Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi,

I phoned up an Orthodontist practice earlier today to ask about price of consultation etc.

I wanted to book an appointment for the consultation, but the lady on the phone said I would need to bring with me a referral from my Dentist, saying I do need a brace.
For a minute I thought she might have been confused and thought I was under 18 and wanting NHS treatment. So I asked her "why do I need a referral letter from my dentist if I am going to be paying as a private patient?" and she said it was just normal procedure for that practice.

Has anyone else experienced this?

I will call in to see my Dentist (well, the receptionist) on Wednesday this week to ask for a referral letter. But I just thought, if you're paying privately, you could just have a consultation and then the Ortho would be able to tell if you need a brace or not. I only thought you needed a referral letter if you were having a brace on the NHS.

I don't have a problem with this procedure, I'm just curious to hear if others went through the same thing when paying privately.[/u]

Not me. My dentist and I had a conversation about dental hygiene and my tipped pre-molars (the spaces from my extractions about 30 years ago were never closed properly so the teeth "tipped over" when my wisdom teeth came through) and he suggested that some orthodontic work would help. I googled for the nearest practice, made an appointment and took it from there.

my dentist did refer me to an orthodontist, and i was initially going to be paying privately, but then the ortho referred me to the hospital and now i'm having the braces and surgery ont he NHS!

No, I didn't have a referral from my dentist and was told you don't need one if having work done privately. There are lots of orthos to choose from, you might want to select another if they are putting up barriers before you have started treatment.

I would definitely recommend a couple of consultations at the very least, whilst I didn't find that much variation in diagnosis, there were a couple of ways suggested to solve the problem, a a huge difference in service.

I found those who did the most private work (50% of time) had better standards of service, and were more willing to discuss different treatment options and more interested in my preferences and had more experience in treating adults. Those who did less (10% of time) weren't less flexible and communicative. I found the practice leaflets and websites good, in terms I could see what previous experience each ortho had.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Well, I went to see my Dentist to ask about the 'referral' letter and he frowned. He asked what Ortho I was thinking of seeing, when I told him he said "I cannot comment on them as I don't know anything about them, but I normally refer my patients to **** for a brace". He said it sounded odd that they needed/wanted a referral when I am over 18, and told me to go back to the practice in person and not phone them this time to ask more questions. He also reminded me as I was about to leave "please don't rush into this and definitely go in and ask more questions".

I decided to call in the practice that he said he would refer his patients too (private or NHS) and ask some questions, the receptionist was SO helpful. She actually answered all my questions without me having to ask! I liked that and found her very helpful.

So, I have decided to have a consultation with this Orthodontist first and I might have a consultation at the one in my first post (the one that wants a referral) afterwards. I feel glad that my Dentist recommended this other Ortho practice and said that all his patients have been happy with the outcome at the end of treatment. I hadn't heard any reviews about the other practice...

I think a lot or orthos accept patients by referral... It just seems to be the way alot of them work. I called one when I was trying to get a consultation, and they also said I needed a referral. It confused me too as I told them I wouldn't be having it done on the NHS. They love to complicate things I guess.

Good luck with your consultation.