adult braces

techqueen

Many apologies if this has been answered before...

Ok so I'm new here, so hello everyone!

Basically I went to the dentist last night (i havent been in years because of a bad experience) and asked about a brace. I'm 23 in March, and have over crowding on my uppers....i've never had a brace before because of my dentist phobia (suprisingly my teeth are in immaculate condition apparently...other than being wonky).

Anyway after asking my dentist about a brace and my wisdom tooth, they gave me an x-ray and said they were going to referr me to a consultant orthodontist at the hospital, and referr me to a surgeon or something for my wisdom tooth extraction (its wayyy impacted). Does this mean i'm likey to get a brace for free on the nhs? Or is it likely i'm still going to have to pay. Basically two teeth are out of line...one is like crossing behind my lowers when i close my mouth and the other sort of sticks up (like a fang) probably about half a cm out of line?

I don't actually mind paying, i'm so self concious about smiling, and it's my new year resolution to get the ball rolling and sort it out.

Any info would be very much appreciated.:) thanks in advance.

jugglebug

It is possible you will get it on the NHS but I am sorry to say I don't fancy your chances.
Ortho treatment on the NHS is dependent on your position on the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need.
If you are on the right side you get it, wrong side of a line you don't.
I am not an orthodontist so I can't go into it much further but good luck!
If as you say you don't mind paying then that opens up other choices for you, tooth coloured brackets, invisible braces etc. NHS care will not subsidise these choices. You are either NHS or not unfortunately, cross subsidy isn't generally possible

techqueen

thanks for taking the time to get back to me, to be honest I was totally surprised to be referred to a hospital ortho so I just thought I'd ask the question.

I have been saving up though so I'm not too fussed about paying...just was curious about what my chances were getting it done with the NHS

loztredders

Hi, I'm 23 and having free orthodontic treatment at a hospital, after being referred.
However, just because you've been referred, I'm not 100% sure that you'll be accepted as it depends on a scale of how bad your case is.
Also, the waiting list is often very long and varies from place to place, I was waiting a year but accepted a place at a further hospital rather than the closest to me as my teeth were depressing me and I wanted to get started as soon as possible, unfortunatly this means travelling on a round trip of 2.5 hours and four trains but that's fine by me.
If you do get accepted for treatment at the hospital, it will be free, but be prepared for a long wait before you can start treatment.

techqueen

Thanks very much for your info, I'm not sure i would wait either. Just want to get it sorted now!

meece

I have been aware of my crooked teeth for most of my life. I have great strong teeth, but they were yellow and also very crooked. I had a fang that looked a bit vampirish!

I took the plunge 2 years ago and went private. I had invisalign, and yes it was expensive, however I now have lovely straight teeth. I am also getting the whitening done. I did look around but found a fab dentist local to me which was a bonus.

Not much help to you - but I just wanted to say go for it if you get the chance. It's made such a difference to me. People have said to me, oh your teeth weren't so bad - but when you are feeling self conscious that doesn't help!

Just wanted to wish you good luck and enjoy the finished result.:D

techqueen

meece wrote: »

Just wanted to wish you good luck and enjoy the finished result.:D

Thanks so much! Yeah I'm definitely going to go for it...I've put it off for a long time, but yeah I suppose it's finally time to do something for me. Afterall my teeth are going to be with me forever (hopefully!) lol

suehannah

Hi im actually in the second month of Invisalign treatment at the moment at im loving it. Dont get me wrong it did take a while to get my head around wearing the aligners for 22 hours a day but i dont even know ive got them in now!
I would deffo recommend anyone to go ahead with it,im 35 now and didnt want to wear the train track braces and this is deffo the way forward.
My dentist at the moment has actualy got an SPECIAL OFFER on FULL INVISALIGN for £2600
Which i think is fab x x

vixarooni

I'm 25 and i didn't go with the invisalign option, i think mine were too wonky for that! I had train tracks, and i'm an air hostess who wears glasses so i looked like a right ugly betty! But, i actually really liked them in the end!

Go for it, its been the single best thing i have ever done in my life!

techqueen

just a quick update, been for my first appointment with the consultant ortho at the hospital today. He's going to start my treatment after i get a dodgy wisdom tooth out but yes...I'm getting my upper and bottom braces done for free apparently. Totally blown away but happy! I can't wait to start and get it sorted