Orthodontic treatment

[nexx]

Alright so im a 19 year old university student and am looking to get some orthodontic treatment done. Its nothing major, a few of my teeth are a little crooked and one of my upper teeth (3rd from middle) underbites (i think thats the right term) my bottom teeth which is the main problem as it pushes against my tongue a bit.

I know this isnt the best time in my life to go about sorting this considering a few years ago i couldve got it done for free and now i have a lot of student fees to pay but its still something i want to look into.

Could anyone suggest good ways about going about doing this? I know braces would probably be pretty expensive (£2000-£3000 for standard ones i think) but do orthodontists offer payment plans? Like over a period of time. I know this woul vary depending on who i see but some general information would be nice.

Also are there any treatments that could just sort out this one tooth? I know its hard to say without seeing it but i dont know a lot about treatments so if anyone knows of any they think may be right ill look into it myself.

And would anyone not recommend me getting these done now? Would it be better to wait till i have a steady income? Though i do have some money saved up and my student overdraft (parents are paying my university fees)

I have a dentist appointment later this week so will get some advice from them but would still appreciate some information before hand.

Thanks

[Toothsmith]

Your dentist is the best person to advise you. He will be the one referring you to the orthodontist.

As orthodontics goes on for a few years anyway, most orthodontists accept payment of the fees right across the period of treatment, which can work out pretty reasonable.

If your other teeth are healthy, orthodontics is by far the best way of getting the smile you want. Once you start chopping the teeth up and sticking porcelain to them, you have a lifetime of maintenance and replacement to consider.

If the alignment is only slightly out though, orthodontics may not be able to help. Once braces are off, there is a little bit of movement back just to find a stable position. If the teeth have only been moved a little bit anyway, it may soon appear like nothing has been done.

The dentist and orthodontist will advise you on this though. It will not be in the orthodontists interest to do the treatment if he thinks it won't work.

If it is only a little bit out, and ortho will not help think LONG & HARD before having anything 'cosmetic' done. As I said earlier, your own healthy teeth can last a lifetime. Crowns & veneers will need replacing every now and again, and that can get very expensive over a lifetime.

[Philippa36]

How much (roughly) does it cost for replacement crowns? I knocked out my front two top teeth as a child and had crowns fitted at about age 14, I had replacements about 3 years later (still on NHS) after one cracked.

I have a slight black line at the top of each and would like to have them replaced if this would then be removed.

Thanks in advance.

[Teerah]

Philippa I believe that the NHS charge is now £189 no matter how many crowns you have done, finding a dentist who will do this, especially for a slight cosmetic-only issue is another matter! Privately you can probably expect to pay anywhere from about £200 upwards per crown but this will obviously vary from practice to practice.