Dentist...Is there anything i can do????

[meg&mog]

Hi Guys

Wondered if any one could help me with this

I have a 15 yr old daughter who has very crooked teeth she was referred to a orthodontist(sp?) when she was approx 13 to see whether braces would help he told me she needed to stop sucking her thumb,she needed to clean her teeth properly and she needed to stop eating rubbish

He then sent us away and made a appointment for 4 weeks time i took her back and he said she had not done what he asked and he was not prepared to do any work on her.....she had stopped sucking her thumb alot but not altogether because he gave her 4 weeks to change the habit of a lifetime she stopped eating rubbish although to be fair she did not eat alot anyway and she started taking longer and brushing her teeth more thoroughly she may not have done enough i understand that but 4 weeks is not a long time to get a child to do all this and to see results

i took her back to her dentist explained to him what was said he apologised for his attitude and said he would refer her to another orthodontist we waiting a little over a year for the appointment to come through she went to see the new ortho on 30th sept...he has advised my daughter needs 4 back teeth taken out braces fitted and a retainer for 3 nights a week for the rest of her life they have told us we could go on the NHS waiting list if we do it is a 2 year wait by which time in his opinion she will be too old and she may experience more pain or we could have the treatment done now privatly at a cost to us of £1600

Now what i want help with is i have no problems paying for it it will be a struggle but this is her confidence and the rest of her life i,m her mum thats what i do but i need help knowing whether ppl think i should write to the original ortho tell him what his bad attitude has amounted to? whether i should write to some over seeing body of ortho,s? or whether i should just suck it up so to speak?

I am also concerned because i have a 12 yr old daughter who has a appoinment with the bad attitude artho on nov 4th what if he does the same?

Any help or thoughts would be greatly received guys thanks

Meg&Mog

[Agathachristie]

Fly to Hungary!

[tendogs]

NHS dentistry is the responsibility of your local primary care trust. Call them and see what they have to say. IMHO a 15 year old needs to be getting cosmetic dental work, from the NHS, free of charge as a matter of urgency

[meg&mog]

Hi tendogs

Thanks so much for your reply

A bit of a update we got refused the finance by the dentist to pay monthly so we have to find a £400 deposit and pay £150 everytime she goes for treatment

I contacted the dentist who referred her when i found out we hd not got the finance and he said because there is a orthodontist willing to do the work he could not refer her anywhere else does,nt seem fair since she is under 16

How do i find out what number i need to ring and who i need to talk to? would the NHS direct helpline be any good?

Thanks again

Meg&Mog

[meg&mog]

Hey

I have just rang PALS for some advice the lady was lovely and said something did not sound right she has gone off to talk to a colleague and is going to ring me back i,ll keep you posted

Thanks

Meg&Mog

[Lula]

sounds really dodgy to me, i would be putting in a complaint about the dentist

[meg&mog]

Hi another update

Lady from PALS rang back she asked me to get my daughters "index of orthodontic needs" apparently it is a scale ortho,s use to establish how urgent a treatment is i rang and asked them for it but the nurse said they are not privvy to that kind of infomation and i would have to ring back on tuesday when the orthodontist who saw my daughter is in ,PALS found that strange because it should be on her file so now i have to wait till tues

I,ll let you all know

Thanks

Meg&Mog

[Goldenleaf]

4 weeks is more than long enough to see the results of someone brushing properly. The orthodontist was absolutely right to refuse to treat your daughter and in fact would have been negligent if they had done otherwise

[meg&mog]

Originally Posted by Goldenleaf

4 weeks is more than long enough to see the results of someone brushing properly. The orthodontist was absolutely right to refuse to treat your daughter and in fact would have been negligent if they had done otherwise

Thanks for that very unhelpful comment however on this occasion taking into consideration the advice of everyone i have spoke to in a professional capacity you are wrong!

[Conniff]

If you haven't sorted it out yet meg or mog, give these a ring. They were on the local news saying they are now open to the public free of charge as students will be doing the work.

Peninsula Dental School

Not sure how it goes, but has to be worth a try if it's not too far to travel.