if your child was referred for orthodontic treatment ,did you get a say in which dentist

[outtolunchagain]

Our (lovely) dentist has referred ds3 for orthodontic treatment,which i agree he needs.

Out of the blue I got a phone call today from a clinic (happens to be one of these big chains of dentists)saying we have to book him in for 3 appointments in April,on the third the brace will be fitted ,there is 10 days between the first and last appointment He has only just turned 12 and only lost his last baby tooth a fortnight ago.

I don't know why but I naively thought this would be a more consultative process,I expected to get some choice in the referral,but apparently its all done by some central register and neither our dentist nor ourselves get a choice.I feel very steam rollered and worried about letting some unknown person potentially damage my child's teeth .

How do I know whether this person is any good,what questions should I ask ,I have heard so many horror stories about dental treatment that I really want to feel confident that ds is getting the best treatment (apparently the person we have been referred to has the shortest list ,hardly makes me feel good).Ther are some poor internet reviews of the practice but I am aware that people rarely post good reviews .

We have already had a bad experience with another local orthodontist who I felt was unable to relate to ds2's additional needs ,frankly I think they regarded it as all too much bother ,I have since heard poor long term reports about this very popular practice and quite few people in early 20s who are needing more treatment to rectify so want to try to get ds2 referred elsewhere.Obviously getting it paid for on the NHS would be good but not at the expense of his well-being so if we have to go privately I will .I have been recommended to a practice and had hoped ds3 could go there too, the whole business seems such a nightmare.

Help ,do people just trust the dentist they are allocated ?

I was told my daughter was being referred to x as that's the one the dentist normally uses, but when the appointment came through it was at the hospital. I questioned this, and was told she had been referred to the hospital instead as she is a more severe case and these are normally referred there.

We saw the consultant there and she was given an xray, which the consultant then assessed before making a decision. She was referred early as she can't close her mouth over her teeth and they regularly rub on her lips making them sore, so some of her teeth were yet to come though.

Talk to others locally with older children who've had braces. A lot I know had been referred to x above and happy. Couldn't find anyone I know who been referred to the hospital, but my daughter is seeing the lead consultant and (so far - two appointments) she has been lovely, gently examining and explaining to us both how she intends to proceed with the braces, at what time and why.

I think this is a new thing, centralising all the referrals etc so there may be no choice, I know it happens with oral surgery but I hadn't heard it for ortho.

I think what is bothering me is that no one seems to have heard of the place we have been referred to.Oh well , it feels very process driven and impersonal ., plus if ds2 is seeing someone as well I would rather they were together than on opposite sides of town with appointments at different times etc

Unfortunately that's how the government want healthcare to be now. Small family practices are inefficient so they want big corporate practices with a high turnover of patients. Sadly it's the patients who lose out, and the ethical caring practitioners who either have to go with the flow and compromise their ethics or shut up shop and go private.

Is there anywhere that you would like them to go?

if there is, why not ring up and ask the centralised booking people if they can both go to the same place and say that you are worried about the other place, as you have heard bad reviews of it and people who are not happy with the treatment they received there...

Unfortunately I have no idea what they will say to you - but if you don't ask, then you will never know if they will be able to change where you are going or not. Might also be worth asking your dentist for their views on this practice and if they can recommend somebody better. Might also be worth saying to the central booking people that you are happy to wait for longer to see the better person - then they can fill the space up with somebody else...

Oh and complain to your mp if you find yourself forced to choose between going private, no treatment or using somebody that you really don't feel happy with.

good luck!

How do they know your DS will need braces before they see him?

Not all orthodontic treatment involves braces.
We have no choice of orthodontist for my DD, but a large central NHS facility that all the local dentists use.
She has been seen 3 times in the past 18 months, each appointment involving xrays, measurements, making moulds, examinations etc, but so far they seem to want to see how her teeth develop ( her second teeth have not all fully erupted). The orthodontist thinks the most she may need is a couple of extractions to make more room, but probably not braces.
Her next appointment is in 6 months.
Her orthodontist is of the opinion that there is never a rush to use braces, even if needed- waiting a year or three won't make any difference to the final outcome.

