Should I get braces here or abroad?

[goran88uk]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum.

I am looking to get Damon Clear braces back home because they are appx 1000 euros each jaw, which is a lot cheaper than in London, and that includes travelling costs.

The only problems are unforeseeable and unexpected trips back home to the orthodontist that I might have to take if the wires get loose or I get any other problems. So my question is, does wire loosening happen often? and what other unexpected accidental issues may occur? from your experience, do you reckon it would be better and safe to get them in London even thought it does cost more?

I would like to thank and show my appreciation in advance to you guys that opened the thread and took time reading it.

I am looking forward to learning a lot more from all of you on this forum.

Thank you

[sirwired]

All orthodontics involves regular visits for monitoring and adjustment (usually every couple of months), in addition to any problems you might have such as popped wires, popped brackets, etc.

[Matilda]

I am looking to get Damon Clear braces back home because they are appx 1000 euros each jaw, which is a lot cheaper than in London, and that includes travelling costs.

The only problems are unforeseeable and unexpected trips back home to the orthodontist that I might have to take if the wires get loose or I get any other problems. So my question is, does wire loosening happen often? and what other unexpected accidental issues may occur? from your experience, do you reckon it would be better and safe to get them in London even thought it does cost more?

If it's noticeably cheaper getting upper and lower braces including the traveling costs in your home country than in London then go for it.

I've been in braces for almost 18 months now and never had a loose wire. I did experience a pokey wire and a broken power chain, though.

[djspeece]

Most of my extra visits to the ortho where in the first six months -- once when a bracket popped off the crown, and several times to get the archwire trimmed since wax was not sufficient to avoid the poking.

[boodles8]

How long is the trip?

For the first 5 months, I lived close to my ortho, and I had to make a couple of emergency visits during that time. For the past year or so, I've lived three hours from my ortho. I haven't had a problem with this. It is pretty inconvenient, but no emergencies have cropped up. Keep in mind that depending on what they're doing to you, you may have to go as often as every 3 weeks. How well would you be able to take that kind of time off of work? I have ended up with a little bit of delay in getting out of braces due to having to set appointments farther apart than he would like. So far, that's added about a month of time.

[goran88uk]

Thank you for your responses.

its 1.5hr flight tobelgrade, or either in zagreb that is 1hr. I havent decided yet where. Besides the cost effectiveness, I also trust the orthodontists more back home than here. I just believe they are more money oriented here.

I think there wouldn't be any problems in me getting time off work, but booking an early ticket could be a bit more costly than usually.
I wouldn't mind if I have to wear them a bit longer if I will have to spread the appointments a bit further.
Will I notice the pokey wire within first few days, or it just randomly comes, (if it occurs at all). Do those problems occur by not looking after them? like not eating more carefully or?

[Elegra]

As others have mentioned, I do think it would be better to live closer to your ortho, you may end up paying more in travel costs than getting treated in the UK. I had to visit my ortho every 4 or 5 weeks, plus a few times needed to pop in between appointments to get things tweaked like loose brackets, moved wires etc. These are things that can happen between appointments. You can still shop around for a good ortho in the Uk to find the best price etc but I just don't think it would be a good idea to have treatment from someone you can't easily reach.

[Woobster]

I'm in Damons and am at my ortho's office every 3-4 weeks for adjustments. I've also gone in between appts a few times to have my wires clipped due to poking. So the amount of time in between your visits may vary a bit depending on what you need.

For me, the most important thing was to have an ortho that I trusted completely. I think I'm paying a little more than I probably could have, but for me, it's worth it to have that trust.

Good luck!

[sirwired]

I know that flying RyanAir/EasyJet can be cheap, but I cannot imagine it being so cheap that it'll pay off to fly home for every adjustment. Even a really short and straightforward treatment would require 8 visits or so, plus long-term retainer checkups, and that doesn't count any visits to fix a poking wire or popped bracket. (I had to make two unscheduled visits over the course of treatment; one to replace an over-stretched ligature, and another to re-bond a popped bracket.)

If your treatment time is, say, 18 months, that will take at least a dozen total visits, even with self-ligating brackets. (One for consult, one for bonding, one for removal, one for retainer bonding... that leaves 8 visits over eighteen months for adjustments.) Is travel really so cheap that you can fly home a dozen times and still come out ahead over braces in the London metro area? (Try the suburbs for cheaper prices over downtown.)

[boodles8]

The pokey wires we're all referring to occur in the natural course of treatment. There's nothing you can do to prevent them. Often, you can cover them up with wax and avoid a trip to get them cut, but sometimes they get too long even for that. Popped brackets are usually, though not always, the result of being too rough on your braces. You avoid them by not eating the foods the orthodontists says to avoid. That said, the brackets don't stick as well to crowns, and I actually had one come off of my crown just randomly. I think I was brushing my teeth when it happened? My point here is that you might or might not ever have to go in for an unscheduled visit. There's no way to predict whether you'll need to or not.

[Featheryy1221]

I agree with what others have said. You never know when you'll have to see your ortho. I honestly couldn't imagine having to get on a plane every time just to see my ortho. But that's just me. I could see maybe if you were saying you were going to another country for a year or so and were planning on braces there, but even then you'd have to fly back when you got home. I don't know.

To me, I'd do what others have suggested and try looking for an ortho that's closer to you. I'm sure there's someone near where you live that'd work. Sadly orthodontics can be expensive, but you can always try saying up more money so you can afford to go to someone closer.

[Ciara]

Like everyone else said, you really should consider getting them closer to home. Things happen and there is nothing you or your ortho can do to prevent them.
I've had a bracket pop off twice (not my fault) and I ended up getting a molar band instead on that tooth, I've had a wire that had to be clipped because it was really cutting into my cheek, another time the last connection on a power chain broke, sudden sensitivity in a tooth because of the way it had moved. All in all, I've had 17 regular visits in 16 months and 5 emergency visits. (My ortho schedules a 1 week check up after patients first get braces just to make sure they are doing ok.) Once you get your braces off, you will have a retainer.
If you add up all these costs, would it still be cheaper for you? Also, don't forget to take all the travel time into account. Do you really want to do that every month to 6 weeks? What if you have a sudden emergency that is very painful?