Daughter mentally affected by crooked teeth - orthodontist refuses to treat on NHS

Savvy_Sue

There WILL be payment plans, you won't be expected to pay it all up front.

Toothsmith

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

There WILL be payment plans, you won't be expected to pay it all up front.

For one thing, the treatment will go on for around a couple of years, with appointments every few weeks.

So even if there is no formal plan, you can just divide the total cost by the approx. number of appointments. With prehaps a bit bigger initial payment to cover the initial lab costs.

As Sue said, it's very unlikely you'll be asked for it all up front.

angelfire

tsabo wrote: »

By the time I lost all my baby teeth there was a three year waiting list for NHS treatment and I was 16 at the time. I'm currently having Invisalign treatment on just the top arch. Would this be an option? There are really good payment plans etc.

hi, the price quoted is for the minimum invisalign treatment she'd need, so that's our cheapest option and would only do the top section(s) - she said this was the minimum though...

angelfire

Toothsmith wrote: »

That's a good point.

If it was on the more severe side, it would be dearer than this.

Hi, as i just explained to another poster - the £1700 was for the minimum amount we could 'get away with' for invisalign treatment to her top teeth only. As you pointed out earlier - for the woman to agree that each and every one of her teeth is crooked is enough for me to seek a second opinion. I've booked my daughter in at our new NHS dentist next friday to see what they say. This new dentist practice have been brilliant with me - I'm generally petrified of even sitting in the chair, yet they are so nice,welcoming and patient, that I had two molars removed a month ago and i'm now looking forward to having further work carried out! That's no mean feat for a patient as scared as i usualy am.

Incidentally, my own teeth used to be like my daughter's are - fangs, too many etc and the method used to 'fix' mine, was to remove a load - 7 in total. They then gave me a retainer which I stupidly refused to wear (wish I had now as I have a massive gap at the front). Anyway, might this be an option for my daughter, or don't they do this anymore? (not that i'm in great favour of putting her through tooth extraction, but if this method would correct them, I know she'd do anything to get them sorted!)

dollydoodah

Has your daughter got good oral health? I only ask as my 10 year old son has been seeing the orthodontist for the past 2 years with a view to having braces in the future as his teeth are very misaligned - he had lost all his baby teeth by the age of 8 and his teeth are now all over the place!

One thing the dentist and the orthodontist impress on us every time we go is that he must maintain good brushing and good hygeine otherwise they will not be able to carry out the work because the guidelines are so strict; he basically said if he doesn't clean his teeth properly now, it will be even harder when he has a brace on and his teeth will end up looking a mess.

I just wondered - as I don't think it has been mentioned - if this is why your daughter has been refused treatment on the NHS? Obviously I can't even begin to add to what the other dentists on here have said but it was something that occured to me as it is a constant factor in our house.

angelfire

dollydoodah wrote: »

Has your daughter got good oral health? I only ask as my 10 year old son has been seeing the orthodontist for the past 2 years with a view to having braces in the future as his teeth are very misaligned - he had lost all his baby teeth by the age of 8 and his teeth are now all over the place!

One thing the dentist and the orthodontist impress on us every time we go is that he must maintain good brushing and good hygeine otherwise they will not be able to carry out the work because the guidelines are so strict; he basically said if he doesn't clean his teeth properly now, it will be even harder when he has a brace on and his teeth will end up looking a mess.

I just wondered - as I don't think it has been mentioned - if this is why your daughter has been refused treatment on the NHS? Obviously I can't even begin to add to what the other dentists on here have said but it was something that occured to me as it is a constant factor in our house.

The teeth themselves are in perfect health, she's never needed any fillings/extractions or anything like that. The only thing she's ever had done is a plastic coating put on them, to protect them?
Good oral hygiene is something I've drummed into my kids, as i've suffered as a result of a) being terrified of the dentist and b)not looking after my teeth properly.

brook2jack

Invisalign is a system not used on the NHS. In general it is not used when there are "big" problems to correct.

The fact that it was suggested reinforces the thought that your daughter is not within guidelines for NHS treatment.

As said before IOTN ( index of treatment needed) is a strict scale to determine whether NHS will pay for treatment. There is very little allowance for an orthodontists own opinion except if a child is borderline then there is a small adjustment allowable for aesthetics (looks). I have had many child patients who were going to have braces pre the new guidelines who are now not eligible for nhs treatment. Teeth which are "merely crooked" are not deemed a disease state.

Mrs_pbradley936

We were told that my son's work would cost £3000 and I was prepared to pay it BUT when the chap had a good look he said my son needed oral surgery and he could not do that so referred him to the NHS. He had a milk tooth that had never come out and instead was making its way across the roof of his mouth.