Braces for an adult

A question about : Braces for an adult

I'm in my fourties, and my teeth are getting more crooked as I get older. It's only my top set (at the front!) that I am having problems with.

From what I have seen so far, the costs for braces are in their thousands.

Does anyone know of a cheaper alternative? What about Groupon - is this worth pursuing? Can I go abroad to have them done more cheaply?

Any advice/feedback would be welcome

Best answers:

• The treatment requires you to visit your clinician every 6-8 weeks. So having it done abroad might not save you much money.
  Groupon ? Never seen a braces offer on it, unless it is for consultation only. Personally, I wouldn't. Then you're tied to wherever you got the offer for, or you lose that money and you have to pay for another consultation somewhere else if you didn't like the place/clinician.
• I have all sorts of problems with groupon offers for dentistry. Not least because the laboratory costs of most of the aligned systems start at Ј1300 so it's very difficult to see how any dentist can offer sub Ј1000 treatment and not make a loss particularly after paying groupon.
  Here is a salutary thread about buying brace treatment on groupon https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...groupon+braces
• If you need braces (as opposed to just wanting them to correct a 'minor cosmetic problem' - NHS terminology, not mine!), it can be done on the NHS for Ј219. See https://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/dentalhea...es/braces.aspx
• Unless your problems are so severe you need jaw surgery as well as braces, braces are NOT available for over 18s on the NHS and have not been since 2006 in England and Wales and more recently Scotland and NI.
  Information on NHS sites about dentistry is often total rubbish . There are no contracts for over 18s for braces apart from the very special circumstances above.
• Hi, we move threads if we think they'll get more help elsewhere (please read the forum rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board. If you have any questions about this policy please email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
  I've moved your thread from the 'I wanna' board to the 'Health & Beauty' board, where it is better suited.
  Regards
  Nile
• I had invisalign recently, I don't have thousands of pounds spare so they let me pay monthly for them on finance. Luckily I got a deal with 0% interest. It was still something like Ј250 a month for a year...
  NHS don't do adult braces, I used to get repeatedly told by my NHS dentist that I needed a brace, so I asked "well can I get it not privately?" The answer is no.
• As one possible but undeniably probably Wrong Method, include a narrow-boat in your lifestyle changes.
  Guy Martin (top lad, grand engineer and unexpectedly moving travel guide) misjudged a dismount from a narrow-boat & went face first onto the dock. Now his dental rebuild was emphatically not free but since he was being filmed by the BBC at the time? The dental costs were a fraction of the series budget & anyway I think they'd insured him.
  As an alternative, could you not try to get advertising work with invisalign etc offering yourself as a poster example of Before?
• i am 36, and getting braces fitted on the 10th March privately.
  Its took me almost a year to get to this point - had to get my gums sorted and also had to shell out for specialised root canal. (I sound like i am someone off Jeremy Kyle ) ..
  I will be paying Ј3k. It is a lot of money and is going to cripple me for the next year but i would prefer this then going to a cheap orthodontist or one that is abroad. I personally wouldnt want to take the risk.
• If you live in Birmingham or Manchester this is the company I used https://www.smilestylist.co.uk/ (they do 0% finance over 12 months)
  I HATED my brace as a teenager and found invisalign much better.
  It was a little annoying, you have to remove it to eat and drink anything but water, so no middle of the night drinks except water. Also before putting it back in you have to brush and floss etc etc. I admit I was a bit naughty and used to not put it back in after lunch at work as I didn't want to waste precious lunch break brushing and flossing. Teeth seem fairly straight now, so yeah happy enough.