can't afford orthodontic treatment for my child

ipri

I have some experience of this.....yes there is a scale which has been applied to your child.If the Malocclusion does not fall within certain criteria...then the NHS will not fund it. I have noticed the responses here....I'm afraid in the past NHS money didnt have to be spread so thinly....nowadays money goes on things like...gastric bands / fertilization procedures / ? removal..replacement of breast implants etc.....something has to give. In my experience, most of the refused cases are, in fact,not too bad...ie when the removal of ( often) 4 sound teeth and long periods of retention are taken into account.

It may be worth contacting local Dental School ortho. dept. to ask their opinion.....but be prepared to face the same result.

xxlouisexx56

If my girls needs braces when they are older I will take out a loan and pay for them

Us British have such a shocking attitude to our teeth. I think paying for orthodontic work is an investment your kids will thank you for in adult life

aliasojo

xxlouisexx56 wrote: »

If my girls needs braces when they are older I will take out a loan and pay for them

Us British have such a shocking attitude to our teeth. I think paying for orthodontic work is an investment your kids will thank you for in adult life

That's all very well but what if you already have debt? What if you can't get a loan? What if you couldn't afford loan payments? What if, what if, what if etc etc etc.

It's not always that simple.

brook2jack

Just to repeat don't even bother contacting dental schools. All orthodontics have to be referred by a dentist and criteria are so strict only severe cases not treatable in practice, or complex problems will be treated in dental hospital . They will not do orthodontics on someone with a gap in between their teeth and no health needs.

Neither will a dentist ,for reasons spelt out above, spend hundreds of pounds and incur a dubious legal position to provide treatment for someone the nhs will not fund. Dentists do not get paid a wage or get their practice expenses paid for etc. The only money that comes in is earned from treatment.

Finally care bear if you are likely to be too nervous can you ask someone else to take your child for their extractions? Children quickly pick up on their parents nervousness even when a parent thinks they are hiding it well. Most practices will allow you to hold a hand etc but remember if you feel nervous or faint etc it will make your child anxious, so if you are not sure you'll be ok ask someone else to go with them.

loulou123

I had braces as an adult on the NHS, but I was SO lucky to get them paid for.

My case was severe (the orthodontist said it was worst he'd seen!) And I needed my top and bottom jaws broken and reset too, as my jaw was so far out of alignment. I was in constant pain, and suffering frequent absesses etc due to positioning of my teeth.

I was advised by NHS ortho to have it done privately, as the waiting list was so long, but at a cost of £11,000 including the operation, I couldn't afford it (i know my mum felt awful about it too) I waited over 2 years to have my braces put on and it was 3 and 1/2 years till I got the operation, so the NHS was by know means a quick option. I was told my wait was so long because my case was complicated and needed both the senior ortho and senior maxillo facial doctor to treat me.

I know this won't be a popular view, but I think the NHS should only pay for the medically necessary cases or severe cosmetic ones, or the waiting lists would be even more ridiculous. I understand though it must be upsetting if your child doesn't qualify, but they have to have a 'cut off' point somewhere.

brook2jack

The total nhs budget , including patient payments, for all dental treatment including hospitals, dental health promotion , all specialist care etc etc is £28 to £34 per person per year depending on where in the UK you live.

Now if you look at the costs of expensive treatments such as orthodontics this takes a massive chunk out of that budget that pays for everything from a simple filling , to complex reconstruction of a persons jaws using implants etc after cancer.

Nhs dentistry is there to secure oral health. It cannot afford to provide everything that everybody wants.

coldstreamalways

carebear13 wrote: »

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)

What would they fund it with? I'm really quite shocked that you think this would happen- a private business would take on treatment that the NHS has already deemed not clinically necessary- for free!

OP, orthodontic comissioning is a real hot potato in many PCTs. You could and should write to your PCT/LHB and your MP asking for their explanation of how much ortho treatment is funded, subit a FOI request if necessary to understand their decision making and finally, if you think it is really unjust and you have the time to do so, judicial review has been successful for other unfunded medical treatments. However, if you consider that the PCT could fund a life prolonging cancer drug OR fund your DCs not especially necessary orthodontic treatment, you may find your argument falls on deaf ears.

Good luck!

rachhh

Cosmetically attractive teeth are a privilege not a right I'm afraid. If people want nice new boobs, they pay for them, so why shouldn't you pay for your own teeth?
If it's a corrective thing/health issue, then yes, the NHS should cover it, but there's not enough funding anymore to allow for vanity procedures.

FBaby

My DD has what seems like a huge gap between her two front teeth, but also between her top and bottom teeth through sucking her thumb. Her dentist referred her when she was 11yo and I was certain she would meet the NHS criteria as her teeth really looked bad, but she didn't. Saying that, he said she should come back in 12 months time. In the meantime, the practice was taken over by another company and she was sent an appointment 6 months later than the original one. To my surprise, we were told she was elligible this time.

I have to say this assessment was much more thorough. From what I gathered, it is not the gap between her two front teeth that made her elligible in any way, but the fact that the gap between top and bottom teeth was now 4 mm AND something about her tongue feeling the space and affecting her speech to some extent.

I don't know whether it is a case of the first orthodontist not being thorough enough, or the second more diligent, or that her denture did get worse in the 6 months time, but I was over the moon! We were quoted £1,800 privately rather than £3,000 but it is still a large investment.

It might be worth waiting for some months and going again. We waited about 3 months for the first appointment, then got another one after 6 months, treatment starts 3 weeks later, braces expected on 3 weeks after that appointment, so incredibly quick.

FBaby

carebear13 wrote: »

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)

Children are entitled to free preventive care, not cosmetic, and part funding private and nhs is against Department of Health policy. A GP cannot prescribe drugs on the NHS for a private funded cycle of IVF.