My daughter, Madison has been asking for braces for the last few years.... I never thought a kid would actually WANT braces but she does. To be honest, I actually wasn't sure that she needed them as her teeth appeared to me to be straight. I did notice some spaces between her teeth but nothing too crazy. However, I really wanted her to be confident heading into her teen years so agreed to get her a consultation. After quite a bit of research and their location to our home (I was hearing there are lots of appointments associated with this adventure), I called Ball Orthodonics in League City to make an appointment. Ball Orthodonitics had glowing reviews everywhere I looked (and I can get crazy with my research). The receptionist was super kind, answered all of my questions, and was able to get us in for a complimentary appointment.
I'm so glad that we decided to go - after looking at the x-rays and a thorough examination it turns out that Madison is a candidate for braces as she does have some small spacing issues but also has an overbite. Dr. Ball was very kind and patient and took the time to explain and show me (on some fake teeth) what her teeth are doing and what they should be doing. It became very obvious to me that she could benefit from braces. His recommendation was that Madison would need upper and lower braces for approximately 24 months and we would correct her overbite with rubber bands. We decided to move forward on working with Dr. Ball and Dr. Pawelek at Ball Orthodonics!
The day finally came for Madison to get started and she was super excited. The office at Ball Orthodonics was super organized and even had her name on their bulletin board as "Getting Started".
After signing the contracts, Madison went back to the treatment area and they took a super cool scan of her teeth (no more gagging to make impressions). Then Dr. Ball applied her top set of braces (when we go back next month they will evaluate on if she is ready for the bottom set). The initial appointment lasted about an hour.
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Once the braces where put on, the technician gave us a goody bag FILLED with items for taking care of her braces - everything from dental wax, to special toothpaste, to flosses and picks to get food out of them. The last thing any of us want is for her teeth to get stained (and they even showed her a photo of what that would look like). They also reviewed with her in great detail the foods she would not be able to eat as they would get stuck on her brackets or even break them (no gummies, beef jerky, hard chips like Takis, etc). We did not feel rushed at all and they made sure neither she nor I had any questions before we left.
Madison was a little sore for the next 2 days - we just made sure to get some smoothies etc - but now she is doing great and we are looking forward to seeing her progress. Stay tuned - we will be updating as our journey with Dr. Ball and Dr. Pawelek continues!
