Parents have to PAY for ORTHODONTIC treatment

[drosophila]

A friend took her DD to the orthodontist having been referred. She was told that she would need a brace (teeth overlapping) and that the NHS would not cover it. That will be £1800 they said. If it were 6 mths earlier the NHS would have paid. I was a little shocked at this. Anyone any advice I can pass on.

As I said, clearly where the crookedness of the teeth leads to biting/chewing problems, it is essential that the treatment is available to all. However, I don't believe that so many more children these days have those sorts of problems than they did when I was growing up, yet there has been a proliferation of brace-wearing children in recent years. They can't all be because of biting/chewing problems.

But the NHS won't do it unless they had structural problems of some kind. The othodontist needs ot get approval for the less severe cases & if it wasn't necessary on a dental scale, it wouldn't be done.

Unless the parents paid privately!

When I was about 12 I was told I would need a brace for an overbite. The waiting list ws so long I was 18 when I got called. Bugger that I thought I'm NOT having a brace now. I felt guilty for years and then I met a dentist who said I had never needed a brace for my overbite as it clearly never caused the problems that an overbite can cause.

Just to let you guys know

DS got his brace and headgear this morning

His speech with the headgear is a bit difficult to understand but with the brace it is ok

He has this for about 6 - 9 months iirc then he goes onto train tracks

His teeth really needed sorting and this was on NHS for free

good luck to you all

dd had her train tracks on this week Kanga. Mouth is a bit sore but she's ok.

I assume he wears his headgear at night. Hope he manages to sleep OK.

He has to wear the headgear for at least 14 hours each day

He doesn't wear it at night for first 2 nights but during the day at home

but he has to take headgear off to eat

it has soft straps that go round the back of his head and a plastic one that goes around the back of his neck

good luck to your DD

My son has been referred to an orthodontist. My understanding is - if it's for aesthetic reasons (crooked teeth) you have to pay for ortho treatment. If there is a significant 'mal-occlusion' problem, you might be entitled to free treatment.