Metal Mouth Message Board

Im in braces for the second time the first time was a few years ago wearing a twin block appliance and i am now in full metal braces on the top and bottom.

I was told i would have to wear headgear for 6 months but at my last appointment she said it would probably be another 6 months meaning this time will be nearer to a year and i dont think i can cope with that. I thought yay 6 months i can do that but a year just seems far too long.

From my last appointment i have had to wait 10 weeks for an adjustment even though the orthodontist told me i should come back in 6 weeks mainly because i couldnt get an appointment when arranging one with the assistant as it was just too busy.

My ortho hasnt outlined my treatment, given me an estimated time and last time she just put silver ligs on even though i wanted colour (i couldnt tell her this because she was fiddling in my mouth but i specifically said from the beginning that i wanted colours).

Living in the UK i get my treatment on the NHS at a specialised dental hospital near newcastle, because my treatment is free is it rude to complain? I dont really know how to phrase the fact im not happy about having to wait ages for an appointment and that i feel that i am ignored when im there. I want my treatment speeded up a little to get things moving.

Im due to go back in 7 days (9th of feb) and i've been told there gonna start closing my gaps but im unsure of how or if they will even do this at this appointment.

Can you go somewhere else and pay and get better service? I paid ALOT for my treatment-- above average in my opinion, but I have never had a single problem getting an appointment at the correct interval. Recenly a week before my scheduled appointment, I asked to move my appointment up by one day because of a work commitment and it was NO problem. I also had a small issue when I first got my braces and they told me to come in THAT day.

It may be worth it to go look around and see what other avenues of treatment you have. I was shocked when you said that you couldn't get an appointment and then you said you weren't paying so then I was not so shocked. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Can you go somewhere else and pay and get better service?

No i cant, im 17 still in college and off to university in september. I work but only get arround £160 from my job a month. Private just isnt an option.

Hey -- it's your mouth and your ordeal! Whether you pay or use the NHS should not affect the quality of your care. If you're unhappy, then speak to your ortho about it. You're the one who has to live with it 24/7; you have every right to share your concerns.

I am sorry to hear about your trouble.
I am affraid I have no advice for you, if I knew how to deal with the NHS in this country I wouldn't have gone private. Wait, wait, wait or slap thousands and the job is done and you get treated like a human being.
"The customer comes first" rule.

Unless is something that can kill you, only then there is time for you, the rest of the time you are just a name on the very long waiting list.
"The why should I care" rule.

are you being treated by a post-grad under the supervision of a professor?

Nope, my ortho is fully qualified altohugh i do sometimes have students poking at me.

Im going back in 6 days for my next appintment and i am gonna ask my ortho how long this process is gonna take and if she could possibly move things along a little. As well as asking about my overall treatment.

I feel really rude complaining to her though

Ive had four extraction gaps in my mouth since september and i wanna be able to eat again properly.

Thanks for the advice please keep on giving it

As far as NHS, I don't know how that works, but I'd think that your ortho should treat you as any other patient she's seeing. She's being paid regardless where or who the money is coming from. So she should be treating you the same as her other patients.

As for mentioning your concerns to her and not sounding rude. Well, I'm afraid none of us knows what she'd consider rude conduct. The best advise I can give you is, just state your concerns as you have them. Try an aproach like this: "I know that you are very busy and I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. I think I had a few preconceived ideas of how my treatment would go, so I was hoping you could answer a few questions." Then, just let her know what you have on your mind. But don't try to sound dramatic. Just talk like its normal conversation, cause in reality, it is. The tone of voice in which you talk is entirely up to you, regardless of how you're feeling. Just don't let your emotions dictate how you'll come across to others. You'll be fine. As a matter of fact,you don't sound like a rude person to me at all.

The lig colour thing... I think most orthos have botched some. I've gotten the wrong colours, or a pattern I didn't ask for. Its just something you're probably going to have to be sure you remind her (or her assistant) about just before they start working in your mouth.

I hope it all works out for you. Either way, let us know how your next appointment goes.

Fed up with the NHS and how they treat you. I had to have surgery on my eye lid and was all booked up after 6 months waiting on the list. Taken days off work, turn up, only to be told on the day of my surgery that is best left alone. Give it 6 months and reconsider was the advice.I decided to go private and the same doc that was supposed to treat me on NHS did the job privetly. Cheat!!! It was OK to do it for £2500 but not on NHS. I know, nothing to do with braces but it proves my point.
The only thing I have free on NHS is birth control. Free? I don't think so. They take it of my paycheck every month, bleeding b****rds!!!
I don't choose to go private because I am rich, I choose private so I have some control over it. When you pay them nice they find time to see you, listen to you and treat you like a human. NHS makes you feel as if you are on beneffits, living of someone elses money. That is the NHS in England. National Hell Service.
There are rare cases I am sure, of nice NHS doctors, I just haven't met one yet.

Its ok for talking about kitties. As for the update i've got 12 ish hours till my next appointment so i will update then.

Today was my second adjustment and it was actually rather positive. Firstly i have hot pink ligs and my ortho has given me some elastics to wear to start closing up my gaps.

I asked my ortho about my headgear and if it was plausible to stop wearing it arround summer time (more towards the end july/august) which is also something else good.

My next appointment is in 6 weeks and i feel things are starting to move along more like i was hoping.

My estimated treatment time is approximatly 18 months and im 4 months down so i guess at the most i have another 18 months to go (taking in any problems i may encounter). So braces off summer 2007.