NHS orthodontist referrals- how likely to be accepted?

[FishMouse]

Having to pay thousands for DS braces as he was referred too late, and the NHS waiting list was too long, for him to have finished treatment by the time he is due to go to uni.
DD is 14 and has been on the waiting list for a year so should be in good time, but having looked into it, it seems that the orthodontist decides whether or not she'll be eligible for NHS treatment, when she eventually gets seen.
Her teeth aren't as "bad" as DS's, so if they say no, we'll have to go private anyway. Just wondering if anyone has experience of this, do orthodontists refuse to treat people who've been referred? It seems a bit pointless to wait years if it's not actually going to result in treatment.

The Orthodontist will need to assess against NHS criteria to decide whether eligible, yes. However one of mine has recently started treatment - I didn’t think the teeth were that terrible (was expecting to be told would need to go private) so was pleasantly surprised that orthodontist said it met the NHS criteria - the dentist has suggested it might be borderline.

Mine finished her treatment whilst at university and has just had her yearly end of treatment check up. My understanding with teenagers is that as long as treatment/ consultation has started then they will receive NHS treatment until completion.

The orthodontist has very little discretion and many patients come through who are not classified bad enough to have NHS braces.

The NHS uses iotn (index of treatment needs) to give a grade which determines whether someone can have braces on the NHS or not . Many wait a couple of years and will not be bad enough for NHS treatment .

This gives an overview of how teeth are graded
www.mydentist.co.uk/docs/default-source/987-chapel-road-ortho---pdf-downloads/leaflet-downloads/1.-practice-information/index-of-treatment-need-(iotn).pdf

I was pleasantly surprised about how short the waiting list was and I was extremely pleased when DD got her braces funded on the NHS as I was fully expecting to be told to go private. We were told there's a lot of cancellations which bumps people up the queue.

She has lovely feeth now.

Our experience has been very, very positive but I appreciate not everyone's will be.

Yes they can refuse.

We were referred and waited 3 years to be told we have to go private as DD's teeth were not bad enough. I have no idea how I'm going to afford it.

Interesting question. I'm intrigued to know as the waiting list in our area is four years.

My daughter was borderline but luckily got accepted,she was almost 17,19 this week and has about 6 months left.

And I’m not suppressed at this experience. It does happen.
Could you ask for a second opinion? A friend pushed for it and her DC was accepted.

Mine had to wait 2 years+ to actually start treatment till they were 15.5. However, after about a year of waiting we sent in photos and they assessed from that. It meant we knew and could progress with waiting around rather than considering private treatment. Maybe call the orthodontist he been referred to and ask about their process. Is it less of a wait for initial examination rather than actual treatment?

They do an assessment against specific criteria.

I rang around a lot in my area to get someone who could assess fairly quickly.

My son is 14 (last October) and has just had his first Orthodontist appointment this week. He was on the waiting list for 2 years - we were told by our dentist it was an appropriate 2-3 year wait in our area. My son qualifies for braces on the NHS, and to be honest I didn't think he wouldn't. There is criteria that the Orthodontist has to follow, in order to decide if a child qualifies for NHS braces. So, yes, it's always possible for the Orthodontist to refuse NHS treatment if a child doesn't meet the threshold. In fairness, a regular dentist at a child's normal practice should be able to say if a child may be borderline or not. They have some idea, at the very least, even though they can't give a definitive answer.

Mine didn’t meet the threshold.I’m paying £4000.

There is a threshold they have to meet to be bad enough to qualify.

It must depend where you are as my son was referred and got an appointment straight away. All the children round here do.
He's had his braces for two years and his teeth are beautiful now so they're about to be taken off. He's just turned 15.
They are a brilliant orthodontists too.

I'm going to get one (this only happened a week or two ago!) although honestly I'm not convinced. The referral was based on overcrowding which has become less of an issue with growth. The problem is finding one I can get a private consultation with and being referred somewhere else.

It is a good idea to get it done before uni because once they start it is hard getting back for appointments on weekdays, both mine were in treatment through the covid pandemic so it took longer than it should have done and the oldest did end up at uni and still in treatment, it was a right pain to coordinate for him.

Waiting list here is 18 months for first referral.

Thanks for all the responses. I thought we were ok as she had been referred in good time, so it was a bit of a disappointment to find out that she may not get treatment in the end.
She isn't referred to a particular practice, it's just a waiting list for our area. It's an 18 month to 2 year wait and she's been waiting for a year. That's for the assessment appointment, there will be another wait after that for treatment to start.
DS private treatment was at Total Orthodontics and it cost £4,400, payable in 4 instalments over a year. Some went on an interest free credit card and the rest from savings. I've seen other practices which offer interest free monthly payments. It is a massive expense and I consider myself lucky that I could fund it/ pay it off eventually. (And now it's "all my friends have cars.." Well look at your lovely teeth DS)

Yes exactly, that's what I was hoping to avoid.

My ds was referred around Christmas 2019 so ended up in a Covid backlog. I ended up paying for a private assessment with the same orthodontist when we had a letter saying to expect up to 4 year wait. He confirmed that he was eligible for NHS funding and gave a quote for private treatment but was quite happy with our decision to wait it out. His braces came off just before Christmas. I don’t know if that’s possible for you so at least you know whether it’s worth waiting?

Like @nex18 we paid for a private assessment with the orthodontist our dentist had referred dd to. Can you find out from your dentist or trust the orthodontist she'd be referred to or a list of possible ones and then contact one directly for a private consultation?

Our dentist measured dd's front teeth and she was over the 10mm or whatever it was that usually qualifies for nhs braces. She did warn us it wasn't a guarantee for treatment though and the orthodontist would have to do a thorough assessment including various other checks.

We didn't want to get two years down the line and find dd didn't qualify for nhs braces after all, she's also really self conscious about her teeth and especially as she's had unkind comments at school. Anyway the orthodontist we were referred to did a private assessment which she said a lot of parents do, said dd did qualify but at least another year's wait to start treatment. We're looking into private treatment now and at payment plans, or whether to dip into our savings. It's really effecting dd's self esteem and she's desperate to start treatment asap