Orthodontics, Severe overbite and being a student

brook2jack

NI is still under the "old system" however there is a review currently going on and it looks as if it will follow England and Wales into the UDA system very shortly. If so orthodontics will follow the same way as in England and Wales.

Flower08

Hi - i had a severe overbite aswell, mine was 10mm. Braces wont help with an overbite that severe, only straighten your teeth out.
I had surgery to correct my overbite, for me this was done on the NHS when i was 20. I think i only got it for free because i started my intitial consultations and brace fittings before i was 18. The surgery is quite a severe option.

I would definitely see your dentist and what they recommend, it may be that they will recommend surgery for such a severe overbite, but how much that will cost if you cant get it done on the NHS i am not sure.

Was 100% worth it for me, have never been happier with my appearance and i do have stereotypical 'perfect' teeth now.

Toothsmith

Flower08 wrote: »

Hi - i had a severe overbite aswell, mine was 10mm. Braces wont help with an overbite that severe, only straighten your teeth out.

It's not quite as simple as that.

'Often' it may well be the case, but not always. Depends on the skeletal relationship. I've had patients with large overbites sorted out just with braces.

Flower08

Toothsmith wrote: »

It's not quite as simple as that.

Not going to argue with you as you obviously know what your talking about, however i was told by my dentist and surgeon that with overbites so severe a brace will never give you 'perfect' teeth. Surgery was the only option.

loulou123

I had braces put on at the age of 25-ish on the nhs. My overbite was 13mm and i also had problems with my jaw joint and needed the operation on my jaw also. This was over 5 years ago now tho, so not sure if regulations have changed.

My teeth were causing me huge problems, and i was suffering from dislocation of my jaw joint and also frequent absesses under my teeth due to the poor alignment of my teeth and jaws.

I had to be referred by my normal dentist to an appointment at the hospital and as my case was so severe was accepted for treatment under the nhs. But the waiting list was very long and i had to wait nearly 3 years between 1st seeing the orthodontist and actually having the braces put on-so this is by no means a quick fix option.

I'm wondering if your teeth are that severe (dont mean that horribly) if you were only quoted 9 months of treatment, as i had my braces on for over 3 years and this is the time frame i was quoted from the beginning, although my case may have been different as i also needed the surgery.

Also has a dentist ever mentioned that you need braces etc? as i was told at a very young age that i needed them, but always refused as i had a real phobia of dentists after a traumatic experiance as a child.

I'd say a good 1st step would be to talk to your dentist and see if they will refer you to have a consult with an nhs hospital.

Toothsmith

louise_alyson wrote: »

See your GP, tell them its affecting your (oral) health and causing you emoitional distress. You may get referred and treated then as a medical condition so its free. My (ex) had a similar overbite, and did this at 37, saying he couldnt put up with it anymore. He had surgery two years ago at the local 'district' hospital and its so much better!!! Good Luck

Don't go to your Dr with dental conditions. It wastes their time and generally pigs them off.

It won't get you any preferential treatment (The 'emotional distress' argument really doesn't work). If it's severe enough, it'll be treated, if it isn't, it won't.

If the referral comes from a dentist, at least the hospital orthodontist will know that someone will have looked at the teeth and assessed their general condition, and that they are in a good enough condition to have such advanced treatment.

coldstreamalways

It really annoys me when Drs refer my patients for treatment, we have specialists in the army and sometimes, the Doc will refer people for totally inappropriate treatment, like implants in a 20yr old who smokes 20 a day, boxes every weekend and has uncontrolled gum disease. Then I get it in the neck from the specialists for wasting their time!!

I would imagine, your GP would tell you to see your dentist, As toothsmith said, if it's bad enough, it will get treated.

welshdent

louise_alyson wrote: »

See your GP, tell them its affecting your (oral) health and causing you emoitional distress. You may get referred and treated then as a medical condition so its free. My (ex) had a similar overbite, and did this at 37, saying he couldnt put up with it anymore. He had surgery two years ago at the local 'district' hospital and its so much better!!! Good Luck

There is no reason a dentist cant do that ... and its more likely you will get more out of a dentist than a GP as they are not trained to investigate such issues. They are also not trained in the grading system of IOTN which is what is used to decide who gets NHS ortho and who doesnt. No point in wasting yours and your GPs time. Get down the dentist who can best advise ... and best refer.

welshdent

Flower08 wrote: »

Not going to argue with you as you obviously know what your talking about, however i was told by my dentist and surgeon that with overbites so severe a brace will never give you 'perfect' teeth. Surgery was the only option.

It varies massively and requires case by case planning. I hope you are happy with the results though. You can get some dramatic outcomes with surgery

welshdent

didnt see the GP responses until now! 3 people from the same hymn sheet though. We cant all be wrong surely??