Braces

Jina

I had ceramic braces at 21. Wore them for 1yr max. You can opt for ceramic braces which are less visible.
If it's only the gap, then I think it's gonna take less than a year.

tomstickland

Yes, adult orthodontics is well established. My sister (28) went for consultations, two guys at work in their mid 20s having orthodontic work done.

I googled it and there's a website for adults called archwired.com

flufff

Thankyou Toothsmith.
No the orthodontist didnt tell me that it may not be stable.
The tooth is very prominent as it came up and over the babytooth so dont think adding to tooth with a white filling or a veneer would lessen the look the look of it.
As this is something the previous dentist should of picked up on is there anyway of appealing to nhs or is there any type of means testing that would limit amount I would need to contribute?
Also how do I complain about previous dentist?

Toothsmith

flufff wrote:

The tooth is very prominent as it came up and over the babytooth so dont think adding to tooth with a white filling or a veneer would lessen the look the look of it.

That's true.

If it is a long way forward, the movement back should be stable after treatment. It's the rotation of it that will be harder to stabalise. Obviously, I've not seen it, and I'm not an orthodontist anyway. If he's not warned you about stability problems then he probably doesn't think there will be any. Maybe worth asking when & if you next see him though, just in case you missed anything, or he forgot!

flufff wrote:

As this is something the previous dentist should of picked up on is there anyway of appealing to nhs or is there any type of means testing that would limit amount I would need to contribute?
Also how do I complain about previous dentist?

I do not know about any appeals proceedure. Maybe worth speaking to the dental department of your local Pimary Care Trust (PCT)

There is no way the NHS would pay part of any private treatment. You may as well ask for Unicorn Blood!

As for the previous dentist missing something and you claiming or complaining against him, I have no idea what sort of case you would have. Ask your present dentist for his opinion.

If you only see the dentist every 6 months, a lot can happen in that time which the dentist can do nothing about unless you take the child in. (Which is why current NHS recommendations that 'healthy' patients can go up to 2 years between appointments is complete rubbish).

Did you mention your concerns at some point and nothing was done about it? If you did, then there would be more of a case than if you didn't, but it would all depend on what the dentist thought would happen, and whether it has just been an unforseen outcome, or whether he could have reasonably been expected to forsee the problem.

Toothsmith

nish wrote:

...Ive got this gap in the middle of my front teeth I dont want there...

Can you get braces when you are in adult life?! I thought you were supposed to get them when you were developing? Am I better off going for veneers? Wouldnt mind donning the old train tracks for a while if it sorts my mouth out

Orthodontics would be the best way to have the gap closed. But as you know, it takes a while and you look a bit weird for a year or two.

Veneers would do it, but this involves taking some perfectly healthy tooth away, and replacing with porcelain. Whilst it has a very good lifespan, it would need re-doing every 8-15 years depending on your habits and self-care.

Another option may be building up the edges of the teeth with white filling. This would only really work if the teeth were a good shape for it. (Long thin teeth can have a bit of width added to them and look OK. If the teeth are shorter and fatter, then adding to the width can make them look a bit odd).

This doesn't involve damaging the teeth at all, and although it will need replacing more often than the veneers (white filling stains more easily) this is quite easy to do.

The oldest patient I've refered for orthodontics was in her mid 40s at the start of the treatment. She still thinks it's the best thing she's ever done. If you can afford it, and can put up with the appearence for the months it takes, this would definitly be the best way to go.

Teerah

Orthodontics may not work though. Best to book a consultation and get an orthodontists opinion.

Teerah

Worth bearing in mind that your previous dentist probably didnt refer your daughter as it was too early to do so. There is no point in clogging up waiting lists with people who cannot yet be treated. Orthodontic treatment, in most cases, cannot be started until all the adult teeth have erupted. There is unlikely to be any comeback as it doesnt sound as if anything was done wrong.

