Opitimal age for orthodontic treatment to start and waiting lists

[vjg13]

My daughter is on a waiting list for NHS orthodontic treatment, it can be up to 2 years in this area. She is currently 12 so interested in what is the best age for treatment to start. Also the approximate costs if we need to pay.

TIA

Think it depends on what needs doing. Some start at 8 , others still going at 18.

My ds started at 9 and now at 14 he's nearly at the end of treatment.

It's a list of things! Some cosmetic and some more functional like not biting together properly.

Our orthodontist said he sees people as young as 4. DD is 8 and just starting out. One of her up issues would not be 'fixable' if we had left it till her teens, I was told. I think it depends on the specific issue. We will be paying an arm and a leg but were able to have her seen straight away.

Oh, and her first appliance is going to be around £800 then £95 a month

We first saw an orthodontist for dd when she was about 11. He advised that we should not do anything until all her baby teeth were gone, which was when she was 12.5.

I know many orthodontists start treatment as early as 10 or so, but that often seems to entail 2 sets of braces, and I've always been suspicious about whether that course of treatment was better for the patient or the orthodontists' bank account.

I asked about this, the answer was that Dds jaw was uber developed and would need expanding first, to allow room for the teeth to come through. They may or may not come through straight ,which will then be dealt with later!

Ds1 was referred when he was 11, as he had lost all his baby teeth. The waiting list here was really short, we were initially seen in the May I think and treatment started in August. There was only a couple of months between the dentist referral and getting an appointment.

One year on and the braces are coming off tomorrow, thank god!

Ds had block braces to correct an overbite,then went onto fixed braces,all done on the nhs thankfully.

If expansion is required than the younger the better seems to be the general consensus from my understanding.

Why do some get nhs & some pay? Is it area or type of treatment?

Earlybird Two sets of braces often to avoid surgery so, yea, bank account or patients best interests. i wonder how long the orthodontists would get away with that sort of scam... How uninformed you are. Why let that get in the way of general dislike for dental professionals though.

OP, it depends on the problem; if the lower jaw is too far back then it must usually be treated before/during puberty, if it's a case of teeth not meeting and being crooked then the timing is slightly less important. If it's NHS it will be free, when I refer patients who don't meet NHS criteria then they don't have to wait tip they get to the top of the waiting list to hear that, they would be told straight away.

brandshatch it depends on the level of need. They are graded using the IOTN

DS started seeing orthodontist aged 14, the orthodontist wouldn't see him before then. His braces were taken off earlier this year after being on for about 20 months. As he met the criteria for NHS treatment it didn't cost anything.

Thanks Mrsmorton can I ask you something while you're here?
Dd 7 has been referred for underbite. I had braces when I was 12 & I wish I hadn't, my teeth were straightened but pulled back so you can no longer see my teeth when I talk or smile, I have to really grin! I hate it & wish I had prominent if slightly wonky teeth, prominent to me is beautiful (if in good condition of course!) I really don't want this to happen to dd as she has a beautiful smile, a big gap in front but that adds to the beauty imo. Should I ask the orthodontist about this or just accept its a side effect of braces? Ty

We're about to start paying even though DS has been offered NHS treatment at another practice. The appointments were through the school day and the other side of the county and this just wasn't viable for us as we both work full time and cannot take half days here there and everywhere. I also did not warm to the dentist a the practice we were offered. We are going to a local orthodontist who also does NHS work but for us, we need to be able to have appointments that we can attend. It will be about £4000 over the course of 18 months to 2 years and we will spread the payments.

Goodness MrsMorton - I was only relaying an opinion based on my own experience and thoughts. If you have a valid point to make (and I think you do), you can express your views with civility, and without being demeaning/insulting.

I can assure you that I have the utmost respect for those in the dental and orthodontic professions. I think the vast majority are skilled and ethical.

Brands I'm not an orthodontist but IME there are 2 options where there is a discrepancy between the lower jaw and the upper one.

I'm assuming you had a bite similar to Dd? This is called a reverse overjet, in dental speak the overbite is the up/down relationship of the teeth whereas the overjet is the forwards/backwards relationship. The option is there to pull the top teeth back to meet the bottom teeth or to move the bottom teeth forwards to meet the top ones. It sounds like you had option 1 and now have teeth that point inwards? (hard to explain without using my hands). As Dd is 7, I would imagine she has been referred for functional appliances that will reposition her lower jaw to the profile is corrected, you can google functional appliances and there are a few threads on here. The treatment is uncomfortable and a bit hard going at first but produces totally amazing results. Once the profile is corrected then the teeth can be shuffled around and this is where it's important you say what you want, it may be that there's not much shuffling to do once the profile is sorted and the lovely character giving gap can remain.

FWIW, I'm a fan of teeth with character, I think orthodontically perfect teeth, whilst beautiful, can really take some personality away from someone's face.

You can Google the NHS "rules" re braces.

DS one was refered by our dentist several years ago, once all his baby teeth had fallen out (I think he was 13) The orthodontist said DS is so sever he needs surgery which can't be done untill he's stopped growing/18.

At the last visit DS had just turned 16, and I was asked a lot of questions regarding whether he has finished growing, but I don't think any 16yo boy has, and thought the orthodontist should know this. DS has a 5.2 grandfather, and a 6.2ft great grandfather and uncle, so how should I know how tall he will grow?

Anyway, he's never had a brace as it won't even touch what needs to be done, although they will fit one when he's 17 if he does want surgery. Which we've already decided he won't (cosmetically there is no need, and Ds tells me he's not in pain, despite a massive under-bit. Think Buzz Lightyear)

DD is 10, and I shall be asking the dentist next week about referring her. I think it's probably all cosmetic with DD. How, I don't know as DH, I and extended family all have perfectly straight front teeth.

Sorry, that was long and probably not very useful. In our area, I think there is only a few months between dentist referring and and seeing the orthodontist. I suspect we may have to pay £2-£3K for DD's teeth.

Sorry, small correction brands your Dd has an increased overjet, lynettes Ds has a reverse overjet. Sorry for confusion.

Reverse overjets can only really be treated with surgery although a small amount of camouflage can be done by moving teeth if the discrepancy isn't huge. If there's no functional problem or cosmetic consideration then no need, as you've decided lynette. A strong jaw is quite masculine so lots of women with them do decide to go for surgery when the problem wouldn't be so apparent on a man.

May I ask a quick question, OP? Did your DD have misaligned baby teeth? Or did the problems come out of the blue with the adult teeth? DD is 5, and her top two front teeth close behind her bottom teeth, which has caused mis-shaping to the bottom edge of them. It would be awful for her adult teeth to have the same issue.

Baby teeth are a very poor predictor of adult teeth. Until the permanent canines erupt, it's easy to imagine your child will be a crooked toothed adult but the canines really do put everything into place. If there are still issues after that then orthodontics may be an option.

Thanks, MrsM!

Thanks so much mrs yes I see what you mean. When she closes her teeth together she can stick her tongue through the hole & the tops ones are in a line with the bottom rather than sitting in front. I'm just worried she'd end up with teeth like mine perfectly straight but unseen! I'm quite hopeful from what you say though that if he lower jaw is pulled back the upper teen could be left. At least I think that's what you mean, as you say it's hard to explain!
Ty

Oh gosh, having read mrsmorton's explanation, I realise DD is getting one of these functional appliances. He didn't call it that. Having read some of the threads on here about them, I am dreading it on her behalf