Orthodontic specialist help please!

anonymousie

Hi
Am all at sea with this one....

DD1 is 14 in july. She has an ? overbite (her front teeth sit foreward of the lower ones and she can stick the tip of her tongue through the gap). Her front teeth don't stick out bugs bunny like, they just don't meet (to my untrained eye I feel her lower jaw is small).

We have an orthodontic appt in late June. Very cross because we were told a couple of years ago "we could be referred if we wanted to but didn't need to " (so we declined) and have seen a different dentist who said "well something should have been done earlier it would have been easy then":mad:

Soo, as you can see I already don't know who to believe, and I understand that NHS orthodontics is a bit of a cattle market- wham bam there you are, sort of thing...

We really need relible advice about whether she needs treatment and the potential problems/benfits of it.

Complications though (and I expect to be ripped apart as a pushy mother etc for saying this) as she is a very accomplished singer (grade 7 due in the autumn) and recorder player (approx grade 8).

I am sure that changing the shape of her mouth will affect her playing/singing but need to know that it wont be detrimental long term (she is young enough for a few months "out" to be no problem). Not sure if performance will be her long term goal, but she is certainly looking to do music at uni (she was researching choral scholarships after a school trip to Oxford:rotfl: ).

So how do I find an orthodontist who will know for a 2nd opinion? I know this will be privately.

jezebel

At 14 I had a standard brace on my upper teeth but was concerned by the spreading of lower teeth due to a gap from some teeth removal - I was told this was not a problem and that this was normal and would settle down. I didn't follow this up because a) I was 14 and I believed my Dentist (also my Orthodontist) and b) I was 14 and didn't want train track style braces anyway.

Fast Forwards to 8 years later, aged 22 - different dentist told me that I needed work doing to fix this and obviously now being old enough to pay for it he said that I needed top and bottom trackwork, replacement for my missing teeth and potentially some other work doing too - total cost £7,000. I literally cried at this notice because that was a huge chunk of change even if he could put me on a payment plan. I'm just glad that I demanded a second opinion, I went to the Eastman Dental Clinic in London (Training College) and got an NHS consultancy (which unfortunately has to be by referral) and the consultant there told me that I didn't need the work! So, that second opinion saved me £7,000 but what annoys me is if I'd pushed harder at 14 I would have got the work done for free and as you said it would have been easier if caught earlier.

My advice, get it checked out but if it needs doing then get it done, even if it isn't the best job because it will save your daughter a lot in the long run!

vikkih

as a dental nurse I would advise you to ask your dentist for a refferal to Your local NHS hospital orthodontic department. in hospital although many of the clinicians are in training they will be supervised by highly quallifed consultants and registrars and have access to better equipment such as laser scanners. orthodontic treatment is easier when a child is still growing but once a child turns 16 they are very unlikly to recieve the treatment on the nhs unless they have a very severe problem. they should be able to answer all of your above questions and even after your consultation you are not obliged to take up any treatment if you dont want to. I hope this helps.

andyrules

Hi

my DD had orthodontic treatment on NHS, was approx same age as yours due to loooonnnnng waiting list! She also is an accomplished musician (wind), and yes, the brace did interfere at the time but only the lower one. Not sure how much the treatment altered her mouth shape, but the final result has had no effect on her playing.

As for the NHS, well, our experience with that is positive - the dentist was skilled and kind and tried to fit appointments around exams so she would have the brace off in time.

HTH

Poppy9

My DD (12) has just been referred for orthodontic treatment. He had better be good because he's a neighbour!!

Dentist (NHS) did say that they didn't know if her overcrowding was severe enough to qualify for NHS treatment and we might have to pay for it as the NHS now only treats very severe cases in children.

I want DD to have them sorted anyway as not only does she suffer pain in her lower gum from the pressure of overcrowding and they look unsightly due to some sticking forward but the dentist said due to the lack of space her teeth are difficult to clean properly and they are starting to push out her currently perfect top teeth.

As a chiild I remember moving dentists because my mother was not happy with comment the old dentist made to my sister about looking like Dracula because she didn't want the gap corrected between her top teeth. The new dentist we joined told her that the gap was the least of her problems as she had teeth growing in roof of her mouth that had to be removed!