Metal Mouth Message Board

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Hi Gem and welcome. I can't really help you with your questions as I live in Ohio, USA, but did want to greet you. Good luck with whatever you do. A question you might not have thought of: If you go private, will the NHS still pick up the tab for the surgery and will it get done in correlation to your orthodonia schedule?

Hi Attagirl2, thanks for the greeting!

Yes, I already asked about that, my surgery will be paid for by the NHS and as my ortho works for them half the time, there shouldn't be a problem there.

Hmmm, the only problem will be the huge bank loan I'll need!!!

Hey with the £/$ exchange rate as it is at the moment, maybe I should just come over to the states! That should be less expensive!

Hi Gem - congratulations on finally getting some progress with your ortho treatment. NHS dentistry in the UK is a hit and miss affair. If you can get it, and are not too fussed over a long wait, then it can be just as capable as it would be going private. However sometimes, you are not referred, and are dismissed out of hand, even though you are a valid candidate to have ortho treatment.

At the end of the day, I was told even if I could get orthodontic treatment on the NHS, I would have to be prepared to wait for a very long unspecified amount of time, and I would also have to contribute 80% of the total cost from my own pocket, because I was working full time.

So I went private, and was delighted I did so. I wish you all the best on your ortho journey. Although I will admit £3,800 you have been quoted is quite expensive. I paid £2,200 for my treatment.

Hey dodger,

I had a similar ish experience to you. I had an initial NHS consultation about a year ago and was told it would be about a year until I could start treatment, then when I called, they said it would be another year! I just got sick of waiting.

So they told me it would be around ££500 now, that a little less (not much though!) Although they are really flexibld and said if I pay £1000 deposit, I don't have to start paying until I get a job in September (I'm a teacher (or I will be if/when I get a job!), so that was nice of them. Or do you think I'm getting ripped off?!

Gem

Hi Gempop1

Like Dodger I'm also paying £2200 (ceramics top and bottom, retainer, all breakages, etc. Treatment time = approx 2 years). I'm able to pay in instalments too. Basically, the ortho said as long as I'm all paid up by the time the braces come off I can pay as much or as little as I like, when I like.

I'd say that if your quote of £3800 includes surgery then that sounds about right. If not, then I think as Dodger says, it's seems rather expensive. Although reading other posts here from Brits, some are paying about that without surgery.

By the way, if you don't mind me asking, what are you having surgery for exactly? I'm debating that option at the moment

And yes, I agree with you about the exchange rate and having treatment done in the US. Adjustments approx every 6 weeks could pose a few problems though!

Hi Malikara,

Your Ortho sounds really nice and flexible with payment, which is important!

No, my £3500 doesn't include surgery, but I'll get that for free on the NHS.

I have a friend who is a nurse at an ortho. surgery, and she also said it was expensive. However, when I told her my ortho's name (Mr. Kinderlan) she said he has a really good reputation and I should stick with him.... So I don't know! Maybe he's more dear because he's a consultant? Or are all ortho's consultants?! I have no idea!

What's your surgery for?

I have to have 2 operations. The first is to correct the way my upper jaw slightly slants from the right down to the left (I can't remember the official term !) So when I do a huge cheesy smile you can see more gum on the right side of my face than the left.

The second operation is to put a little implant in my lower left jaw, because it's smaller than the right side.

I'd love to put some pictures up because maybe my explanation isn't very good, but I can't figure out how to do it! I couldn't even get my pic on the left under my details!!!! Any clues? I only have my pictures on my hard drive, not on a URL. Can I still do it?

Gem
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Hi Gem,
Good luck with your treatment, I bet it feels good to be getting started. My treatment will hopefully start soon too,I am paying £3,800 for my orthodontic treatment with a consultant at a large private hospital. He is the only ortho who agreed to take on my (rather complicated) case and he has a wonderful reputation, so to me it is worth the money.

As an aside, I am from the York area and did my nurse training in York (many years ago now). Where abouts in York are you?

Best wishes, dee

Gem, re: posting photos, you do have to post them to another site
and link to them here.

try this one:

http://www.imageshack.us/

It's free and they have good instructions, pretty easy to use.

Thanks Doug!
You can see on the picture above how the left side of my face is smaller than the right (it's called hemifacial microsomia - very rare apparantly!)

and this is a close up (kind of) of my teeth.
I really don't have enough pictures showing them properly - probably a common story for many of us...?
Anyway, my front left tooth (is it an incisor? not very good with jargon) sticks out forwards, which they are going to correct, and and my bottom teeth are extremely crowded.


Quite a bit has happened since I last posted.
I saw a Maxillo Facial surgeon at York Hospital, who examined me and told me about what he could to to straighten out my face.

It sounded pretty traumatic. I'd have to have a whole MONTH off work (which isn't an option for me!) after surgey to correct the 'cant' (or slat, from the top left down to the right) of my upper jaw and it just sounded too traumatic for me.

Instead I've opted for more of a 'camoflage' job. The will put a little jaw implant into my bottom left jaw, to make it more similar the right one.

I'm getting my extractions on the 25th July, my spacers and brackets only 4 days later on the 29th July, and finally my arch wire a week after that.

So FINALLY, it's happening for me! I'm so excited to at last be joining 'the bracket club!!

Gem
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hello! My brackets and spacers are going on tomorrow and It's safe to say I'm a little nervous.....

Here's a last, final 'before photo'


and here's a close up of my teeth:



I heard a rumour that it's not a great idea to put on brackets without an arch wire because they will be much sharper. I hope that's not true....?

I had my extractions 4 days ago and the pain from that is quite bad, but strangely enough, the pain isnt so much in the extraction sites, its in the teeth surrounding the gaps! Could those pesky crowded teeth be moving into the gaps of their own free will? How bizzarre and painful!

I'm also concerned because the ortho's office STILL havent given me a written quote after me asking for the last 3 weeks. They seem very relaxed and laid back about it but I would just like it on paper before they start work - or am I being too suspicious?

Anyway, fingers crossed that I don't come out of there looking weird. I'm not too worried about how I will look in braces, but I'm not so sure about brackets alone - won't they look a little pointless, floating and odd...?!!


Anyway, fingers crossed!

Gemma

Hey, if they don't put a wire on, ask if they'll put ligatures on... to cushion those brackets against your lips/cheeks. Or ask if they'll put a tiny little weak wire across some of them... it won't hurt anything. I had a wire across mine first thing.

Thanks for the advice fyrelight - I'll do that. Just about to set off now.
Gem