To be astounded that we have to pay for braces?!

[toothyname]

(regular with name change!)

My step daughter has just gone to the orthodontics and has been told she needs braces but that NHS wont pay as it's cosmetic.. The cost is over £2000! Has anyone got any experience of this or succesfully challenged it..? Surely good teeth can't be the privilage of wealthy children..??

To be honest I think it's fair enough that the NHS won't pay for a purely cosmetic treatment. When resources are limited they should be targeted where the need is greatest I.e. where there's an actual clinical need.

DS got a removable set of braces a few weeks ago. He'll have them for 4-6 months >hopefully! He needs to take them out when he swims and he swims a lot!> and then will get the train tracks for 12 months or so.

He qualified for NHS treatment because his overbite is quite bad. DD will get them in a few years- her teeth are a bit of a mess and her overbite is worse than DS'.

I'm horrified by this post, I'm waiting for DD to see an orthodontist, apparently there is a 12 month waiting list. I just presumed they were free.

if its cosmetic she doesnt need braces , if she needs them she would be referred to an orthodontist .

YABU.

As you've stated in your first post, it is for cosmetic purposes not medical need. The NHS is a health service! not a cosmetic service.

Dd1s teeth aren't great but not bad enough to qualify for nhs. Dd2s teeth are bad enough. Dd1s are costing 4k to fix, dd2s are free. In my day, both would have got it for free.

Both my DDs qualified recently and they weren't that 'bad'. My son just qualified too. Certain dentists do more NHS work than others. Some tried telling me they could only do private as they had already used their quota of funding. Some steer you towards private and say NHS unlikely to do it.

my friend went to NHS 1 year ago in tears because her breasts were an A cup and she was so self conscious that it meant she couldnt have a sex life (bollocks) and they are now a perky C cup... free of chrage.

Sorry, there must be more to this. Cosmetic surgery is very tightly controlled on the NHS and psychological distress is not enough.

Google "POLCE (procedures of limited clinical effectiveness) if you want to see the sort of criteria that are generally applied.

I know this is an old thread but a real eye opener all the same. I never realised that braces would have to be paid for. I just assumed that it would be free.

Ds (15) needs braces. First took him to the dentist in August last year, was referred to the consultant at the hospital, who in turn has referred us to another orthodontist for another consultation appointment and hopefully treatment. This appointment isn't until September so am guessing I will be told if he qualifies or not as cost hasn't been mentioned as of yet.

He has severe overcrowding (top and bottom), needs 4 teeth removed and has teeth that are growing in the wrong place and wrong direction.
He's only got 2 teeth that are where they are supposed to be. He keeps getting gum infections due to not being able to clean them properly and the ones that are too high up cause massive discomfort to him (he is also complaining of pain in his jaw so don't know if this is also connected)

If we don't qualify, then god knows how much it will cost, as we have been told he will need the braces for 18 months minimum but likely to be much longer. Better start saving!!!

vickisuli, is there a reason you bumped a THREE YEAR OLD ZOMBIE THREAD? I'm fairly sure the OP's made her decision by now ...

Cosmetic surgery is not carried out on the NHS. What is called cosmetic surgery - actually, reconstructive or plastic, is very, very tightly controlled on the NHS and oonly available to those who have a deformity or severe disfigurment.

Believe me, I know - my mum was told I needed reconstructive surgery to correct a deformity when I was two. I had to see the consultant regularly for 4 years, have dozens of 'conservative' treatments and only then - seventeen years later, after first being
told I needed surgery, and 4 years after I was told I was being refered to get the op, was I accepted.

That was for, in my GP's words 'a rare and severe' issue that affected my functioning and has left me with permanent damage to my bladder. Because the operation could be deemed as cosmetice they had to treat it that way.

It is certainly not easy to have surgery that could be deemed 'cosmetic' on the NHS, probably rightly so - although I do think it should be obvious where severe problems exist and it should be easier for them to get help.

Braces wise, if the issue is not severe it seems only right that there should be a charge of sorts. Only when it poses a significant risk t health or a severe lack of functioning should it be done on the NHS.

Im 25 and have had braces as a child and again i have them on currently. Im nearly 6 weeks into a 3 year treatment. Both times ive not payed for them. Ask to be refered to the hospital for a 2nd oppinion.

DS (16) has just got braces on the NHS. They have tightened the criteria

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Orthodontics/Pages/Accessingorthodontics.aspx

Not sure about the cost, but if your child is young and has wonky teeth you could also investigate orthotropics as an alternative. There is no surgery, no removal of teeth, no braces. Instead the jaw is encouraged to grow forward naturally and the teeth moved into position to give (possibly) a more attractive profile than you would have got by breaking the jaw, removing teeth and moving the teeth back, which can leave you with a flat mouth and prominent chin.

It must definitely depend on where you live. Our orthodontist is in central London. My ds1 was sent there by our NHS dentist to be assessed. He qualified for free braces, but when I read the assessment criteria on the link up thread, I would put him very much as the level 3 or less. He had an overbite from sucking his thumb. Clearly, there is some level of it being up to the orthodontist you see. We did not have a long wait either. I think around 1 month for his first appointment. Ds2 will likely need braces too and I will go back to the same clinic for sure after reading this!

Mandarin you may find that he does qualify as that does not sound like a purely cosmetic problem. As an adult I qualified for NHS treatment because I met the criteria where my overbite was large enough, as I understand it the criteria for children is less rigorous although this may have changed as this was a few years ago.

Thanks for that Mitzi and Tinkley

I didn't realise before this thread that there was a criteria grading system but reading Mitzi's link it would seem that DS is at least a Grade 4 so hopefully he will qualify.

September cant come soon enough TBH, as ds has a lot of discomfort and he is desperate to get his teeth fixed.

£2,000 doesn't seem too bad to me. Does that mean £2,000 after any necessary extractions?

Dds weren't that bad but she got braces no problem on the NHS. We are in Scotland,don't know if that makes a difference

Think ds is a 4 but potentially 5 :( Next week we go for "bonds" which I assume is the fixed brace in addition to his twin block. Not fun.

Wow, Zombie thread!

I can't see why free orthodontic treatment shouldn't be free to adults who present with a "clear clinical need".

I must be a commie.

It is free to adults with a clear clinical need Pumpkinpositive.

I know this is an old thread but a real eye opener all the same. I never realised that braces would have to be paid for. I just assumed that it would be free.

And in a nutshell, that is why the NHS is screwed. This is mostly cosmetic. Even the most serious cases above are, essentially cosmetic. Take out a loan, save over many years, remortgage if you own a property, put it on an interest free card and pay it off over time - but why should the taxpayer pay?

why aren't my italics working?