I need braces please help on my options & prices

[babyclayton]

Hi, I'm 25 years old, and currently get free NHS dental care after having a child. I eventually braved a trip to the dentist which I ahve avoided for quite some time, and I had to have a tooth out. This went ok, so I am getting braver, but he said I would need a brace and a fixed brace is now classed as cosmetic and my age and things so it would cost around £3000!!!! Is this really just for a standard train track brace????? As I really want to get a nice smile now I have the courage to go to the dentist, and I would try and pay for a hidden/clear/or them braces that go on the back as normal metal fixed brace would most definately knock my confidence as I have very little already. But if this is the cost for a standard brace, what is the cost of all the others???? Also ivisalign would not work on me as my teeth are quite crowded at the bottom front. So then this worries me that the longer I'l need a brace the more it is going to cost????? Any help/advice on costs and my options would be kindly appreciated. x x x x

 

[olanda]

i'm 32 and have just had braces put on my teeth. i had the choice of ceramic (tooth coloured) or the traditional metal type and i went with the traditional ones because they were about £800 cheaper and they actually look quite nice! as you probably know, you can have the invisalign type of brace, but with more crowding you'd need either tooth coloured traditional braces, metal traditional braces, gold coloured traditional braces or (i think they're called) lingual braces, which are fitted to the backs of your teeth so no-one can see them. however, the process of fitting lingual braces is much more difficult and the treatment time is also longer so you'll definitely end up paying more for this.

my advice is to get the traditional metal braces, they're the simplest and cheapest and i'm finding that people's reaction to them is really positive; people are generally quite impressed i'm wearing them and it's seen as quite 'cool'!!!!

the orthodontist treating me is called anna gibilaro and there's a huge amount of info about the different types of braces on her website if you google her.

having the actual braces fitted is really easy, even relaxing because you're just laying down and it doesn't hurt at all. then, for the first few days after having braces fitted your teeth *really* hurt and you keep cutting your cheek. after that things settle down a lot although i still can't chew hard things because of the pain and i have to spend much more time cleaning my teeth than usual - *everything* gets stuck in braces!! i've had my braces one week now and it should take around a year to straighten my teeth.

overall the experience is really positive though and you know you're doing something non-invasive (ie no surgery, tooth cutting etc) to improve your teeth

good luck!

 

[babyclayton]

Thankyou for your reply. I think traditional braces would be a better option for me to be honest, do painkillers reduce the pain for the first few days?? Also if you don't mind, what is the cost for the traditional braces x Thankyou very much for your help x x

 

[olanda]

i did take ibuprofen for the first couple of days and it really helped, so yes they do work. it really wasn't that bad and you definitely shouldn't let the thought of any pain put you off of getting it done.

as to cost, mine are really expensive but then that's because it's a really expensive central london practice where i'm getting it done (mine are around £5000). i'm sure you can absolutely get them much cheaper than this, much much much cheaper - your dentist should be able to refer you to someone i'd have thought? i think the price would be pretty dependent on where you get it done so i can't really advise you anymore about costs.

but, if you can afford it, definitely do it!