Braces

Toothsmith

Ali-OK wrote:

Maybe Toothsmith can confirm or otherwise, but after 2 years of tracks and 2 years of plates, (1 year f/t, 1 year o/night), my teeth have returned to their almost original position - which my orthodentist did say may well happen due to the late age of having them done when they are more set. :mad: I am still so conscious of my teeth and not sure if there's anything I can do about it.

Teeth moving back again is always a problem with some types of correction.

It has to do with the stability of the teeth in their final position, and has nothing to do with the age it was done at. "You can't fight your genes" is a trueism in orthodontics.

Personally, I would say that this was more likely the reason that nobody did it when you were younger, and is more an indication of the accuracy of the original dentist, and a poor reflection on the judgement of the guy who finally did do it!

Justie

Franco I had orthodontics when I was a teenager and it was fine for a while but then my bottom lip pushed my teeth out again so eventually I've needed to have more work done so even if you have your teeth done when you're younger it's no guarantee...

and it all depends what you had done and what options were available to you - one of my options was for them to break the jaw and reset it, it would have given the BEST result but there's no way I'd go through that so I now have a fixed retainer for as long as I can bear it. The ortho says mine may move again but as he's taken a couple of teeth out and moved the others back it's much less likely than it was as my bottom lip shouldn't sit underneath the front teeth anymore.

I had mine done in the end because my teeth were making my bottom lip sore where they were digging in and I'd never overly worried about how they'd looked before but now I've had it done I wish I'd done it sooner - although it does mean getting a new passport because the whole shape of my face has changed!

The best tip if you're having ortho is go local! My nearest good one with a short waiting list was 40 minutes away, a real pain for the 5 minute monthly appointments which end up taking 2 hours out of your day....

emilyt

My DD2 has currently got a tracker brace fitted. She had 5 teeth removed at the hospital and i presumed her treatment would be free. It was free when my DD1 had her brace 5 years ago. Anyway we were referred to an independent orthodontist and told we would have to pay for her brace. This shocked us as she is still in full time education and none of this was mentioned previously to us. Luckily it turned out that her teeth were bad enough for her to recieve her treatment free. Such a relief as we didn't have £2000 spare.(ALthough would have taken out a loan to have the treatment done).
I would be very surprised if your treatment was paid for. Think the government has brought in new conditions as to whether or not they will pay even for school age children which was always free up to recently as far as i know. We still pay for any extras she needs. Special tooth brushes, wax toothpaste. I am so gratefull that her teeth are being sorted out and she should have a perfect smile in time for next christmas. The orthodonist is wonderful.

Buster_Danog

Thanks for all the replies.

Ali-OK. I don't know what made your teeth move again, but I was told I would need a retainer for my teeth to stop me moving them. I gather that I "thrust" my tongue, particularly when sleeping.

Toothsmith, that's right I seen a consultant at a hospital. The dental reference guy told me that was a bad move a few months after the consultation. He said their resources are more stretched than the local practices. To make it worse I could not get a referral from a dentist so, on the advice of the hospital staff, got my GP to do it instead. The consultant was not impressed.

Your comment about the proverbials being cut off really interests me. There seems to be an aversion from everyone I speak to, but they get scared to put the same info in writing, or are not too happy when I mention the Index of treatment need. One lady at my local primary care trust nearly shouted down the phone to tell me treatment was not available, but when I wrote to them a while later I got a nice letter back saying treatment was available and giving me the address of the nearest practice.

Justie, The broken jaw treatment sounds extreme, but if you need that then I guess it is serious.

Emily, I seen some orthos in London offering interest free payment plans so, if I have to, I might save some and then pay the rest off over a period of time.

plzsm

hi
just had a quote for some braces (upper teeth) for 6 months
iam 30 yrs old
nearly fainted at £1200
Is this about normal or am I in danger of being ripped off
any feedback appreciated
Ed

Toothsmith

Must be quite a simple treatment plan. It's normally £2-3000 and 2 years of a job.

The bits of wire are not expensive. The thing you're paying for is the orthodontist's knowledge of what to do with them!

Justie

sounds ok to me - I had ceramics on the top and metal on the bottom and it was £2300 and was 18 months of braces and then retainers. Depending what you have done it may take longer because you're an adult but my ortho's timescale was pretty much dead on (1 year for the top, 6 months for the bottom). It tends to be a flat fee so if you break it or have problems it won't cost you any more and most practices have payment plans so you can spread the cost. If you have more specific questions then PM me or have a look on archwired.com which is good for adult orthodontics

angeldeelite

i'm getting a ceramic brace fitted to my top arch tomorrow and its 1600 (1500 if i pay up front which i am). she's been very vague about timing, anything from 15 months to 2 years. i'm praying its the former :T

tigertiger_3

I guess I'm lucky......I'm having braces fitted in a few weeks time, on the NHS as my overbite is 9mm, does anyone know that if you are having NHS treatment can you pay the extra to have clear braces fitted????????????

Toothsmith

You can't pay the extra.

You either have NHS or pay full price for the private option.

(How old are you BTW?)