can't afford orthodontic treatment for my child

Cazzab_3

Does anyone know if you can get any free orthodontic treatment? My son has been told that he needs orthodontic treatment but is not bad enough to warrant the treatment under the NHS. My husband is unemployed and I am a mature student so finding £3000 is going to be impossible. It seems grossly unfair that my child can't have the treatment he needs because we can't afford it. Is he eligible for free treatment in our situation does anyone know?

milliemonster

It seems odd that you would be told he needs orthodontic treatment but then he can't have this on the NHS, surely he either needs it or he doesn't? My daughter (13) is having orthodontic treatment free on the NHS as she is an NHS patient and the treatment was recommended by our dentist, there was never any discussion regarding whether it was 'bad' enough to be done on the NHS or have to go private???

molerat

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Orthodontics/Pages/Introduction.aspx

NHS orthodontic treatment is only available according to clinical need and not affordability. Do you know what IOTN grade your son is ?

Cazzab_3

I think he is coming out at a Grade 3

tabby_cats_mum

milliemonster wrote: »

It seems odd that you would be told he needs orthodontic treatment but then he can't have this on the NHS, surely he either needs it or he doesn't? My daughter (13) is having orthodontic treatment free on the NHS as she is an NHS patient and the treatment was recommended by our dentist, there was never any discussion regarding whether it was 'bad' enough to be done on the NHS or have to go private???

Its not always about how "bad" it is. My son has been deemed in urgent clinical need of treatment however he is still on a 6-12 month NHS waiting list. For many children they finally get to see the orthodontist only to be told it is cosmetic so go away!
If you live in an area like ours the provision of NHS orthodontic treatment for children is a disgrace.
I am lucky because I can afford private treatment for my son (although it will stretch us financially) so I really feel for you OP.
The private orthodontist I use has various payment options to make things easier and it turned out to be a £1000 cheaper than I was expecting so it might be worth you investigating further. Good luck.

Cazzab_3

The orthodontist told him it would be for more cosmetic appearance rather than anything else as he has quite a gap between his 2 front teeth. I know he is quite self conscious about this and we feel we are failing him by not being able to afford to get it fixed for him.

j.e.j.

If he is a grade 3, judging by the link above you MAY be lucky and get funding. Failing that the only way around it I can see, if his teeth are bothering him and are affecting his confidence, is to try and get a low-interest loan, and pay it back monthly?

I'm sure there was more funding for orthodontics a few years ago. I seem to remember a lot of kids at school wearing braces whose teeth weren't all that 'bad'.. I guess it's just another area where funding has been cut.

puddy

i thought most orthodentistry was cosmetic? i know there are things like teeth not being able to join together or be cleaned but for most of us it was just to straighten out wonky teeth

gizmo111

Cazzab wrote: »

The orthodontist told him it would be for more cosmetic appearance rather than anything else as he has quite a gap between his 2 front teeth. I know he is quite self conscious about this and we feel we are failing him by not being able to afford to get it fixed for him.

My daughter's was cosmetic also but she was able to have it on the NHS if I agreed to a supervised student doing the work. May be worth asking at your nearest dental hospital if this is an option.

tabby_cats_mum

This has happened to a friend of mine, her daughter was turned down because of a similar thing, it's an absolute disgrace (can you tell the mention of orthodotics for children makes my blood boil!!!!!)
No Puddy, not always cosmetic as such, my son needs jaw realignment as well as teeth straightening. People who don't get it done often have to have their jaws broken and reset in adulthood as it can cause other problems.

tabby_cats_mum

Good point gizmo, my son has been under the dental hospital for ages but they don't do the complicated stuff he needs, they do more basic orthodontics though so it might be worth asking.