DD told she can’t have NHS orthodontist treatment

It is a ridiculous new rule.
In Ireland our HSE NHS equivalent refuse most teenagers now unless severely prominent.
I'd try another dentist, a friend in Belfast had a brace invisi brace at a huge reduction from the NHS.

@jewel1968,

Who knows anymore to be honest with you.

If it is affecting your mental health and if you are a child then you would usually be referred by your GP to see a consultant but since Covid everything has changed.

You need to get a face to face in person appointment with the GP first and that is not easy .

Both my children have had NHS dentist treatment, one is ongoing. Both had overbites, the criterion was something like 7mm or more overbite. One adhered to her block braces, the other has not and that window for fixing the overbite is over, although she's had great results from train tracks in fixing crooked teeth. I would have paid if not, but it would have been expensive for two. We also had to wait for treatment as they would spend their NHS budget in the first three months and then we had to wait for the next year's budget.

I would get a second opinion over 1mm.

@Whoopy1 i did a lot of research into the clear aligners and treatment is not overseen by an orthodontist. You're basically on your own. Heard loads of stories of being having to pay for metal braces/invisalign to correct the issues from these companies. Although a friend did use SDC and had good results.

I took the plunge and started invisalign a couple of months ago after being hideously self concious of my teeth for about 18 years, one snide comment from a school friend that i overheard was enough to stop me smiling that same day. I constantly have my hand over my mouth when laughing, forget candid pictures with my DC, it was always, always in the back of my mind. So I got invisalign and even though i'm only 2 months in, the fact that i know i'm going to have straight teeth in a few months already feels like a weight has been lifted. I'm already putting money aside for my DC incase they need orthodontic treatment, I would hate for them to feel the way I have for almost half of my life. For some people it really is more than just cosmetic.

@Etonmessisyum I'm so sorry. People can be cruel.

My mum had a similar experience, she waited until she was in her 50s before she got her teeth done the way she felt happy about them.

She never did it before because she thought it was too much money on vanity but it's really helped her.

The cosmetic argument is interesting. If you have sticky out ears or a wonky nose I imagine the NHS don't pay for cosmetic surgery or does it?

@B1rthis

Mewing is great but I can't imagine getting a preteen to mew regularly when its enough hassle to get their braces in their gob everyday!

As for people in the past, they lost teeth all the time. Sometimes dying from horrible gum infections so I don't see the past as some golden age of teeth at all My granny born in 1921 had all her teeth pulled at 20 so she could have dentures which sounds extreme but she just wanted a beautiful white smile and no toothache. This was very common.

DD did not qualify under the NHS, so I paid up. She bore the braces very well and they did correct her teeth, result.

Unfortunately she then stopped wearing her retainer (left school by this stage) so they moved back and it’s all been a giant waste of money and effort. I’m pleased that her mental health has not been impacted by having less than perfect teeth, of course.

Yes it’s totally shocking.
My dentist pre Covid was NHS and private and I use to pay the NHS price It used do be in ( Bands) 1,2 and 3 if I recall this was before Covid.

I went to the practice about 3 months ago for fillings and a root canal and polish and they informed me they don’t do NHS anymore due to funding from Government so I had to pay private or wait maybe 2 years for a NHS Dentist .

I just about managed to pay for it but it’s awful for people who cannot.
As a example I paid £67 for a scale and polish the rest you don’t want to know.

My experience is that dentists are literally sticking to minimum treatments because they don’t get paid enough to do a proper job!

Teeth cleaning is shorter than it used to be, children can have a scale and polish if they pay for it.

DD scrapped in with braces, not many kids ‘pass’ now.

I thought the whole point of the assessment was that there needs to be medical reasons for NHS orthodontics, and the NHS doesn't fund cosmetic correction.

