Can I Keep Delaying Braces Treatment

[sarahlayton06]

I’m 18 almost 19. I’m eligible for braces for free under the NHS as I was referred by a dentist before I turned 18. However, I don’t want to have braces now; rather, I want to keep delaying my possible treatment in case I change my mind in the future. That way, it will still be free for me as it would be going on the free referral made for me when I was under 18. Is it possible to keep delaying this?

@NavyStork
Now everyone I know has been made to wear plastic retainers at night forever.

Both mine have a metal retainer on their top front 6 instead, and bottom front 6. Need thing I ever did insisting. They both need plastic retainers aswell at night.

Why do you want to delay?
You are almost an adult. Act appropriately

I'm an orthodontic nurse. If you aren't commited to wearing your retainer for life do not bother having braces.
No you can't keep delaying you will not retain your space.
You sound like you don't want them, they are a big commitment of a visit every 6-8 weeks for 2-3 years.

Why would you delay? Just get it over and done with

I had braces as a teenager and certainly don't wear a retainer anymore 😂
I think I was told to wear it for about a year

Braces when I was a teenager, no retainer for 30 years and my teeth are fine. Dentistry seems to primarily be a money making game these days - retainers for life!

On the NHS the orthodontist gets no extra money for the fixed retainers or initial retainers they provide .
As at least 70% of orthodontic work will relapse without retainers and it’s impossible to predict who will relapse and who won’t a far better money making scheme would be not to advise retainers then provide private brace work for all the people with problems afterwards.
If you look at Invisalign and other adult brace threads you will see the majority of people have had braces once, had no retainers and so need braces again.

This is from the paper I linked to above

Braces are temporary, but retention is forever. This notion should be explained to the patient clearly before commencing the orthodontic treatment if they wish to maintain their beautiful smile. We as an orthodontist should begin with the end in mind. The type of retainer, the technique of fabrication, different material to bond, and retention protocol should be carefully considered at the beginning of orthodontic treatment. This will ensure an excellent long-term stability and retention for the treatment. Irrespective of the appliance, the patients should be prepared for indefinite retention following orthodontic treatment.

I think you'll be lucky to get it done for free now. I turned 18 before my orthodontic work was completed and guess what, I stopped being eligible for it from that point on.

Our ortho said as long as treatment had started before 18 DD could carry on having extra work done, like overbite corrected. I wouldn't wait much longer. You'll be removed.

You’re hilarious op you’re acting like you’re doing them a favour if you take this ‘life altering’ treatment

I do think dentist are just trying to make more money out of people. I had fixed braces 30 years ago, no retainer afterwards my teeth haven't moved. My sister also had braces she had a retainer for a while but her teeth are also still perfectly fine. I don't know anyone my age who has needed life long retainers or had worked redone either.

Maybe these new invisalign braces are not good enough to do the job. DD currently has braces and was told she'd need a retainer for a couple of years after. When I asked the orthodontist about invisalign, he said most people don't use them well enough and best results are still obtained with fixed braces.

Ahhh is it quite a recent thing that retainers have to be worn for life? I’m in my early 30s and did have braces as a teen but I was sure I wasn’t expected to wear the retainers forever so was surprised when our child’s ortho said this.

The research is 70% of all orthodontic work will relapse , we cannot tell who will relapse and who will be ok .
There are some cases we know are more likely to relapse ie lower front teeth , retainer type braces.

Orthodontics has moved on from 30 years ago . At that time most brace work involved taking teeth out , normally four premolars . Taking teeth out means less relapse but caused other problems.

These days orthodontists are far more reluctant to have teeth taken out, for a variety of reasons . However that does mean treatment is much more likely to relapse.

Yes when I did my training , many years ago we advised retainers for 6 months.

However it was also very common to take out all four premolar teeth.

These days there are far fewer teeth taken out for orthodontics. Also research has shown 70% of orthodontic work relapses . The only way to guarantee teeth will stay put , because you cannot predict whose teeth will relapse and who, is to wear retainers for life.

I wear a retainer at night and if I don't wear it for a couple of days, it is hard to get it on as my teeth have started moving already

DD won't be expected to wear a retainer for life. Yes I had 4 teeth out as my mouth was overcrowded. But my sister didn't, DD has had to have 2 out not just because of overcrowding but the teeth in question where not properly formed either. Her mouth looks much better without them.

The dentist would have preferred her to keep these teeth and have them crowned (more money for him, we would have had to pay for this), but the orthodontist was keen to remove them. I agreed with the orthodontist as having teeth that where crowned at such a young age would have there own problems. I really do think the dentist was trying to push for the more expensive option rather then what was actually better overall. I have felt like this on a number of occasions with our dentist now, especially as we no longer have NHS here even for children. So was way more inclined to trust the NHS orthodontist.

Interesting, thank you! My daughter and loads of her friends are still having the classic 4 teeth out and I did hope maybe there was another way but apparently not.

Our children have also had 3-4 teeth taken out. Seems extremely normal practice here.

DD has had fixed braces for almost 3 years and has been told she'll need a retainer. She's fine with that, she'd much rather wear a retainer at night than risk her teeth moving.

What is the depth of your overbite or underbite?

One reason why braces is recommended is that age takes a toll on your teeth and gums and, when combined with already misshapen teeth, in older age eating becomes difficult.

Braces in younger years preventing malnutrition and it’s associated problems later is a small price to pay. Malnutrition in the elderly is a problem to be avoided if at all possible.

It’s hardly life changing is it. I think you need a little perspective and stop messing people around.

@NavyStork DD has had wisdom teeth out, bottom jaw broken and splinted and braces with a permanent bar at the back. She still needs to wear her retainer for life because what couldn’t happen was reshaping each tooth socket. No retainer use means her teeth will always work their way back into their original angles.

I'm a bit confused - a dentist told you after wearing braces you'd need to wear retainers forever afterwards? Or is that something you've read up on yourself? I know these things have changed over time, but unless you have something especially different happening with your teeth, I don't think there's any need for a retainer all the time? Help us understand more.

for all brace work patients are now told they have to wear retainers for life. It’s because 70% of orthodontic work relapses if a retainer is not worn.

Braces are not "life altering".

Either get them done and over with now or prepare to pay for them yourself as an adult. It's really not that serious...

Your teeth have to be quite bad to get NHS funding for braces.

Why don’t you want them?