slim_bird

Hi
You've got all my sympathy. My daughter was referred to orthodontic dept at the local hospital. Underwent 2 years of treatment to correct her overbite.Her lower jaw was set too far back and she had to wear a 'functional appliance' to bring it forward 8 mm. This did the job but at each visit i kept asking what about alignment as they are overrcrowded at top and bottom. He consistantly told me that to put a brace on couldn't guarantee them stabilizing after it was removed.At our last appointment she saw a locum orthodontist who was helping the other one catch up on back log due to him being off sick. He told me that she needed to have 4 teeth removed due to overcrowding (upper and lower 5s for any dentists reading this), a wire, preferably glued to the lower teeth for approx. 6 months then a retainer for approx. 2 years. You can imagine just how annoyed i was when only 6 months previous i was told (again!) the complete opposite. He did various measurements and concluded that in the magic blue book her IOTN was moderate. She measured 5.8 on some scale and needed to 6.0 to qualify for NHS treatment!!
He felt that if left her teeth could move up to another 5mm. As a result she's been referred to a private orthodontist at an estimated cost of £1500.00. This practitioner is 28 miles from where we live. She has just started her year 10 at school, is predicted straight As in GCSEs and now i'm told she'll have to go every 6 weeks for check ups! This is going to mean me and her out of work and school for a good morning/ afternoon. Time we both ill afford.
However there may be a silver lining.A work colleague (dentist) suggested that i should ask the dentist to refer her to the nearest Dental teaching hospital.She's done it successfully in the past for patients. Have informed the orthodontistic and he ( not the locum one, bear with me) has wrote the most condradicting letter ever. One sentence he refers to her having a low IOTN and further on he says that as she just misses the IOTN he's prepared to put her on a waiting list for NHS treatment which is 4 years. However if i want her to go to the dental teaching hospital it's up to her dentist to refer.This is where we are at now, waiting to be referred. Have got the letter from the private practitioner asking to call and make an appointment. First 2 visits £120.00. I feel that if i'd seen the locum before we'd have been put onto the waiting list long ago. I'm so cross that the orthodontist she's been seeing the last two years has changed his opinion (kind of i think!). Just thought that maybe this would be option for your daughter. I think that to be accepted at these dental hospitals depends on how bad a case she is. They are afterall teaching. I'm just hoping that her dentist puts a strong enough case forward to get her seen at least.So flaming frustrated and work for the PCT to make matters worse!! Worse case scenario we end up paying GRRRRR! Not giving up without a fight and refuse to wait 4 years. She'll be 18 bless her.
Let me know how you get on and good luck

Clowance

I have looked, but cant see this discussed so forgive me if it has been talked about before.
We have an NHS dentist, not that good but hey, its all there is. We dont have much spare cash as only my husband works and my daughters front teeth stick out, which bothers her a lot.

As far as I can make out (the dentist doesnt seem to want to explain) she cant have a brace until all her adult teeth come through.
Questions:
How old approx will she be when this happens?
How do I shop around and get the best deal privately, since apparently the NHS dont cover you unless your teeth are really bad.

How do I find a good private dentist in my area? (Poole, dorset)
Do any dental plans cover this problem?

I'm sure many of you have been through this, please give me your advice.
TIA

Toothsmith

Clowance wrote:

Questions:
How old approx will she be when this happens?
How do I shop around and get the best deal privately, since apparently the NHS dont cover you unless your teeth are really bad.

How do I find a good private dentist in my area? (Poole, dorset)
Do any dental plans cover this problem?

For girls, orthodontics is usually started between 13-15 yrs old. A lot will change between now and then. She will grow, and the adult teeth which at the moment look very big, will look more in proportion as her face gets bigger.

The NHS criteria for treatment haven't really changed that much, it's just there is a proper objective scale now in place, and it's more strictly applied. It is fair to say that the vast majority of cases that would have been treated on the NHS before still will be.

The other case mentioned in the other active thread at the moment is one of the exceptions. If one tooth is a bit out of place, then before, a dentist could probably 'bend the rules' a bit, whereas now they can't.

It's anybodies guess where orthodontics on the NHS will be in a couple of years though!

I wouldn't worry too much about private schemes for this. A course of orthodontics will cost approx £2000 privately. If a scheme is to make a profit for it's operators, they can only pay out £2000 if they have made more than that from your payments.

With at least a couple of years to go before it's required, and then treatment lasting a couple of years (You wouldn't be required to pay for it all in advance) you'd probably be better off saving up £2000 over the next 4 years in an ISA. It would work out at about £41 per month or £10 per week.

If she doesn't need orthodontics, or you can get it on the NHS, then that's a damn good holiday for you all in a year or two!!!!