Don't be rushed or pushed into anything that you or your son are not completely comfortable with.

Our dentist gave us a few options and we took her advice on which to choose but that was a private dentist so I'm not sure if that makes it different .

Have tried without success to contact the centralised booking service, no phone , cannot find an email address, my dentist though lovely seems very reluctant to buck the system, he has said that he will refer privately if we insist .He absolutely will not give an opinion , presumably because of professional courtesy .
There are two practices that I would definitely be happy with, ds2 has sensory issues ( plus other stuff) and I need somewhere that will put his needs first and appreciate that it may take a little more support.

You could always go for the first appontment and see how things go- if you don't think the orthodontist is good then cancel the other appointments. You don't have to commit to anything at the first appointment.

We asked to be referred to one particular orthodontist practice and the dentist was fine about this.

Our dentist is in the nearest city (20-30mins away) and I didn't want to be referred to one there due to the amount of visits especially as most are during school hours.

The orthodontist is in our town ( a couple of mins from DDs school) and has an excellent reputation.

The referral was about 18 months ago

We also asked for particular dentist but apparently the central service just refers you to the person with the shortest list
Seems silly theoretically you could have two children with two different dentists , my dentist is lovely but he seems very unwilling to rock the boat,.

We will keep the appointment , but how can I tell if they are any good ?

I don't know if you can ever tell if a dentist is any good - unfortunately.

I think your spidey sense will tell you a lot about whether they run their practice well. Technically, it's so tough to tell but orthodontists do lots and lots of training and because their patients will always be seeing another dentist (i.e. the regular dentist) they can't hide their mistakes like they could if your child was only going to see the same orthodontist now and forever IYSWIM.

HAve you got a list of questions to ask?

It does seem crazy that you could have two different dentists but it's a better use of NHS funding surely than to have one ortho with a high waiting list and limited availability for emergencies and one with two patients on his books because of where the practice is.

You say that but the orthodo we saw with ds2 has a flash surgery and is very popular , plays radio one in the " teen room" he is very smarmy , everyone says he's great to your face but then several people , none of whom know each other told me horror stories .After one I was sceptical but when the third person told me their story I was pretty horrified.Its like a conspiracy of silence .

If you mention you've heard mixed reports they smile knowingly but that's about as much as you can get

So vote with your feet and see someone else? That's your entitlement under the NHS. I didn't say anything about a flash surgery or radio one or whatever, I wouldn't see a HCP I thought was smarmy or untrustworthy, if I had heard bad things about them then I wouldn't see them.

What's the conspiracy and who is conspiring?

Where we live, there is only one orthodontist for miles around, so there is no choice. If you want to go private you see the same chap, just quicker.

We did vote with our feet , but now our dentist won't refer him again he's had his nHS chance apparently , we can go elsewhere but have to pay privately ( ok with this but seems wrong) .

The conspiracy is that no dentists seem prepared to recommend anyone , they just evade the question . When I mentioned our experience to a dentist in the next town he did smile and well yes I have heard x is very successful, with a raised eyebrow .

I think the problem is because referrals are made centrally they have to keep good relations with all of them and no one is prepared to express opinions.

I know this sounds mad I'm a professional myself , but I feel locked in a vortex of ignorance .In my profession I wouldn't say someone's bad but I would recommend good practitioner but around here seems no one seems able to officially recommend anyone

That all sounds very wrong OP, I would write to your PCT about that.

My dentist did say I could complain but he looked very worried at the prospect!!

I don't want to complain I just want to feel confident and my confidence has been shaken, ds2 has enough issues to deal with and I need him to feel secure and I absolutely can't bear the thought that I could make things worse for him

You don't have to complain maybe but if you feel strongly about it you could write with your observations. It's inly by doing that that the commissioners will realise all is not well in the area.