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?

[Glowbuggy]

That's cheap! I'm in Australia and it's about $10,000, payment plan is a good option.

[Hulababy]

Dd's white ceramic braces cost us £2600 over the last couple of years.
She did qualify for NHS treatment but we choose to pay as it meant we could have out of school time appointments and she could have the white ceramics.

Not cheap but it's been worth every penny so far. She's out of braces now but wears a retainer most nights and will do forever (if she wants them to stay straight anyway!) Her teeth were really crooked, crossed over and potentially causing future damage as a result, and some swapped places. All now look perfectly straight and lovely, and dental issues averted for now too as no longer crossed and touching.

[munchkinmaster]

I've just paid £4K for adult schmancy white braces.

I would not have said my teeth were awful but I apparently would have qualified for NHS braces. As I pay for my NHS treatment this would have been £400.

Re people getting free braces when pregnant mentioned above. If I'd done the braces when pregnant the NHS ones would have been free. And I might have gone for the NHS ones during a year off on Mat leave as wouldn't have bothered about looking a bit odd at work.

[StickyTapeDispenser]

My 15yo DD has worn braces for 12 months and is scheduled to have them removed in December.

Even though she had a significant (to her) front protrusion and overlap on several other teeth, she only just met the criteria for NHS orthodontistry and we were quoted £2,500-£3,000 for private treatment.

She was initially assessed aged 11, placed on the waiting list aged 13 and had the braces fitted aged 14 following the extraction of four teeth which we funded privately.

[agentdaisy]

I'm dreading my dcs needing braces if they don't qualify for NHS funding.

We were told dd will definitely need braces since she was 7. At 4 she fell badly in the playground and smashed all her front teeth and damaged some back ones meaning she had to have 8 teeth taken out at 5. Her top adult canines also came down over the top of her other teeth and at the moment there's no space for them to move into line as she has quite a small jaw. At the moment she's a grade 4 but she's only 9 so time will tell.

Ds's top teeth seem to be angled slightly inwards, at the moment they just about sit outside his bottom teeth when he bites down but they seem to be getting worse.

I just hope they either get funding or that we can somehow afford braces for them. Dh has a slight overbite and hates it but didn't get braces as a teen and we can't afford them now.

[Hulababy]

The waiting list was one of the other reasons we paid. It was a 13 month wait for an initial assessment and a further 18 months for treatment after that. Once we decided to pay it was a matter of days it months.

The appointments were longer too. She was in a separate room - the NHS Appointments had two children in the treatment room at a time; Dd was on her own. Parents were invited in for the whole appointment and treatment and progress discussed between the three of us - Dd, me and dentist. NHS parent went in briefly after the appointment to speak to dentist. It was useful for us to be involved due to the complexity of some of her treatment and some of the decisions needing made.