DD told she can’t have NHS orthodontist treatment

Talktalkchat

Totallydefeated
The NHS will deem it ‘cosmetic’, conveniently ignoring the deeply negative and long-lasting psychological and emotional impact such things can have. Not surprising, given the resources devoted to mental health, I guess. It’s shit but all part of the underfunding and organisational problems.
And who’s fault is that?

Er, not sure I understand your question? As to why you’re asking it of me?

It isn’t mine.....

HOWEVER the rumour is the government only fund enough treatment for something like 50% of the population.

And IOTN does not take into account how many holes/ fillings someone has so that’s a load of crap too.

The measurements are exact and 1mm would make all the difference.
How gutting to think treatment will be provided on the NHS and then find that's changed.
I feel for you.
I was fortunate in that my dc's qualified for NHS orthodontics, and was keen to point out to them that they should grab the opportunity.

To be fair, it's probably cheaper for the NHS provide a brace than MH treatment.

The magic money tree that's getting the fertiliser business back working. Theres money available when they want to spend it.

Yes we also had the experience that dd only qualified for NHS treatment when she was 15 with a 3 year waiting list. Had to pay in the end.

This isn't due to covid I'm afraid. It's just the way it is. It sucks.

I paid in the end but had the option to pay monthly (after a hefty deposit) so dd had her braces for 2-3 years and they were taken off before she went off to university.

my daughter broke her 2 front teeth age 8 falling off her bicycle. she had them built up with white filling stuff which kept breaking off. we were told she could have something more permanent done once her jaw had stopped growing on the nhs. by the time she reached 18 the rules had changed and no she didn’t qualify for anything being done on nhs. this was 5 years ago now so nothing to do with covid. they are always looking to save money and goalposts constantly moving.

I think they changed the guidelines so its harder to get treatment now. Dd realised she didn't actually want to go through the pain and discomfort over 2 years and having talked to her friends about it.

YANBU.
Unfortunately that's the way it going to be. And it'll just get worse

Same thing is happening to us - we have just been told that as dd has no filings and perfect teeth, other than a tooth needing pulled down and fitted in that she is unlikely to grade high enough on a scale that qualifies for NHS treatment. I asked if she had fillings and holes would she grade higher, they said yes, that the system is very unfair.

My DD had a baby tooth removed and fixed braces prior to having an implant, on the NHS.
In the time it took to get the teeth straight for the implant, they stopped doing implants on the NHS.

Has anyone tried the clear dental aligners that are often advertised online? Apparently they are cheaper, have quicker results and are virtually invisible (that’s what the adverts say anyway). Just a thought if you are going to have to go private.

My DD has two retained baby teeth at the top/side view but near the front, they are slightly loose and she has had a few problems including a chip that needed filling. Ideally they need to come out, and braces to close the gaps which will be visible as near the front, but as it’s cosmetic I would have to pay, which I just cannot afford as a single parent. Yes it might be cosmetic, but two very obvious gaps at the front to a 17 year old is devastating, so she will probably be I her early 20s by the time I have saved up

Unfortunately the guidelines have become tighter, and orthodontists are getting pulled up on it. The truth is there's barely enough commissioning to deal with he kids that do meet the criteria, let alone those who are borderline. Your best bet might be to beg your dentist to refer you to another practice who might look at it differently.

I think the criteria have changed loads- when I was a teenager in the 90s, all but 2 of us in our friendship group of about 9 had braces at some point, and of the 2 who didn't, at least one of them was offered braces but declined. Fast forward to now and my DC has very snaggly teeth (lateral incisors according to Google) and general overcrowding and was told they are a borderline case. DC was even bullied for the state of their teeth so they are definitely noticeable to non-professionals. Ortho said they only accept more severe cases now and that DC was accepted not as a cosmetic case but because it would make maintaining hygiene difficult if left untreated.

They even had a little chart in the surgery of what is / is not covered by NHS treatments as assume they get a lot of people querying why they have been turned away.

Sorry but if the treatment needed is purely cosmetic then you should be paying for it yourselves. The NHS isn't there too make people look pretty, it's the health service and it's currently on its knees.

"Just cosmetic" is so disparaging and minimising. My 9 year old dd is starting treatment next month for overcrowding and missing adult teeth (not there underneath her gums). The orthodontist has said he'll be seeing us until she's about 15! It's going to be a long and painful road for her but it's totally necessary to avoid huge problems as she grows up.

I don’t think people realise that the majority of braces now are actually paid for privately, it’s completely different from when I was a kid. And you can see the difference in people’s teeth

When I was a teenager I moved to England after a short stint of living abroad. I had braces on my teeth, I had quite a few adult teeth that were missing so the baby ones had to be pulled and the rest moved forward.

The NHS rejected to treat me because my teeth didn’t meet the requirement, presumably because I was half way through treatment Thankfully my parents appealed and they treated me in the end. They really do seem to make it up as they go along.

We've had to go private and it's not a cosmetic issue. The waiting list is massive due to Covid. Forked out and he's now 6 months into treatment and it's already working. Well worth it. Haven't been on holiday so using that money for it.

We are also paying 2.5k for dd. She would qualify if we went through the NHS but would be waiting until at least 2025.

Would probably be fairer if everyone paid a lesser amount, especially those who are purely for cosmetic not structural.