Braces...medical card

*melanie*

hi all,
im just wondering if someone could help here,
im in very bad need of braces, as i have very crooked teeth,
looking at them, they look like 2 fangs... this stops me from smiling properly.
im 24 years old, and wondering if my medical card will cover getting the braces, as these teeth are causing me a lot of problems with confidence etc, really making a negative impact on my life.
i know they can be so expensive to get done, and fact, i most definatly wont afford them,
any ideas if my card can cover this?

davo10

melanie, unfortunately the health boards will only treat ortho patients under 16 years of age, or those who were on their waiting lists before they turned 16. A private dentist will not do ortho on med card as HSE will not pay for it. sorry.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

In short no, the medical card dental scheme does not cover braces. There are free braces for children under 16 if the problem severe engough in the local health board orthodontic unit. However at your age braces would be seen as purely cosmetic and are not paid for by the medical card.

See here and here and here and the recient report here

*melanie*

Brooklynn Pitiful Flu wrote: »

In short no, the medical card dental scheme does not cover braces. There are free braces for children under 16 if the problem severe engough in the local health board orthodontic unit. However at your age braces would be seen as purely cosmetic and are not paid for by the medical card.

See here and here and here and the recient report here

thanks so much for your help,
i wonder if i send a sort of appeal to the health board, would they consider it?
as when i was growing up, my mum didnt give a hoot about putting me on a waiting list ,she really didnt care ,and me being so young didnt do it myself.
would an appeal help, if i told them this,and how its so badly affecting everything i do now, mental state and all?

btkm8unsl0w5r4

You can try but they dont have enough funding to treat the kids with cleft lip and really severe skeletal problems yet alone adult cases. I know it is effecting your self confidence but this problem is not high on the HSE's list of priorities in these times.

Private orthodontics is not as costly as you might think. maybe between 2000 - 4000 euro but over maybe 2-3 years. Thats between 13 to 26 euro a week. Less than a smoking habit. If its important to you think about saving for it, or putting a payment plan together with a orthodontist most will oblige.

Where there is a will there is a way...good luck

*melanie*

Brooklynn Pitiful Flu wrote: »

You can try but they dont have enough funding to treat the kids with cleft lip and really severe skeletal problems yet alone adult cases. I know it is effecting your self confidence but this problem is not high on the HSE's list of priorities in these times.

Private orthodontics is not as costly as you might think. maybe between 2000 - 4000 euro but over maybe 2-3 years. Thats between 13 to 26 euro a week. Less than a smoking habit. If its important to you think about saving for it, or putting a payment plan together with a orthodontist most will oblige.

Where there is a will there is a way...good luck

wow, when you put it like that, it maybe isnt impossible for me, i could afford to do it weekly i think for sure.
thankyou very much for all the info,
i appreciate it

taram

And definitly shop around, and ask for different options, like metal train tracks for me were much cheaper than the other options. Good luck

Kila

I'm paying for my ortho treatment myself, and he had several payment options and is pretty flexible about it. One of his was to pay 100 a month, for example. Break that down, and it's about 25 a week, which is manageable. I pay mine in 6 month installments, at 700 every 6 months, although really it seems I just pay whenever I want The 6 month intervals give me time to save up to pay, and I will only make 3 payments in total (as I paid a deposit at the start too).

If there isn't a payment plan flexible enough to suit, you could also consider taking out a small personal loan. Spread over a long term, this too could work out at a small weekly amount, and would allow you to pay a lump sum up front.

You can find a way to do it, definitely, if it's something that you want to do.

Best of luck!

*melanie*

Kila wrote: »

I'm paying for my ortho treatment myself, and he had several payment options and is pretty flexible about it. One of his was to pay 100 a month, for example. Break that down, and it's about 25 a week, which is manageable. I pay mine in 6 month installments, at 700 every 6 months, although really it seems I just pay whenever I want The 6 month intervals give me time to save up to pay, and I will only make 3 payments in total (as I paid a deposit at the start too).

If there isn't a payment plan flexible enough to suit, you could also consider taking out a small personal loan. Spread over a long term, this too could work out at a small weekly amount, and would allow you to pay a lump sum up front.

You can find a way to do it, definitely, if it's something that you want to do.

Best of luck!

thanks kila, il definatly look into it

Clueless09

hi Melanie-I see you are in KK. i got my brace done in Naas, ***mod edit no names allowed, sorry****, I just got a top brace and he only charged me €1500 which I thought was very reasonable. Now my teeth werent very bad, so all in all ill have them on less than a year, maybe thats why they were so reasonable. KK isnt so far from Naas, you should give him a buzz, i paid in installments of €500.

jadebt

are u able to get braces with a medical card

btkm8unsl0w5r4

very old thread here, the answer remains the same