Broken wire on fixed brace *UPDATE*

Penny_Watcher

A bit of background. DS1 has splayed top teeth. See photo below.



For the last 7 months he's been wearing a fixed brace. He has broken the wires occasionally because the wires are stretched a long way between each tooth. One particular woman at the orthodontists has warned him that if he does it again she will refuse all treatment. Bearing this in mind he came home from school today absolutely distraught because after 8 weeks the wire between his top two incisors has snapped.

He is NHS funded at a private orthodontists. Does anyone know if they can refuse treatment.

Thanks in advance

amylou87

that's realy horrible about the orthodontist! Mine always broke too, once it broke while eating a peach! and they say not to eat toffee! Ha! Just go back and if she refuses to say that you're entitled to it as the treatment started prior to your son turning 17... Hope it all goes well
xx

moomin_white

Penny_Watcher wrote: »

A bit of background. DS1 has splayed top teeth. See photo below.



For the last 7 months he's been wearing a fixed brace. He has broken the wires occasionally because the wires are stretched a long way between each tooth. One particular woman at the orthodontists has warned him that if he does it again she will refuse all treatment. Bearing this in mind he came home from school today absolutely distraught because after 8 weeks the wire between his top two incisors has snapped.

He is NHS funded at a private orthodontists. Does anyone know if they can refuse treatment.

Thanks in advance

how often does he go to have reviews/wire replaced? i ask as when i had ortho it was every 6-8 weeks!

Alikay

I think they can make you pay for repairs. DD's brace was private so we had to pay for the lot...an inclusive price of somewhere around £2500. DS1's brace was on the NHS so it was mostly funded by them. However, a couple of times he needed a repair, and his retainers broke after a year or so, and we had to pay for those ourselves. I guess if we hadn't (or couldn't!) have paid for those repairs, the orthodontist would've said he was not fully committed to having the treatment carried out and stopped treating him. I know of someone who's orthodontist stopped treating them because his teeth cleaning wasn't up to standard, so it seems like they can and do terminate treatment if they wish!

I do think it's worth your while offering to pay for the snapped wires though, it's really hard to get NHS treatment in many areas, and £40 or whatever your guy charges for a snapped wire is better than funding the whole lot.

In our area DS1 got treatment only because he was born with hardly any adult teeth, so the brace moved his remaining milk teeth around the gums to make the most of what he had! DD DID qualify for treatment for malocclusion, but the waiting list was so long we decided to go private. DS1's problem was picked up at 8 years old..the brace went on at around 11!

Toothsmith

He's had it on for 7 months, but not broken a wire for 8 weeks.

Yet in the first 5 months he broke wires 'occasionally'.

Depending on what 'occasionally' meant, I can see why lady at orthodontist was getting a bit peed off, but I would also say that your goofy lad is trying much harder now since the threat! That should calm the ferocious orthodontist down a bit!

They do have the right to stop treatment, as some kids really are a pain in the butt and don't wear/break appliances all over the place.

This is why it's vitally important not to push kids into orthodontics - if they really don't want it, they will be impossible.

I would go there apologetically, and offer to pay. And if you're charged, I would deduct at least half the cost from your son's pocket money. That might just spur him to be even MORE careful in the future!

Good luck with it!

LondonDiva

Yes they can charge for orthodontic breakages. Mainly because patients tended to be very blase about the cost of treatment and only value retainers etc when they have to fork out for it

Titch89

Toothsmith wrote: »

They do have the right to stop treatment, as some kids really are a pain in the butt and don't wear/break appliances all over the place.

I remember being told this. Decided not to have braces in the end. beginning to wish I had done now. Probably would've done if they hadn't made me wait 4 years (yes, really!) to have 4 teeth removed. (It was 5 in the end, as one of them was very wobbly and only hanging by a few roots)

Penny_Watcher

Toothsmith wrote: »

Depending on what 'occasionally' meant, I can see why lady at orthodontist was getting a bit peed off, but I would also say that your goofy lad is trying much harder now since the threat! That should calm the ferocious orthodontist down a bit!

Now you see that's the point. He has tried really hard. He wore twin blocks (in this case a form of brace that forces the bottom jaw forward for those who don't know) day and night (and latterly just at night) for about 2 years to correct a 12mm overbite. It was incredibly uncomfortable but he persevered. The orthodontists even complimented him on his commitment. If he wasn't committed to treatment I think he'd have given up then. Our regular dentist told him he was very impressed with on the way he keeps his teeth clean and brace clean - which for a 13 year old he said was unusual. _pale_

Toothsmith wrote: »

They do have the right to stop treatment, as some kids really are a pain in the butt and don't wear/break appliances all over the place.

Point taken.

Toothsmith wrote: »

This is why it's vitally important not to push kids into orthodontics - if they really don't want it, they will be impossible.

I totally agree. DD2 has front incisors that cross. Dentist has said she can be referred, but DD isn't interested. Her teeth are clean and healthy and don't bother her, so we'll leave it at that.

DS1 was always keen to get his teeth sorted. Also whilst still in primary school the dentist told us that he had an incompetent mouth (lips don't meet to cover his teeth) his teeth were in traumatic danger because of the overbite which was an extra spur to wind his teeth in a bit.

Toothsmith wrote: »

I would go there apologetically, and offer to pay. And if you're charged, I would deduct at least half the cost from your son's pocket money. That might just spur him to be even MORE careful in the future!

Good luck with it!

Thanks again for your sage advice Toothsmith.

Penny_Watcher

Thanks to all for your suggestions.

I opted for Plan B and sent OH with DS1 to speak to the orthodontist on DS1's behalf. I feel like a real chicken that I couldn't advocate for my child, but according to DS1 "She was unusually nice to Dad. I've never seen her like that before - it was scary."

OH explained better than I could about how upset DS1 was that his wire had broken after he had been trying so bloody hard to keep it one piece. As a family we have all made changes to our diet so that DS1 doesn't have a brace unfriendly food available to him or any of us at home. DS1 also told her that he's committed to continuing with the treatment. No payment was offered or asked for, which surprised me greatly as we had every intention of paying.

Upshot is that as part of the ongoing treatment he has a stronger wire now on the top and will be reviewed in 10 weeks at his next scheduled appointment.

Toothsmith

She must have liked his shaved legs!!

Penny_Watcher

Toothsmith wrote: »

She must have liked his shaved legs!!

Cheeky! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

And also true. :rolleyes: