can't afford orthodontic treatment for my child

carebear13

oh no- my son went to the dentist this week and braces have been mentioned a couple of times previously as he has a very small/narrow jaw like me and his teeth are overcrowded which is causing alot of problems for him to clean them properly and also for them to come through.now this time the dentist mentioned money and i just thougt he was trying to shock him into looking after his teeth properly, but clearly not.there is no way on this earth that we would be able to pay £3000 for braces and to be honest even if i could i wouldnt, i'm not sure that a child of 13/14 would appreciate the cost and the importance.

puddy

no, i didnt say it was 'only' for cosmetic reasons, i said that back in the day 'most' orthodontics was for cosmetic reasons which it seems they were

i had some overcrowding and i remember teeth being taken out, eye teeth and back teeth and gaps closed. but like others have said, back in the 80s we all had braces and my parents also would never have paid for this, in fact they resented the time taken to take me to the orthodentist!

carebear13

just a thought- if the dentist practice was 'rich' enough, would it be something that they would fund? would it make a difference if they were a practice that offered all treatments themselves?

tooldle

Overcrowding can still be treated on the NHS. Severity of the problem and its impact on dental health is the key measure.

carebear13

he got to go back to have some teeth taken out -dreading at as he's not had it done before. do i talk to my son about it or not mention it too much for fear of freaking him out. i'm not good with the dentist myself so find it all really difficult, but fortunately we have a fantastic family dentist and has never once hurt me and has a very good way with kids.

brook2jack

carebear13 wrote: »

just a thought- if the dentist practice was 'rich' enough, would it be something that they would fund? would it make a difference if they were a practice that offered all treatments themselves?

So the dental surgery costs if it is NHS £130 an hour to run . Dentists are not paid a wage they only earn when they are treating someone for each treatment.Orthodontic treatment will last 18 months to 2 years. The person doing the treatment will probably not be the practice owner still has to pay additional expenses such as laboratory costs etc. So you are asking an associate dentist to give a complete stranger a present of several hundred pounds or more, pay expenses and give up their time over two years for free?

Now also looking at the legal angle this is now not a NHS treatment as NHS will not fund it , it is classed as a private treatment. It doesn't matter that OP has not paid anything. If something goes wrong the dentist will be penalised as if they had provided private treatment. So something done at great cost to the dentist could end up costing them thousands more.

In a few words, not going to happen.

aliasojo

tabby_cats_mum wrote: »

....however he is still on a 6-12 month NHS waiting list.

Lucky you. Daughter needs braces (has already seen orthodontist who arranged initial removal of overcrowded teeth) but the waiting list keeps growing and she can't get the treatment finished.

We were told we'd have to wait 18 months originally, dentist recently wrote again informing orthodontist that issues are now of an urgent nature and we got a letter back saying sorry, waiting list is now at least 27 months.

So it will be at least 4 years she'll have had to wait.

This government is a joke.

brook2jack

carebear13 wrote: »

he got to go back to have some teeth taken out -dreading at as he's not had it done before. do i talk to my son about it or not mention it too much for fear of freaking him out. i'm not good with the dentist myself so find it all really difficult, but fortunately we have a fantastic family dentist and has never once hurt me and has a very good way with kids.

Talk about and explain. He will feel a scratch from the injection , his face will feel thick and strange for a few hours, he will feel pressure and hear a bit of a crunchy sound . Prepare him but don't let others frighten the whatsits out of him. I have taken teeth out on a three year old with injections with no problems and had difficulties with adults who have been scared by others horror stories.

carebear13

ok fair enough but its not just ortho work that can take a long time, and at the end of the day children are entitled to free nhs treatment, just wondered if it could be something that a dental practice may do themselves or even part fund (like a gp with ivf treatments can)

carebear13

ok will speak to him and explain, hopefully he will be ok. what about me though? how will i handle it? will the dentist let me sit next to him and hold his hand if he needs me to, or is it best if i'm not in the room in case i make him even more nervous