at school and burned it in a campfire another time. I don't think 7 is necessarily too young for the responsibility.

Due to a bicycle accident one of my sisters had a 24/7 retainer and night time headgear (to lengthen and widen) from ages 5-present (20-something) for the retainer, & 5-14 for the headgear. When she got braces at 9ish her headgear changed a little... so that it connected onto the braces themselves.

She was supposed to keep wearing the headgear at night for longer, but started cheating @ 14. ((aka would take it off and not sleep in it, but set her alarm early so it looked like she had slept in it)). After about a year of this the orthodontist either caught on, or decided that was the best they were going to get.

I only know that the whole thing ended up costing approximately 100k, and that my grandparents paid for it. But that included all 10 years of dental & orthodontic work, including surgeries.

That's the age my son was when he first started wearing an expander retainer. He only had to wear it at night. In the 4th grade we started braces and since there is now room for his teeth, he'll only have to wear them 2 years. He'll be finished towards the end of 6th grade and he's only got 1 year left to go.
I started braces in the 5th grade and had them 7 years till 11th grade. Back then the only thing they could do when adult teeth were too big for the jaws was to pull the teeth that wouldn't fit (my wisdom teeth and bicuspids were pulled - 8 adult teeth in all), then move the remaining teeth to evenly space them. It was misery and very painful.
When they start working on teeth before the palate finishes forming, it's a lot easier, a lot shorter and so much less painful. I'm so glad most of his middle school years and all of his high school years he will be free from having all that metal in his mouth. And his smile is already beautiful! We paid $1500 and as far as I know, most insurance does not pay much (if anything) for braces.

What you describe sounds very normal based on what I've seen. My niece has a retainer at age 7 to widen her palate, and she will later have braces. I'm not sure about the cost of living where you are, but the cost also does seem in line to me. If you're not sure, you could always consult with a few orthodontists before making a decision. Before we chose our daughter's orthodontist, we interviewed several and I'm glad we did.

It is often easier and cheaper to fix dental problems at a young age. I am speaking from experience. My parents were advised, by the dentist, to take me to an orthodontist when I was about your son's age. However, as they knew insurance wouldn't cover it, they figured that could not afford to take me to the orthodontist. It only delayed the inevitable, since I started having problems that couldn't be ignored. We both ended up paying for waiting (me b/c of pain, parents b/c of $$).
You need to consider what the long term effects could be for your child if you decide not to this. If money is an issue, discuss it with the orthodontist. They may be able to help you, or at least set up a payment plan.

My daughter got an appliance in the 2nd grade to expand her palate and later she needed braces. $1100 sounds great. My daughter's cost more. Regarding the whole practice, just take one situation at a time. Here's the first step. Later they will let you know as he grows if anything else is needed. SO many people these days wear braces. No big deal. But if you are not sure get a second opinion.

My older daughter had her upper palate widened with an expander device starting at about 8 I think. She had retainers and braces off and on until she was in 8th grade. We also didn't have dental or orthodontic insurance, but we figured it out because I really believe if you don't fix your kids' teeth they are going to have problems down the road -- emotional and physical. If you are concerned about the price I would get a second opinion. We did. And our ortho was able to put us on a payment plan through the entire process, which made it much easier for us.

i have worked in orthodontics for 40 + years. I don't know of any one who avoided the full braces by doing something ahead of time.
I would get a second opinion. I think the price is too high.

In my office we often do an appliance of some sort on little kids if we need to widen the upper palate, but we always tell the parents that this is stage #1 and the child will need braces when the other teeth erupt. Your total bill should not be over 5 thousand, including any early intervention treatment.

I would ask if this will be likely to improve things enough to prevent future treatment, and , if not, would it make any difference to wait a year or two.

You know your child best and if you feel he is too young for this I would recommend waiting until maybe next summer. On the otehr hand, boys tend to become less co-operative when they reach their teen years, so I wouldn't wait too long. If the child has a disfiguring orthodontic problem, getting it fixed can make a big difference in his self esteem and in the way other kids treat him.

My son had a huge overbite and the kids made fun of him, so I had his braces placed pretty young. I think he was 10. By the time he got them off he was 12 and refused to wear his retainer, but so far his teeth have not relapsed, so I guess he is just one of the lucky ones.

Bottom line is I would get a second opinion before committing such a large sum of money to a partial solution.

I don't know about the too young part, but I do know that the palate extenders can't be used past a certain age (11ish). Also, $1100 is less than I paid for my daughter's first extender. That price sounds fairly normal to me. Make sure that if you do this, you have a mild pain killer (children's tylenol or ibuprophen) handy. Sometimes the first couple of turns on the palate extender hurt a bit.