Dentist said he'd report me

[Shmee1988]

So, my son is 13, he has adhd and suspected autism (awaiting assessment). Unfortunately his adult teeth have not grown straight at all. Some are almost twisted in his mouth and some have erupted on top of others. He was referred to an orthodontist 3 years ago. The wait list for NHS treatment is loooong and he finally had his first appointment yesterday. He is not thrilled at the prospect of braces but after alot of discussion he has realised its important and ideal to get it all done whilst hes still at school when some of his peers will also have them. The orthodontist did all of the Xrays and said he needs braces and qualifies for this on the NHS. He then turned to my son and said 'would you like braces?' to which my DS replied 'no'. The orthodontist then said he woukd need to see us again in 2 years time as my DS doesn't want braces so he wont fit them. I asked to have a private word with him and explained that part of DS sen is that he is very literal and that when he asked him if he would LIKE braces, he answered the question literally as if he was being asked if he would like to have to have braces and that he was not refusing treatment. He didn't care and told me that I need to start the referral process all over again and that it would be almost 5 years before he can get them fitted on the NHS due to the wait time. I asked him if I could have another word with DS so that son could explain he wasnt saying he wouldn't have them and he said no. He then went on to say that if I bought my son back and he still said he wouldn't like braces, he will report me. I thanked him for his time and left but I was so upset. Ds was upset and now that upset had turned to anger. Is he suggesting that advocating for a child to receive necessary treatment is akin to abuse if the child is anxious about it? Aren't all kids anxious about braces? I want to take this further and complain. Especially as my son will be almost an adult by the time his next appointment comes around. Opinions please? Thanks in advance.

That is truly appalling. I wonder if dentists are asking this question as a way of reducing the number of children receiving orthodontic care on the NHS. Surely it's fairly obvious that most children aren't going to LIKE having braces.

Can you book an appointment with another orthodontist, OP? And please complain. It sounds like it took a lot for your son to attend that appointment.

Not at all. It's known that dentists are refusing care to free NHS patients because it doesn't pay enough. Even if they're on their list.

The government needs to revise the dental service to make it so that everyone can have good quality dental treatment in their locality.

It is a complicated situation though, particularly when private dentists can charge around £90 just for a check up, and NHS reimbursement doesn't allow dentists to earn that kind of money.

He actually would not pass the gillick competency. Not just because of his adhd but for other SEN reasons that I wont go into. Im not sure that Gillick is even relevant in this situation as its not life saving treatment.

My kid has autism and I totally get it. Speed is important here before your son backs away from the idea totally. Is this a paediatric community dentist covered by the health authority. If so, immediately officially complain. Look online to find out if that's via PALS, usually it is. You need to make sure you don't go to the bottom of the queue again. In the meantime, email or write (don't phone) the practice manager. Set out what happened. Demand an appointment with another dentist trained in autism awareness, and ask what their official procedure is for a formal complaint. If they won't give your another dentist and appointment, follow the complaints procedure... Don't hand wring with them, be polite and firm and do it in writing. You know what's best for your son, and whilst the dentist may be following procedure, he's clearly not able to handle the nuances autism brings.

‘Nothing to hide, nothing to fear’ is always rolled out but once it is is digital and everything combined what it to say a switch of a button by a less scrupulous future government wouldn’t switch off your access to things? We saw how easily liberty can be taken by the Covid lockdowns.

Even now whole shops stop functioning if a blip occurs with banking systems because it is all digital. We do need to be wary.

My daughter would answer the same.
Shes on long term treatment for something medical. Of course the doctor didnt ask if she'd like it... he may have asked if she understood it. Much better phrasing.

When she was younger the dr asked her to be his Guinea pig and she was very confused. I had to explain the recent ASD diagnosis

Report you? You should report him. I took a disabled relative to the dentist yesterday and they didn’t want to do anything; sit in the chair, lay back etc…. The dentist, her assistant and I had to use multiple coaxing tools to get him to comply, from reiterating that he needs to put his back, to showing him all the apparatus that would be used etc…

When we got into the room my relative didn’t want to sit down, walked away from the chair. I brought his attention back to the purpose of the visit and guided him back to the chair and encouraged him to sit down. Imagine the dentist reporting me for this! Or saying ‘well he doesn’t want to sit down so I’ll rebook the appointment’. This was a dentist specifically for disabled people.

