NHS child braces

DanE2010

Hi
My son has been referred to the orthodontist for braces. His teeth have large gaps between them and it's long been decided by the dentist that when the time is right to fit them he would need braces. 
We went to his first appointment today and the orthodontist said that the NHS don't pay enough for the treatment anymore and were looking at a bill of around £4000 ontop that we would have to pay ourselves. 
We are on Universal Credit on a very low income there is no way we could find £4000 for braces. This doesn't sound right to me? Is this correct? We are in Northern Ireland and he is 14 years old and definitely needs the braces its not cosmetic. We were referred to this orthodontist by our NHS dentist, and it's says on their website they do NHS and private work. I was under the impression if you were a child you didn't have to pay dental costs? We have been to the dentist regularly as a family and have had some treatments such as fillings and have always been exempt from any charges so im abit shocked at the £4000 bill. Can anyone let me know if this is correct?

Many Thanks 

Voyager2002

Sadly, dentists can charge what they like. They believe (with some justification) that the amounts the NHS pay are too low, and so they often do only certain 'public service' tasks on the NHS while charging whatever the patient is willing to pay for anything else.

Employed people pay fixed fees for NHS treatment, while those on certain benefits, and all children, receive NHS treatment without paying anything. Obviously this is no help at all when only private treatment is available.

Your options are stark: find another orthodontist working within the NHS (or with lower private rates); write to this one explaining that you are on UC and appealing to his better nature (good luck with that!); rob a bank; or travel to a country where dental treatment is more affordable (Poland is probably a good choice).

brook2jack2

Put in writing to the orthodontic practice asking what your child’s IOTN (index of orthodontic needs) is and if they qualify for NHS orthodontic treatment . Point out that you were referred for a NHS consultation and that if your child qualifies for NHS treatment then if the practice cannot provide it would they refer you onto a practice that will. 

It may be that although your child has gaps inbetween their teeth that they did not qualify for NHS braces . Gaps , although they look unsightly , often do not meet the criteria for NHS brace work. If that is the case then treatment is only available privately . 

IOTN is a scale of how bad your child’s teeth are and in NI your child will have to have grade 3.6 or above to qualify for NHS treatment. https://www.stmichaelsorthodontics.co.uk/index-of-orthodontic-treatment-need-iotn-explained/

DanE2010

Thanks so much for your replies. 

He has been on the waiting list, he has been waiting years for this, he has 2 gaps where teeth should have grown but x rays have shown there are no teeth there, it's all very complicated for me but they say he most definitely qualifies for braces and this has been discussed for many years and it was always said he would need braces but would need wait until he was older and then a few years ago the referral was made and was chased up several times in the past year and a half and now he's finally here at the stage where he can get them done and we have been hit with this. 

The orthodontist clearly stated that the NHS payment wasn't enough for the braces and we would have to make up the difference and we would be looking at £4000 but perhaps we could pay instalments. This made it clear that he knew this was not a private patient but regardless we would have to pay? It doesn't seem right to me.

Thank you Brook2jack2 I think putting it in writing would be the best way forward then I have a paper trail of what has been said etc.

welshdent

Dentists do not charge "what they like"
They/We charge what we need to do to be able to pay bills, staff, compliance, legal cover, tax, NI, insurance and oh - earn a bit for themselves. 
Walk a day in someone elses shoes before making statements like that