OK. I was wondering if anyone has any experience of this.
My daughter has recently started seeing a new dentist - after a gap of about 18 months when we couldn't find a dentist who would register us. She is 7, and has lost her front milk teeth, but they have not yet all been replaced by adult teeth. However, even with 2 teeth missing on each draw it is obvious her teeth are crowded, and likely to become more so.
So - the dentist is also an orthodontist who x-rayed her mouth and said that she has a very narrow jaw arch, and that there are a couple of options. The course he recommends is some immediate form of orthodoncy, which will expand the arch in her jaw, creating room in her jaw for her adult teeth as they grow in and probably solving her snoring and sleep problems and lessening her tendency to congested colds and glue ear as a consequence. Which obviously sounds great - except for the fact it is apparently not available on the NHS until she is 10. The dentist feels it would be better to carry out the treatment asap, so it will cost us about £1000 altogether.
Now, £1000 is a significant amount of money, and it would be hard for us to find. We would probably have to borrow it from somewhere. I have some questions I need answered to help me decide what to do, but I am worried that I am going to end up being charged for a consultation if I go back to talk about it again. So before I do that, I wondered if anyone here has any professional experience in this field, or experience as a parent of their child undergoing something of this nature at a fairly young age.
Does anyone know - are the results of orthodontic treatment better if started early? Is it quicker overall? Is it more or less uncomfortable for the child? Can a small jaw arch really cause all these problems? I just don't know what the best course of action is....
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Children's health
Orthodontists and Young Children
6 replies
Oakmaiden · 07/07/2011 14:22
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