Postby Cleod » Thu Jun 11, 2015 7:28 am
Hi again, ok so I do work in the NHS ( not at a practice anywhere near our area though). So I'll try to explain as much as I can how it works.
Under 18s are entitled to free NHS treatment if their teeth are deemed severe enough under strict guidelines which is well established index of treatment need and it is literally down to the millimetre. If you come under the borderline category then the teeth are assessed by appearance and compared to an aesthetic chart- this aspect is quite subjective though but often I ask my patients to see where they think they fit on this chart and they agree with me, so this way I feel I am being fair!
Some orthodontic practices have traditionally big NHS contracts just based on what was commissioned to them some time ago, if they have a problem fulfilling those contracts then the orthodontist might prefer for you to have treatment under the NHS, otherwise by the end of the year their contract may be reduced. However if the NHS contract isn't big, or it is a well known practice that a lot of dentists refer to or as often the case- it is well known that it is a good practice so patients prefer that practice over another one, then they will have a waiting list for NHS treatment.
This is where private orthodontics now comes in, if you don't want to wait on a waiting list, or your teeth aren't deemed severe enough to qualify for NHS treatment or you want appointment times outside NHS hours, or you want a brace that is more aesthetic and obviously more expensive then that is where you can consider private treatment. But to say to a patient that if you pay for your treatment I can save you from having teeth out or if you pay for a certain brace we can get your teeth straighter is pretty unethical in my view. There are some exceptions where it comes to perhaps if you were born with missing teeth and the milk teeth are of good quality and it is the option of whether to save them or not.
NHS treatment is also often closely audited, so we have to prove to the ones giving us the contracts that we are doing a good job- sometimes a task that is very difficult to do because that also relies on good patient compliance! But my point is you are actually very likely to get a good result in the NHS!
Some NHS orthodontists like myself also work in practices where they only offer private treatment, simply because they don't have an NHS contract there to offer private treatment. When I see a child in my private clinic that would qualify for NHS treatment if they went to another practice I do tell them that, but usually they have decided by then that they actually want private treatment.
I hope I have managed to explain NHS and private orthodontics a little, if anyon has questions please feel free to message me.
Xxx