‘Just cosmetic’

Provided me with years, and years of bullying. Called goofy, rabbit face, buck teeth and many many other names and of course it starts with the teeth then escalates. So I had no shred of self confidence and went through years and years of painful orthodontic treatment from 8/9. Double brace for nights, single retainer, then the day after my friend got her tracks off I got mine on. 4 years and maxillary osteotomy and genioplasty later, I’m still scarred by the bullying I suffered. So just cosmetic means nothing when you’re 6 and no one will play with you because the bullies will target them too. That 1mm is actually a lot and I know it’s expensive but for some kids orthodontic work is more than just cosmetic. I had a very short lower jaw no chin and really sticky out teeth, which looked worse due to my jaw. I can’t look at childhood pictures of me now.

Op i hope your daughter gets her treatment. It made all the difference to me especially once I’d left school. I remember getting my braces off and finding a mirror and I could not stop smiling. Took me ages to get used to ‘me’ not being stared at or called names at home though.

I must be very lucky where I am in London, both my children waited less than a month for treatment after referall and both met nhs criteria (They could certainly close their mouths.) I am really grateful.

DD was told at 14 she definitely qualified for orthodontic work on the NHS and they put her on the waiting list and told us it would be about 18months wait. Two years rolled round and we hadn't heard anything so checked on it and yes she was still on the list and told her turn will come. It never did. By 17 she was getting more desperate and it was really getting her down. As soon as lockdown was over we went and saw someone privately, she has just turned 18 has had her braces on for three months and is so very happy (it's costing us an eye watering £5k though!).

I think its worth paying personally. Whatever the rights or wrongs of the system.

I have part of DS's ortho paid by health insurance but still have to top up about 30€ a month. He's gone from having a 5mm overbite to looking awesome. Can't put a price on that for me. I had to have adult fixed metal braces in my 30's and it cost about 3K over 2 years. Changed my life.

I will always be willing to go private for dental and MH treatment because I'm not prepared to deal with the consequences of patchy or non-existent 'free' treatment.

The criteria have been tightening for years. I was part of a 20 year longitudinal study by a university dental school on whether nor not orthodontic treatment had a longer term impact on psychological wellbeing as adults - it didn't. I think that is part of why the move away from orthodontic treatment that had more of a cosmetic element to a focus on functional issues took place.

However, I do object to people who are dismissing orthodontic treatment as just "cosmetic". I would have qualified for treatment under the current criteria as I had a severe cross bite - I suspect by now, in my 50's, I would have serious structural problems with my jaw if it hadn't been corrected.

I would consider not spending the money by researching why children's teeth have only been wonky in the last 100 years or so.
Our ancestors never needed braces etc and there was plenty of room for their very straight teeth.
I would look into mewing also.
A cheaper alternative.

My dd needs braces and we were told it's currently a two year wait and that most people go private - similar price quoted I guess there is probably payment plans but it is depressing
Think partly covid backlog but not sure

@YourKidsIf They must have made it up because the appeal committee didn’t know why they’d refused treatment!

www.bos.org.uk/BOS-Homepage/Orthodontics-for-Children-Teens/Fact-File-FAQ/What-Is-The-IOTN

DD1 had rabbity front teeth from sucking her thumb. She too was deemed 1mm outside NHS criteria. We paid around £2k in instalments over two years (five years ago). This was a fixed price and included all treatment and consultations for as long as it took plus plastic retainers at the end of the treatment.

DD2 did not suck her thumb but has a small jaw and her adult teeth came through all over the place, a real mess. She had to have four molars removed and WAS eligible for NHS treatment; it was essentially the same as what DD1 had, fixed braces for two years.

However it's funded, it's SO worth it. A real investment if there's any way you can stretch to it, especially as most kids (round here anyway) seem to have orthodontic treatment these days and so teeth, on average, are pretty straight (crooked ones do really stand out). The few of my kids' friends who didn't bother when they were young teens have since gone to have it done privately.

DS had orthodontic appointment and we were told he needed 4 teeth out and braces. All for one tooth that was slightly out of alignment. And it would be covered by NHS. I was concerned as it seemed mega disruption.

Got second opinion and was told no extraction needed and we could if we wanted have a brace but it really wasn't necessary. And no not covered by NHS. He was shocked at other orthodontist's diagnosis and proposed treatment.

I know this is reverse of your situation but shows how second opinion can be important.

I also did a lot of research at the time about NHS funding. It's complex.