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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

256 replies

toothyname · 13/01/2011 14:38

(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..??

OP posts:
BargainBasement · 13/01/2011 15:46

Why do children need cosmetically perfect teeth? Braces in most cases are simply to improve appearance. They don't need that any more than the need a good hair cut! It's nice to have but not a health issue. The NHS is for health.

MissFit · 13/01/2011 15:46

I think it used to be free for adults didn't it Riven? Back in t'olden days?

feistychickfightingthebull · 13/01/2011 15:47

My 12 yo ds has just had braces on the nhs. Initially the dentist had refused to refer him but I insisted and he had them put on. Yanbu, braces are not cosmetic at all

Original poster
toothyname · 13/01/2011 15:49

Well it was the professional that said she 'needs' it!

OP posts:
Original poster
toothyname · 13/01/2011 15:50

feisty tell me MORE!!!!!

OP posts:
southeastastra · 13/01/2011 15:52

there will be lots of out of work orthodontists

sarah293 · 13/01/2011 15:52

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Remotew · 13/01/2011 15:52

Friend of mine went crying to her doctor about her flat chest and she got a boob job on the Nhs.

Saltatrix · 13/01/2011 15:53

The NHS does not unlimited funds (especially right now) unless the child is badly affected in some way by wonky teeth (bad enough that they can't eat properly etc or causing major psychological problems) I don't see why the NHS should fund it. As it is they don't fund anything for purely cosmetic reasons and why should they.

southeastastra · 13/01/2011 15:55

maybe the time has come where people should be able to choose where their national insurance goes. i'd like to stop paying it and go private then thanks

TeenageWildlife · 13/01/2011 15:58

If your dentist refused to refer you, you can still go straight to the orthodontist or to another dentist.

You may be lucky with a teaching hospital, surely they have to practice? I had a lot of dental work done at Guy's for free.

As to costing £2000 - yes I can absolutely see that. I have had both my DS and DD go through this and you are paying for a lot of time and a lot of training, in fact I can see that it would cost a lot more than that at times.

And I did read a thing in the Observer recently about gappy teeth and imperfect teeth becoming fashionable. - I think the girl in True Blood is gorgeous.

valleyqueen · 13/01/2011 15:59

Dd is having braces this summer on thr NHS, she has very sticky out teeth and the ortho said if she fell on her face that she could knock them out way too easily. Also said she would need a gum shield for sports like hockey until they are sorted.

FluffyDonkey · 13/01/2011 16:00

This isn't new.
My braces were put on over 15 years ago and as it was considered to be cosmetic my parents had to pay (over 1000 pounds).

South - it's that expensive because it's fixed braces. Which are on for at least 12 months but often more (mine were on for 18 months - a friend of mine had them for 36 months!). You go to see the orthodontist very regularly (monthly?) to have them tightened. Then you have extra stuff like headgear. And when the braces come off you have a slip-on brace to wear at night to make sure they stay in place. Then you can also have a permanent wire attached to the back of your teeth.

So 2000 pounds is not a huge amount considering the work that goes into them.

Most children I knew who had braces were funded by the parents. Only the extreme cases were funded by the NHS.

annh · 13/01/2011 16:01

DS1 has just had a retainer fitted and will be going back in Feb to have the braces fitted. It is going to cost us £3k and for someone who asked, orthodontists all have payment plans so we have to pay £700 up front and the rest as an interest-free loan at £100 a month. Yes it's a lot of money but for him, it is purely cosmetic, he has a very small overbite and a gap between his front teeth. We are lucky that we can pay and have chosen for him to have the treatment but his life would not be ruined if he didn't have it done. The orthodontist told me that some people (think Madonna!) consider having a gap as a feature and would leave it there. It's an awful lot of money but I don't see any reason why we should have been able to have something which really is purely cosmetic done for free.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 13/01/2011 16:01

Gappy teeth are fine, my DD's look all twisted like the haunted forest. She is really concious of them which is why we are paying for the treatment at the moment and looks likely in the future.

pascoe28 · 13/01/2011 16:02

You can get breast enlargements on the NHS???

The sense of entitlement reeking through this thread is sickening.

BalloonSlayer · 13/01/2011 16:02

My DS1 has quite a nice smile, generally speaking, but his teeth are very crowded and we have been told that they are probably "bad enough to get done for free."

My sister - who lives in Australia - was aghast when we told her this. She has spent $3500 on her DD's teeth, which looked quite nice anyway. Her DS - who has those sort of horse teeth things growing out of his gums and an unattractive gappy smile, blessim, at the moment, will cost her about $7000. She was gobsmacked that my DS's nice but crowded smile was "bad enough to be free" but her DS's truly awful one was for her to sort out.

But then, I don't think they pay much tax or National Insurance type of stuff in Australia.

WimpleOfTheBallet · 13/01/2011 16:02

God! Goofiness runs in my family too!

Wanders off to lift DCs lips and scrutinize choppers

southeastastra · 13/01/2011 16:03

i have an idea, all you lot that don't mind paying for it pay for it, then that will subsidise those that can't afford it.

honestly britain's teeth will look the the book of british teeth in the simpsons in 10 years.

think this is very depressing and sad that mn of all places think it's good, no wonder the tories love this site.

sarah293 · 13/01/2011 16:04

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agedknees · 13/01/2011 16:04

My dd needed and was accepted by the nhs to have braces about 8 years ago. But before she had her braces put on we moved to Lincolnshire (dh in the forces, we lived in married quarters so had to move).

Lincoln nhs would not fund the braces (even though she had started treatment and had had some teeth removed). So we had to pay privately to have the braces fitted. Cost about £2,500 (remember, this is 8 years ago).

So maybe it depends on where you live in the UK as to whether you can have orthodontal treatment on the NHS?

WimpleOfTheBallet · 13/01/2011 16:05

Pascoe...sense of entitlement my arse...we have an NHS service for a reason! So that the poorer families in the country do not have to die of stupidly reatable diseases as in the recent past and so that out children's mouths can be healthier than our grandparents were!

"Sense of entitlement"...the most over used phrase on MN!

bubbleOseven · 13/01/2011 16:05

I don't think there's a sense of entitlement, more just puzzlement over why some cases are free and some not and why one orthodontist will treat you on the NHS and another one won't.

MumInBeds · 13/01/2011 16:06

I'm following this with interest as dd (7 1/2) has very overcrowded teeth top and bottom, they are practically doubled up and so hard to brush well and she's not even had all the adult ones through yet. I know she would benefit from work when she is older, hopefully the NHS will help but we ought to get saving in case they don't by then.

LadyWellian · 13/01/2011 16:09

@ pascoe28 - no sense of entitlement here, just surprise that something that used to be free on the NHS is now yet another thing that has to be paid for.

Don't know why I was surprised really, but there you go.