Orthodontics for overbite

onlyroz

I don't think this classes as a medical question - I'm more interested in people's experiences.

My son, age 12, has been assessed as having an overbite, where his top teeth totally overlap his bottom teeth. It is not considered severe enough to be covered under the NHS and so we would have to pay £2900 for the treatment, which would involve a removable brace for 6 months, a fixed brace for 15 months and then a guard he would have to wear in his sleep for a number of years after that. The consequences of not treating it are that he might end up wearing out tooth enamel or his gums prematurely, which could lead to issues further down the line. I don't personally think there is anything wrong with the appearance of his teeth or his jaws and he is not in any pain (apparently some people with an overbite have receding chins, and can have headaches and other pain).

So does anyone have experience of having this treatment? Did it work? Was it worth the cost? Or did you decline, and were there any consequences?

The dentist said that I have an overbite - and so he probably inherited it from me. No dentist has ever commented on this before or suggested that I needed any kind of treatment. I'm not aware that I have suffered any ill effects from it.

Thoughts?

peachyprice

Two of mine had orthodontics, my eldest boy because he had a slight overbite and his canines were very high in his gums, my daughter had an overbite, but because her bottom teeth were too far back rather than the top teeth being too far forward, her bottom teeth were hitting gums inside her top teeth and causing inflammation. My other son also had an overbite, but too small to be treated on the NHS, the orthodontist said to wait a few years as, being a boy, it was likely to correct it's self as his jaw grew, and he was right, he's 22 now and has perfect teeth.

If it's not noticeable and his teeth are otherwise straight I would wait and see, you have up to the age of 18 to start NHS treatment so there's no immediate rush.

foolofbeans

I had treatment for an overbite and ever since I have had a clicking jaw so unnecessary interference is not always a good thing.
I never had any issues prior to the overbite so I guess if the overbite was causing concerns it would make sense to treat it.

onlyroz

Thanks all.

I'm slightly suspicious about being pressured into private treatment - I was told that it is far easier to treat this now than once he has stopped growing, and if we left it he might require surgery in the future. They also said that he will only be eating with his back teeth and if he has a problem with them in the future then there is nothing to fall back on. I'm not sure how much this is scare tactics considering that I can now see that my own teeth overlap in exactly the same way (when I close my teeth the bottom layer are totally invisible) and I have never been told by any dentist that this is a problem.

They said that one option is to wait 9-12 months, by which time he *might* qualify for NHS treatment - but if he still doesn't then he would have grown a bit more and the opportunities to correct it with braces would have diminished.

If I do an internet search for "should I correct an overbite" all the responses are from dentists who will profit from the treatment.

peachyprice

Well, both of mine had NHS treatment, they both went at around 12 for their first consult, they both then had to wait another year before they would start treatment. The majority of children in my children's school/social circles who have braces are between 14-16, with a few extreme exceptions. Make of that what you will

Have you actually had an NHS referral or is it just the private ortho telling you he won't qualify but needs treatment?

Nicki

Did they say what his IOTN score was? If it was 4 or over than he qualifies for free NHS orthodontic treatment. My understanding is that this is an objective test based on measurements which the orthodontist takes so shouldn't be any question of being pushed into privately funding treatment if there is a genuine need for it.

Slinky

I have an overbite and only chew with my back teeth. In my 50s now and am now exploring the possibility of orthodontics to try and even things up a bit as the dentist is saying the teeth are wearing unevenly and will only get worse as I get older. I dread to think what this is going to cost, we're probably talking well into 5 figures as of course this will all be private work.


If I could go back in time I would have got something done earlier (or if dental options available now were available then it would have been easier I think).

System

It might be worth posting this on/moving this to the health board, as there are some dentists over there.

cr1mson

My son only started his treatment at 14 and ortho has not said it will take any longer as a result. Whilst we were eligible for NHS treatment we delayed for nearly a year as we didn't like the original orthodentist and wanted a 2nd opinion. That took a while.

rocketqueen

I was recommended to have braces for my overbite in my teens - I didn't go ahead as was terrified of dentists.

Fast forward 10 years to my mid 20's and my jaw suddenly started dislocating (I had to hold my hand under my jaw to yawn, as if I opened my mouth too wide it'd pop out of socket and then I started to get gum problems and abscesses due to the poor occulsion of my teeth.

I ended up having fixed braces for 3 years in my late 20's and a big operation on my jaw (both upper and lower jaws were broken and reset in the correct place with metal plates.)

My case was so serious the NHS treated me, even if though I was a adult - which I think is very rare.

My mum also has a overbite that has never really caused her any problems, but from a personal point of view I wish I'd had the braces as a child and potentially not gone though a major operation as an adult.

onlyroz

peachyprice wrote: »

Well, both of mine had NHS treatment, they both went at around 12 for their first consult, they both then had to wait another year before they would start treatment. The majority of children in my children's school/social circles who have braces are between 14-16, with a few extreme exceptions. Make of that what you will

Have you actually had an NHS referral or is it just the private ortho telling you he won't qualify but needs treatment?

Yes, we had an NHS referral but after an examination I was told that he didn't qualify for NHS treatment. I wasn't given a specific score for my son but I was shown pictures of the sorts of problems that would qualify - the issue seems to be that the NHS won't fund treatment for conditions that might manifest further down the line.