Braces

NeoSlicerZ

At my last appointment about a year ago my dentist told me I'd need braces (previously I hadn't gone to the dentist in yonks, some childhood trauma keeping me away) but I was wanting to go study abroad so put it off. Now I'm abroad so going to get braces, problem is that I don't know if I'll be here long enough and I'm kinda reluctant to put it off anymore. If I for some reason have to move back to Ireland, can I go to another orthodontist or would it be ill advised?

Spook_ie

My son has had braces for the last 6 months and has another while to go before his treatment is finished. No disrespect to your dentist, but the only person fully qualified to say that you definately need braces is an orthodontist. In our case it was very obvious that DS needed them, but we still went to two orthodontists to get 2 opinions - 1 charged nothing and the other 50 euros. A friend of ours did the same with their child but one ortho said yes and the other said 'not sure, come back in a year' so they are currently sitting things out. At the end of the day you are going to pay thousands of euros for this treatment so make sure you suss everything out before commiting to treatment and get as many opinions as you can.

The only thing that did surprise us was that when treatment is completed, DS will have to wear a retainer at night to keep things in place.

NeoSlicerZ

Right, the dentist I saw was also an orthodontist, I went to get a consult here with another ortho and same thing. I wanted to know if switching orthos mid treatment is viable.

Spook_ie

ok, well in short, yes it would be viable to change mid treatment. I do know of someone who started here in Dublin and paid a deposit of 750 euros and had the first set of braces on, and then found out that they could get the treatment done in Newry cheaper and simply phoned up the Dublin practice and said they couldnt afford the price and 'thanks very much' and that was it and the orthodontist in Newry had no problem taking the patient on.

For us, although the prices are slightly higher in Dublin, the orthodontist is only 3km's from our front door and appointments are easier to schedule.

day dreamer

Hi

it is great that you have decided to get orthodontic treatment and you will not regret it. There is not such of a price gap with the North anymore.

Most treatment takes 18-24 months for an adult and I can only assume that this is true for you. If you are going to be abroad for say 3-6 months or if you will be moving around a lot then wait until you come home. If you are going for longer then have the treatment started and then if it is not finished when you come home you can arrange a transfer to an orthodontist here.

It would be better to have it all done in the one place. It may cost you a little more when you transfer compared with having the treatment done in 1 place. This is because the new orthodontist may use a different kind of brace and you may need to have your appliances removed in order to switch.

The other issue to consider is the retention phase, i.e. the bit after the braces come off, is just as important as the phase when the braces are on. If you change orthodontists the one who removes the braces and fits the retainers will then be responsible for your care and you will have to pay for this too.