Kids Teeth Braces £2,000! Really!?

[SPARKLYSTARSHINESBRIGHT]

So my DS2 needs a brace, his canine tooth hasn't come down and although it's come through the gum it hasn't come down in line with his other teeth. Hence it wouldn't be funded under the NHS and I'm given a list from the Dental Hospital of a list of orthodontic dentists who can help.
We visited one yesterday, private, and they start from £2K! I've since phoned a couple of others and they start from £2,900! WTH! How can parents afford this, we certainly can't. What does everyone do?

Don't do it til it's necessary according to the NHS I suppose - can you wait and see if it becomes necessary or is it causing a problem right now?

The NHS takes a very old fashioned view on dentistry. I'd find the money, I think.

The orthodontist our dentist referred us to for dd (she had an underbite) were very insistent that her teeth were affecting the way she felt about herself , they are bloody good at pushing for NHS funding, they told us that because dds teeth were in perfect condition and she wasn't suffering any pain or discomfort she could have still been refused NHS funding.

I hope you get more replies than this in my local area there is a list and I cant even get my daughter on it.

Good luck. I am on my third dc needing braces. It's 4,600 euro. Looks like my younger two will have similar issues.

My daughter has complained about her teeth hurting her. The dentist said do I think she needs braces. Aye

My DD1 has the same problem and she has an NHS brace.
She's 14 and we've had to wait for other teeth to fall out to see what difference that made, but it's descended as much as it's going to and the brace was fitted in the holidays.

Meant to say, don't get it done too soon, especially for a boy, their jaws can keep growing right up to age 21. My ds got his braces at 13/14, his teeth are straight but he kept growing and now has an underbite.

We paid £2200 for DS's orthodontist and we paid monthly over 18 months. His teeth weren't bad and we could have left them but we didn't want to and it was worth every penny, they look incredible. Personally, if there's any way you can stretch to it and pay monthly I would go for it.

Oh that's tough for you - although the money sounds right. I had braces as an adult for a similar amount and you should be able to pay in instalments which makes it a bit more manageable.

It's a huge amount of money but if i were you i'd try and find it. Do they offer a payment plan?

My DS (12yo) had an adult tooth that was coming down at the wrong angle and that was fixed on the NHS. Maybe it was because without the retainer it would have worn out the enamel on the tooth?

DD has been approved for NHS braces but the waiting time round here is about 18 months, and she is already nearly 15, so we are going private. The two quotes we had varied from around £1,500 to £2,000 - higher price is for guaranteed out-of-school-hours appointments.

I think some dentists offer to let you pay in instalments over the one or two years of treatment - would that make it any easier for you?

DS (nearly 15) was fortunate to have his braces paid for by the NHS, otherwise it would have cost us about £3K.

Fortunately his school hours are such that we can get the last appointments of the day without him having to miss school.

Also on the plus side we were told originally that it would take 18-24 months and yesterday we were told that if all goes well he will be finished in 20 weeks, which is only just over a year. So I wonder whether, had it been private, whether we'd have paid less than the £3K as it's not taken nearly as long as they thought it would.

To echo another poster - don't know how old your son is, but don't get them done too early. DS1 had his braces in year 6. At the time we were pleased to get it done nice and early, not realising that although he finished treatment in year 7, he would need to wear retainers one night a week for years afterwards. He is now a 6 foot (almost) 16 year old and these are very uncomfortable for him. We will get him a new set of retainers made, but have been told to wait as long as possible as he is obviously still growing.

DD (year 6) has just gone on the waiting list for her braces, but it's a 2 year wait where we are so I am happy with that.

It is a huge amount, but I vividly remember that mine were £1500 and that was 23 years ago. Unfortunately it's always been expensive

if ds needs braces i will definitely pay for it if needs be.
I'm currently 6 months in in my braces ( invisalign). i spent years with braces as a child but they've slipped and i became self conscious of them. has cost me 4.5grand but I'd do the same for ds if i had to .

I've spent a total of almost €10,000 euro on my three DC's braces. It's a very expensive business these days. Some of it is tax allowable here though (Ireland) which helped a bit. It was worth it as they all have lovely teeth, but I did wince at the cost. We were able to pay in installments over the 18 months or so it took for each of them.

Is that all in?
My DD2 is just about to start (on the NHS, sorry to rub salt into the wound), but it will involve:

• 3 different appliances over 2 years
• visits every 6-8 weeks for 2 years
• retainer at the end

so there is quite a lot of expertise and time involved.

Most people I know who had to pay for their DC braces paid around £3,000 - this was about seven years ago. Two of mine had theirs done on the NHS. One was an obvious NHS job, the other was borderline on whether they would fund treatment, but we argued the case with the orthodontist, and they did do it. I think they started at about age 12 and treatment took about two years with regular appointments, and they still have to wear retainers at night.

Pay the money; it's 100% worth it.

And when it's done wear the retainers forever because if they move (and you don't know if they will or not until it's already happened) you'll have to pay out all over again like I did.

Wow I didn't know parents had to pay for kids braces! When I was younger they were all free on the NHS. I know times are changing but I didn't realise kids had to pay! Glad I know as both me and my H had to have braces as teens so guessing my lot will too!

Pip I think OPs child requires braces for 'cosmetic' reasons. The criteria for NHS orthodontistry are very narrow.

My kids have had lengthy spells in braces, they fit the criteria THANK GAWD.

My dd had hers on nhs aged 15 and it took 18months. She had an out of plce milk tooth which would not come out by itself and affected her adult teeth, giving her a cross-bite. She has been told to wear a retainer until she is 22, at least. Our dentist likes to wait a good while before referral and in the case of boys monitors their growth before doing so. If you hold off could you budget for it?

I wouldn't say that it is better to wait for braces - it depends what the dentist recommends.

I had my first set of braces at 10 years old and continued until the age of 15. I had an overbite that needed correcting and my teeth needed straightening. I'm now 23 and have had no problems since. If I started with my braces at 15 years old I would still have had them at 20 years old.

Can you get a second opinion on whether he'll meet the funding criteria? If it hasn't come down very far at all, then surely that needs to be corrected?