Anyone Have Experience with an Herbst Appliance?

Both my kids had a Herbst. Both had bad or very bad overbites. It was explained the Herbst helps shift the lower jaw forward vs just pushing the top teeth back. It helps the profile look more balanced. Made sense so we went with it and so far so good. And having the device wasn’t horrible. A friend’s daughter has it too. I had a bad overbite and braces corrected it but it came back with time. So I wonder if a Herbst would have been good for me but they didn’t exist back then.

I think I would go back to each and have them explain their position. Ask the elastics and braces office why a Herbst appliance isn't needed, when (if ever) they do use them and what the difference is between cases where they use one and your son's case. Then do that same for the office that wants to use one - why can't it be done with just braces and elastics, when would you treat an overbite without one, and how is that different from your son's case.

Honestly I hate getting second opinions or pushing back on why one over another but ortho is a significant investment of time and money and you want to get it right the first time. Each office should be happy to explain to your their thoughts in detail. When you get the additional info, if that doesn't help you decide, then maybe a third opinion is in order.

A Herbst appliance would help with the over bite by expanding his lower jaw forward.
I'm not seeing how braces and elastics would do much for his lower jaw and the alignment between upper/lower jaws.
Get a third opinion if you want to but get a detailed explanation of what a Herbst does - look over xrays of your kids jaws and really understand what the problems are that need correcting.

In the old days over crowding was fixed by pulling adult teeth and moving remaining teeth around to line them up.
That's what I went through in the 70's.
It was 7 years in braces (5th grade through 11th grade) - I thought they'd never come out - and it was miserable and very painful.

Now they have expanders which makes more room for the teeth in the jaws.
Our son had expanders and was done with braces in 2 years by the end of 6th grade.
All his teeth fit nicely (except wisdom teeth - we had those out before he left for college), they are straight and easy to keep clean.

Additional:
Waiting till your kid is older would be a big mistake.
It's important to make room in the jaws for the teeth while the jaws are still growing.
That's why braces are happening earlier - like 2nd grade - instead of waiting till they are teens.
In my case I was older and it took longer - for my son he was younger and he was done with it in a relatively short amount of time and with better results.

You could always get a 3rd opinion, but here's what I (personally) would do first.

Go back to the orthodontist who recommended braces and elastics only, and ask him (or her) about the Herbst appliance. What are his thoughts? Why would he or would he not recommend it. Ask lots of questions!

Then, go back to the orthodontist who recommended the Herbst appliance and ask him (or her) why he thinks the appliance is necessary. Explain (to the best of your ability) what the first orthodontist said and see what he has to say about that.

Ask both of them to tell you why they are right and why the other guy is wrong. Not to pit them against each other, but make them justify their opinion. If that doesn't give you enough information to make a decision, then seek a 3rd opinion. But you might be able to feel more confident after revisiting those two.

My oldest son had a Herbst appliance, I think at a similar age to yours. I had never heard of the Herbst, and it looks kind of scary when you first see it, but it really did the trick for him and his overbite and was no harder on him than braces. My other children also had braces, no Herbst, same orthodontist, so it clearly was something that is only used for specific situations. I agree with others that it might help you to ask both orthodontists more questions and see if you feel better about one plan vs. the other.

I think 12 is a good age, easier to intervene with braces while they are still growing instead of waiting until growth is done.

If possible, I would try to look for recommendations in your area for an orthodontist you can really trust. Do you have friends/neighbors you can ask about their experience, or is there a neighborhood facebook group? You also might want to consider things like how they handle problems/appointment availability/payment plans.

My friend's daughter just had an overbite corrected and did not need one - just braces and elastics, but her daughter's overbite was not severe.

The braces/elastics were able to pull her teeth into the proper position and fix her bite. Her lower jaw wasn't that much smaller than her upper jaw though.

I think (?) the Herbst appliance is for when the lower jaw is smaller or not ligned up with the top jaw severely enough that they need to fix this first (can they tell with impressions?) before doing the braces. I think otherwise the braces won't be effective.

For a third opinion, would your son's dentist know? I'm thinking they may be a good person to ask where they'd have X-rays and have seen a lot of kids/teeth, etc. and sent kids off to orthodontists.

ETA: I agree with the others, it's too bad when you sought the 2nd opinion, you didn't (maybe you did) really question why it was so different than the first one you got. If you can go back and ask now - I would.

Personal experience - We waited till our kid was in high school to do his teeth. Here was our dentist/orthodontist's take on it. Our kid's mouth/jaw was still growing. In the end, it all caught up and then he just needed minimal work.

My sister's kids all started very young (tween) and required twice the work, twice the cost. I don't know if they needed it - it was just the approach they went with.

If your child's lower jaw is simply growing and will catch up - as one orthodontist might think - ask about that. One may be trying to 'hurry' it along. Those are the questions I would ask.

My daughter had one for a cross bite. To look at her, you’d never know she had one and I am grateful we had her checked instead of assuming everything was fine because her smile looked good.

She required a Herbst and the orthodontist discovered her eye tooth was embedded in the roof of her mouth. So, she also had a CT and two surgeries to move that tooth where it needed to be.

Very happy with the results. I have a severe overbite and cross bite that wasn’t corrected. I am paying the price now. I wanted to make sure both kids teeth were corrected if needed.

If you’re trying to decide which course of action will best help your kiddo, I’d ask more questions until I was satisfied or seek a third opinion.

I would get a third opinion.

At 12 your sons teeth are still growing and shifting. If you can wait a few years, wait until older and for teeth to settle. Orthodontist make money off parents and put kids through years of unnecessary pain. Parents should waited for jaw to grow...the entire process would be quicker, less painful, and much cheaper.

I had one and my daughter had one. She was much better about hers than I was so I will tell you about her lol. She did great with it and it made a HUGE difference. She had a very bad overbite and rubber bands would not cut it. You don’t say how bad the over bite is but you could always go to a third ortho and get a plan from them to help you pick which way to go

If you live near a university with a dental school, take your child there for a consult. See what they say. The dental schools have all the latest and greatest. I’m a product of Tufts Dental and my teeth are fabulous! We went there because I’d had a set of braces from a local guy ad the wanted to start over... I was a MESS! Tufts fixed me up.

My daughter got a Herbst appliance for an overbite. It was slight but still an over bite. It was worth doing it. She has the most beautiful smile now. I would not change a thing. Do it while he is young now.