NHS Orthodontic Treatment for children

mountainofdebt

Does anyone know what the criteria is for free orthodontic treatment for children?

Son is due to have his first appointment for a potential brace fitting and we've recieved a letter stating that unless he falls within the criteria, we 'may' have to pay for the brace.

CharleneUK

mountainofdebt wrote:

Does anyone know what the criteria is for free orthodontic treatment for children?

Son is due to have his first appointment for a potential brace fitting and we've recieved a letter stating that unless he falls within the criteria, we 'may' have to pay for the brace.

I am in the same situation, and have received a similar letter.

My dentist simply stated, the consultant will let me know there and then whether or not my daughter will qualify under the NHS, and even if she does, there will be lengthy waits.

suffolkb

Sorry,I don`t know how they decide. My 15 yr old daughter who lives with my ex is getting free treatment. Ex is a part time nurse earning approx 12k. One of her sisters also did,but twin sis was told that funding had run out for that year (3 yr ago).

Toothsmith

There is a good Press release here from the British Orthodontic Society.

To receive orthodontics on the NHS since 1st April is now dependant on being in the worst categories of a scale called the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need or 'IOTN' for short.

This scale has been around for ages, but only used to decide who gets treatment and who doesn't in the more overstretched hospital orthodontic departments. For those that didn't qualify for hospital treatment, there were always the specialists in their practices outside the hospitals, who could still see patients on the NHS within very broad rules.

Since April 1st, and the new NHS contract, the rules for specialists providing treatment on the NHS has tightened up as well.

In practice, as the press release explains, this will mean a reduction in about 20% of the number of orthodontic treatments provided. The mildest cases being the ones that will no longer be seen on the NHS.

The IOTN is a purely clinical scale and divided into levels of 'ugliness' for want of a better word! The most 'ugly' kids being treated!

Therefore, if your child has teeth all over the place, there will be no problem getting NHS treatment. If there is just a bit of crossing and slightly crowded, you may struggle.

CharleneUK

Toothsmith wrote:

There is a good Press release here from the British Orthodontic Society.

To receive orthodontics on the NHS since 1st April is now dependant on being in the worst categories of a scale called the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need or 'IOTN' for short.

This scale has been around for ages, but only used to decide who gets treatment and who doesn't in the more overstretched hospital orthodontic departments. For those that didn't qualify for hospital treatment, there were always the specialists in their practices outside the hospitals, who could still see patients on the NHS within very broad rules.

Since April 1st, and the new NHS contract, the rules for specialists providing treatment on the NHS has tightened up as well.

In practice, as the press release explains, this will mean a reduction in about 20% of the number of orthodontic treatments provided. The mildest cases being the ones that will no longer be seen on the NHS.

The IOTN is a purely clinical scale and divided into levels of 'ugliness' for want of a better word! The most 'ugly' kids being treated!

Therefore, if your child has teeth all over the place, there will be no problem getting NHS treatment. If there is just a bit of crossing and slightly crowded, you may struggle.

:rotfl: What in the world?! I hope my daughter doesn't read anything like that, as, if she gets the treatment, she'll assume the world thinks she is ugly! :rotfl:

Toothsmith

I think it's a bit funny that parents will be arguing with orthodontists that their kids are uglier than the orthodontist says they are!

barjam_2

CharleneUK wrote:

:rotfl: What in the world?! I hope my daughter doesn't read anything like that, as, if she gets the treatment, she'll assume the world thinks she is ugly! :rotfl:

yeah that goes for my son too he just got his removeable brace on tuesday i never even knew about the charge etc..... it was never ever mentioned by his dentist i just thought nhs treatment for kids under 16 covered for this also

Toothsmith

I didn't know whether to start a new thread, or tack this on here.

This article from the BBC is very interesting, and has all sorts of implications for anybody struggling to get care.

ladysurrey

My daughter had a metal ruler inserted in her mouth amongst other things to measure the overbite and he said that if they have less than a 5mm overbite then she wont qualify for NHS treatment, she had 7mm so he said she would qualify.

He also measured her teeth size and took loads and loads of pictures measuring her gaps and giving us options about what could be done, so Dentists do know what the criteria is in many cases they just want to see if they can get you to pay up first.

I got a similar letter saying that she would have a choice of colours for her braces if we went private but she has that choice on the NHS too.

We could have after school appointments if we went private, but as I am at home most days this was not an inconvinence to me and my daughter was pleased she is going to miss school for a while.

I will have to join a waiting list which I wouldn't if I went private but I was told that its not too loing in my area at the moment with this practise.

She needs a head brace too as she will have gaps and getting her to wear that is going to be a battle.

Toothsmith

ladysurrey wrote:

so Dentists do know what the criteria is in many cases they just want to see if they can get you to pay up first.

Not really fair.

I assume that the person you're describing here was the actual dentist who is going to be doing the treatment. Either a specialist orthodontist, or a general dentist who does a lot of orthodontics.

In this case, they would have to know the criteria, as they are working with the criteria and so know all the limits to the mm.

For dentists in general practice who don't do orthodontics, we don't know the criteria so exactly, so if we see a patient who is borderline, we refer them off to an orthodontist for an opinion, with the warning that treatment may not be available on the NHS.

It's nothing to do with 'seeing who will pay up first' as it's not the referring dentist who will get anything out of it one way or another.

Even for the orthodonist, there is not a vast difference in the money they receive be it on the NHS or Private, so it doesn't really make much difference to them whether the state pays or the parent.

Added value private options such as 'invisible' braces are more profitable, but the majority of kids want the visible ones - as all their friends have these anyway, and they want them showing!!!!