How did you all cope with all the waiting...

[Emmauk]

The waiting is definately frustrating but i try to look at it differently. Im trying to get all the wobbles out now and know that i am doing all of this for the right reasons. I've had plenty of time to do any research and meet lots of people who can offer support.

I first was referred about 18months ago by my dentist to see the nhs ortho who then referred me to the nhs oral surgeon.

The ball is rolling for me now as i am due to have my extractions next month and my braces fitted the month after that.

I am paying for my braces privately but i could of had them on the nhs (i am 32years old) but i would be along way behind where i am now as they were not prepared to see me again until Nov and that would be for a records apt, then i'd have to go on the list for extractions then onto the list for brace fitting so by paying for the braces privately i think i have jumpted the queue quite a bit.

I am paying as i wanted clear braces, its a big bonus that as it happens i am getting it all done quicker.

x

[sauerkraut]

Perhaps I shouldn’t be but I was quite stunned to hear about the four-year wait on the NHS. My children have all needed Phase 1 treatment – with appliances guiding their jaws as they grew. That meant starting as young as 7 and 8. So if we’d stayed living in the UK it looks like we’d have missed our chance for that stage of treatment. But surely if kids miss this early stage it makes treatment more complicated (and costly?) when they’re older?

What’s more, my daughters both needed expanders. Which was quite straightforward because these were fitted before the palate fused. But if they’d had to wait until they were nearly 18 they might have ended up needing surgery. I dunno, such long delays seem so… counterproductive. You’d think it must cost the NHS more in the end.

I’ve needed plenty of patience in my own case, though, as my ortho has wanted to proceed VERY cautiously towards my second surgery (just have a look at my tickers), so I have plenty of sympathy with the OP and everyone else who’s playing the waiting game. Funnily enough I think the more time has gone by the more philosophical I’ve become. In the end the idea of progress seems so remote that you almost forget about it. Which makes it a bit of a shock to the system to realize that I have my next surgical consultation at the end of this month – almost exactly 3 years to the day since my first operation. Suddenly I feel like I want more time