DD told she can’t have NHS orthodontist treatment

The Yak is fast becoming like the US in terms of teeth - with oral presentation a clear marker of socio-economic status and all the consequences that has for job opportunities and mental and physical health. It’s very, very poor and short-sighted.

My DD qualified but we were told it was a minimum of 18 months on the NHS, probably more like 2 years, before she could start treatment, so we paid privately. £2500 interest free over 18 months.

I do agree with you unfortunately, it is a sad reflection of our times

Saying it is just cosmetic is such a huge understatement. Wonky teeth are just not acceptable in this day and age and I absolutely believe someone would be disadvantaged in many areas of life with crowded and crooked teeth. I had braces put on as an adult,as did my brother (my parents were of the 'it's only cosmetic' school of thought). It was the most immense relief. Years of shame melted away. I will be paying for my 3 children to have this treatment. I think it is deeply unfair that the treatment is confined to those who qualify under NHS rules and those who have money. Plenty will fall between those 2 stools. I feel terrible for those kids.

The problem is that by labelling all of it (even the most severe cases) as cosmetic so the NHS doesn’t pay, there will be two categories of people - those who can pay and those who can’t.
Sadly it will be the children who will suffer. As usual those who have the least money will be worse off and have less opportunity to improve their lives.

Both my children were refused despite needing twin blocks and all sorts of things to move their jaws. They each cost £5k (we had payment plans) but it has made a significant difference to both their lives.

DS2 was 1mm outside NHS criteria so we paid. About £2k. DS1 teeth always looked worse to me but he qualified for free treatment!

They have to have a cut off somewhere.
It’s not a Covid thing, 10years ago I was just outside the limit so didn’t qualify for braces.

You pay to have them done. It’s purely cosmetic.

@Rowgtfc72 I wondered if my dentist was doing the same thing. I still think that was his plan but he’s now told me that the 18 years old cut off deadline was removed because of covid.

Dd was referred to the orthodontist by our dentist when she was 11. She's 14 now. 6 months ago the waiting list was still 4 yrs.
I asked our dentist if they were just hanging it out till she is 18 and has to pay herself and we're told if she's been referred before age 18 she will be treated before 18.

@Puddypuds very similar story to what happened to our dd. Unfortunately we didn’t get nhs treatment as we had yet another house move (armed forces). We ended up paying £3,500 for our dds treatment. That was about 18 years ago.

I was told for years my daughter would need a brace to realign her jaw and straighten her very misplaced teeth. When my dentist retired the new dentist asked if I had any issues. My reply was now that she was 13 when would the process start for braces? She said she didn't think she needed them. I wrote a letter of complaint to the practice manager and low and behold we got a date through. Importantly when I mentioned the situation to the orthodontist he was literally flabbergasted. He even got another member of staff in, and without mentioning our situation, asked if my daughter required braces. She just said "definitely...why are you asking". Yes my daughter required lots of corrective work but it may be worth taking it further and see how you get on.

Oh and he's nearly 16 and been under NHS ortho since he was 13 but the pandemic has lengthened wait times and we didn't want to wait til he was 18 as then would have had to pay anyway. So unfair when it's not cosmetic

Our son needs extensive work to separate teeth and bring down and then some adult teeth not appearing at all. Having to go private as the wait so long. £165 a month for 18 months interest free.

So when the NHS denies treatment, is there no appeals process? Here at the service is denied you can appeal the denial both with private health insurance and also with Medicaid.

Re time for referral

Where we are ( Scotland) you can self refer to the orthodontist so did this about age 10, went every 6 months until they agreed it was ok to proceed, so started a few months before 12 birthday. Done and dusted a few months after 13 (fortunately just before first lock down). The early start meant blocks worked really quickly and shorter time with braces.

Sorry to jump in, but may I ask what is the average age for the initial referral?

DD1 was 11 when she got hers but had lost all her baby teeth and needed longer treatment (small jaw, overbite). DD2 was 13 and still had a baby tooth left but hers is “just” cosmetic. In Australia so have to pay but also no wait times.

They both had 1-2 consultations in the 18 months in the lead up.

We were put on the waiting list over 3 years ago - the dentist said she thought she was borderline but given the then-18-month waiting list it was better to get on the waiting list in case. Five minute appointment last week - overbite measured at 7mm which meant she qualified for NHS treatment but it was up to her - at 9mm it would have been strongly recommended. She said no - it doesn't bother her, and she plays a wind instrument.

My boys both qualified for NHS. They have a over bite? Just as well as my 13 year old has a front tooth growing out at 30 degrees and the other had a tooth turned to the side by 45 degrees. I think they both have too small lower jaw

We have been offered the chance not wait the 6-12 months and go private. If you can get it done by either means do it. My sons teeth are extremely hard to clean as so wonky.

The problem is over the years the NHS have been cutting back. NHS dentists will try and label as much as possible as ‘cosmetic’ so people will pay privately instead. I know two people who had accidents (one at work and one whilst doing a sport) and they were both told that they couldn’t have the missing front teeth replaced as that was ‘cosmetic’
For those saying ‘just pay’ there’s more people than ever relying on food banks so they can’t just pull £2.5K out their arse and probably can’t afford to be in any more debt.

FurCoatNoNickers

Sorry to jump in, but may I ask what is the average age for the initial referral? The dentist has said both my DC's will need a brace. DD is 11 ( year 7) and my DS, age 10 ( year 6). I get the feeling that my dentist is stalling though, on doing the referrals but I'm not sure why? She thinks my DD is a borderline case as to whether she will get it funded but she feels my DS fully meets the criteria for funding. I've got no idea how the orthodontic system works. Thank you.

My DD was the first in her year group to have braces in mid year 6-her adult teeth had come in over her baby teeth so she was like a shark with a double layer of teeth. Unfortunately she takes after me and has a small jaw so had to a) have her baby teeth removed and b) have some adult teeth removed, priori to braces being applied. Fortunately, as it was all so bad she had NHS care. She in now in Year 13 and still wears her retainers overnight because if she doesn’t then her teeth still try to move back😪

It’s not, as you seem to be suggesting, about someone who doesn’t look after their teeth grading higher.

I had my teeth fixed on the NHS as did pretty much everyone i was in class with at senior school. I'm 35. It's awful what's happening, I had years and years of treatment but it helped my mental health so so much and do we really think someone with straight teeth doesn't have an advantage over someone with crooked teeth in scenarios like interviews?!

I think it's just horrible for the dc who will have to live with it for life or until they can afford it at which point who knows what damage is done.