Can orthodontic treatment cause seizures?
My 11 year old daughter had a permanent retainer put on the bottom of her mouth and a removable for the top 3 months ago. This was done as a pre amble to braces as her teeth were very crowded and starting to move. There was only the usual side effects, tenderness in the mouth etc, to begin with. However, shortly after she began experiencing absence seizures. The last 2 months they have increased and her family Dr has run a battery of tests and has found no other cause for them. At her last check up with the dentist her measurements came to .6mm of movement at the front of her mouth and .4mm on the sides which I understood to be twice as fast as they would expect. I would just like to know if Im crazy to believe they are related, or if this is something as common as it's appearing to be through the research I've done. What Im hoping is that I can have the retainers removed and see if the seizures stop, but only if I can be sure that there is possibly a correlation. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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Answer: Orthodontic treatment and braces
By Sarah h
Dental Professional
In my 21 years in the dental field, I have never experienced a patient that had started or had an increase in siezures as a result of retainers. Retainers should hold the teeth in place and not allow any shifting. From what you wrote, it appears as if there is a significant amount of movement happening with the retainers in place. With this amount of movement, it will probably not hurt to have them removed and just begin orthodontic treatment when ready. If the siezures subside, you may want to reconsider the pros and cons of orthodontic treatment, as the teeth with me in a constant state of movement for the duration of the treatment. Or you may want to consider clear aligner therapy such as Invisalign or Sure Smile that will only allow the tooth to move a very small amount with each new set of aligners. Clear aligner therapy has more precise and predictable movements than traditional orthodontics, however not all patients are good candidates. Having a healthy, siezure free daughter is more important that a retainer before orthodontic treatment.
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