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..??

ok they are now!

Oh! phew. It should be. My understanding - or at least what I recall being told aged 15 - is that orthodontic treatment is rarely "purely cosmetic".

When I had braces as a teenager the ortho told me there would be obvious cosmetic benefits - my mouth was overcrowded and hence squinty teeth - but that there was a strong functional need and I would be storing up dental problems for myself if the overcrowding was not addressed through treatment.

Soggy, you had a space between the * and the first and final words. No spaces.

As I demonstrated above, it's easily done.

My DS was offered NHS braces because his teeth were bad enough, but we opted to pay privately to avoid taking him out of school during 4th & 5th year. All the NHS appointments were during school hours. I realise we are lucky in that we could afford to do this.

The NHS isn't free, just free at the pint of (ab)use

argh - POINT not pint