You need to call up and speak to the surgery manager and report him!

The problem is there’s no official diagnosis so the dentist would be going off the mothers say so he’s on thin ice if it all goes wrong

What an idiot he is, boils my piss!!!
Tell him to go ahead and report you-infa t you would welcome it because then u wouldn't have to wait 5 years.

In a way I understand what he is saying if child was neurotypical, but ur son isn't which means he needs support with decisions.
Report him and complain and dont stop, ur a mumma bear and my guess is that he knows sweet FA about people on the spectrum. Id also suggest he goes on some sort of course to understand neurodivergence better (coming from ND mum of 2)

General Dental Council is the regulator.

And therein lies the age-old problem. The waiting list for an ASD diagnosis is bloody ridiculous too.

Did you even read the original post? 🤯

Yes, so what's the problem?

In fact, it would seem that he chose to ask the question that would get him the answer he "wanted", instead.....

It seems that now you're being a mind reader !

more people suggesting solicitor or GDC as first point of call than a calm and measured email to the orthodontist to explain fully and ask them to reconsider?? The world has gone mad - no wonder there is a dental shortage in this country.

if you emailed the orthodontist they may even explain their rationale better and you may end up agreeing with their decision or they may reconsider.

if you go in all guns blazing with a discrimination claim this ends badly for everyone and best case scenario you’re visiting the orthodontist once a month and it’s anxious and awful for everyone involved

No it doesn’t end badly for everyone it ensures that abelist crap and discrimination like this doesn’t happen.

Has anyone considered the possibility that that orthodontist has correctly declined to treat a patient who is not motivated for treatment who will not comply enough to cope with treatment? We are only getting one side of the story here….

Of course we’re only getting one side of the story. That’s the nature of a forum like this.

You might be able to interpret what OP has said in a way that is in keeping with the orthodontist acting appropriately, in which case it would be really good for you to give that perspective.

But if the only way to do that is to assume the OP is making stuff up, or that relevant things happened that the OP hasn’t mentioned, then you are responding to a scenario which you are making up without the benefit of having been there or having your loved ones impacted, which is worse than taking OP’s report at face value, even if (and I’m not suggesting this is the case) her account isn’t 100%.

To complain about a dentist in the UK, you must first determine if the treatment was NHS or private. For private treatment, contact the practice manager, and if unresolved, use the Dental Complaints Service (DCS). For NHS treatment, contact your local, NHS service provider,like the Integrated Care Board (ICB) in England or your local Health Board in Wales.If you're still not satisfied, you can escalate your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) or the. Public Services Ombudsman for Wales. For serious concerns about a dental professional's fitness to practice, contact the General Dental Council (GDC)

Could be the dentist made an excuse not to treat your ds. You could try another, or save and go privately.

AI Overview

Yes, an orthodontist can refuse to treat a 13-year-old, but the reasons must be clinically justified and documented, focusing on the patient's eligibility and the orthodontist's ability to treat them effectively and in their best interest.

Reasons for refusal may include the child not meeting the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) criteria for NHS treatment, which determines medical necessity, or if the practice has a long waiting list and cannot accommodate them.

It's also possible to be refused private treatment if the orthodontist determines the patient's issues are too minor for treatment, though this is less common.

Yes, as his mother I considered whether or not my DS is ready for braces and came to the conclusion that he is. If I didn't think he was, id not have taken him to the appointment. I explained the situation to the guy about where he went wrong with his question. He wasnt interested in listening. End of.

So what are you going to do now OP?

I have sent a letter of complaint to the practice manager and asked for an immediate referral to someone different. I get the impression you think I have done something wrong. Do you care to share what that might be?

@Shmee1988 I never said you had "done something wrong", so I have nothing to share.

Way back up the thread I gave you two scenarios that, IMO, you could embark upon.

You have had 14 pages of input from posters since then.

I am glad you have finally reached a decision about how to progress this matter and I hope you are able to achieve a satisfactory outcome.