about the dentist?

[notactuallyme]

for some time now, it has been apparent that dd (13) will need braces. The private dentist has not referred her until recently on the grounds that she didn't need them yet. So, referral letter goes and we get a response: we can wait 6 months for an nhs appointment or pay to see him asap. so, we pay for an assessment. she qualifies for nhs, but there is an 18 month waiting list, or a handy payment plan which ensures treatment starts now.
so, i feel that my dentist should have known about this waiting list (every dentist refers to this one) and referred her earlier, allowing her to get braces now iyswim?
all her friends are wearing them having waited for the last 18 mo.
aibu?

Pay If you can.

£3,200! what if all 4 need one....

oh blimey spirit poor you - are you ok now?

The dentist said DS1 (13) needed an assessment at the Orthodontist in April. We saw the Orthodontist last week ( my 2 stressy threads are around somewhere), teeth are coming out on 1st Sept and brace fitted on 17th Sept.

I realise from my threads how lucky we were.

My eldest had braces which we had to pay for privately, I also have four children so share your pain about the cost.

Our orthodontist says all children are entitled to a free assessment from an orthodontist and told me to get the other three children referred just in case. He has seen them all several times now. Only the youngest will need braces so at least I have time to save if he doesn't meet NHS criteria.

Get your dentist to refer the other kids now. Our dentist is private and it shouldn't make any difference to referral.

It won't hurt her to wait.

It was very evident that DS1 was going to need a brace from about the age of 12 but he had impacted canines (his eye teeth growing in the roof of his mouth) which meant his baby canines weren't falling out. So between us, I am a qualified dental nurse(but not working) and the Orthodontist, we decided to have the baby teeth removed and leave it 6 months to see if the canines would come down.

They didn't so we were referred to an Oral Surgeon to have the surgically exposed, which we had to wait for. Then we had to wait for them to erupt sufficiently before the brace could be fitted.

He will be 18 in 4 months and still has his braces on. In the meantime DS2 has been referred, had the treatment and now in retainers. DS1 doesn't mind, he knows that the waiting was just one of those things.

IMVHO YABabitU

PS Every case is different as spirit says.

Ds1 loves his straight even teeth and after the first few weeks had little discomfort.

I wish I had had braces but my parents didn't take us to the dentist. When I looked into getting my teeth fixed a few years ago, I was told the only available option was surgery due to my severe overbite and this for various reasons was not an option.

Orthodontics isn't surgery or anything like it! DD had to have some surgery before her brace was fitted due to her particular problems, but most don;t have to do that. I know some have more pain than others, but the vast majority of brace wearers have slight discomfort very 6-8 weeks when the wire is strengthened.
If you need themn, you need them. Don't be put off by scare-mongering. However, a wait is not a problem.

Orthodontics is the treatment with braces.

Oral surgery is surgery.

Sometimes they are used in conjunction with each other.

I had a relatively easy brace experience when I was a teen. The orthdontist predicted 18 months but they were done in about 6. I would wait and it is definitely not always torture.

WhiteSpirit, both my 2 Sons have had braces, my nieces have had braces, I worked for 3 years in a busy Orthodontic department in a hospital. I know what braces are like!

In what circumstances is the headbrace required?

I must be very lucky in my area. Dc referred by dentist to orthodontist, seen in 6wks and braces fitted. All on NHS.

DD has been on the NHS waiting list for just over a year, with no appointment in sight.

I asked my private dentist to refer her to a private orthodontist, which he did, and she has an appointment in a couple of weeks. She needs some surgery aswell to as there is a membrane (or muscle? I forget) running directly through her 2 front teeth. This will need removed or thinned out before she can have braces.

I reckon we're looking at best part of about £4k

spirit your experience sounds awful. Its always been obvious that dd would need help, and her overbite is noticeable.
Lots of sensible advice and opinions here - what a relief!

What I meant is that in my case(severe overbite) could have been corrected with braces as a child but that as an adult could only be corrected by surgery as bones had set etc. They were talking about breaking and resetting jaw.

It is very individual. I know that due to my experience, pain in jaw, clicking jaw, numb side of face i am very keen for my children to have any ortho difficulties sorted out while young.

in most places dentists do not refer until the child is ready as if you refer early the waiting list clock starts ticking, and if they are not ready it just wastes a lot of the orthodontists time seeing someone and saying you are not ready come back in 6/9/12/18 months (i'm a dentist not orthodontist and inappropiate / early referrals can mean trouble as your referrals then tend not to be taken at face value) there will be local guidelines to follow which may well depend on orthodontist availability

there is a big shortage of orthodontists ( this is not really about plenty but they are private there is a shortage full stop) hence strict criteria for NHS orthodontics , it is the only speciality in NHS in which I believe waiting times are not penalised, the 13/18 week from referral to first appointment does apply so it is irresponsible of a dentist to refer early as they know it is clogging appointment books which are already overloaded.

on a personal level for a patient and their parents they would like the referral and being told wait 12 months as it is kind of reassuring, instead of not being referred. also early referrals can result in less than optimal treatment, most orthodontics is best done to co-incide with teenage growth spurt, they are some conditions which do benefit from early treatment while there are still some baby teeth, but most is best done when last baby tooth has gone and all permanent teeth are erupted except wisdom teeth

However there are no absolute rules, so you can't ever say without seeing patient oh it can be done without extractions, headgear or functional appliances

maddie some problems that involve the skelton of face can never be corrected at any age by braces alone and surgery will be needed , fortunately this is a very small number and when it is needed it is done after all growth finsihed which is often aged 18 plus

for information only the average cost of a course of treatment is £3000 and takes 18-24 months with appointments roughly every 6 weeks, but that is an average there is considerable variation

What is the breakdown of costs for it to cost 3K?

well the largest part is time, cost of materials and equipment is quite high braces and new elastic rings etc every 6 weeks, clinics cost a lot of money to run per hour, orthodontics is in terms of materials and equipment is a relatively expensive type of dentistry compared to say doing fillings or fitting dentures

but the number of appointments and length of appointments is the major factor