We are happy to offer free consultations, as this is a big decision for most people. We are careful to take budget, comfort, and appearance into account.
Everyone should know that a level of Orthodontics is available for children under 18 as a free service on the NHS (we are not an NHS practice).
However, we do offer private children’s Orthodontics at Winning Smiles, where the children aren’t thought to qualify for NHS, or where people are looking for ‘something more’. As a private dental practice, we can provide treatment options to children, along with shorter waiting times, and aesthetic options such as ceramic brackets.
For Those Children Who Don’t Qualify For NHS Orthodontics
Because these cases are mild and the treatment time is short, this results in significantly lower costs.
Mild Cases
For those children who have been referred to an NHS orthodontist who has told them that they do not qualify for treatment on the NHS because their case is not severe enough – we can often treat such cases in under 6 months using a variety of cosmetic fixed, removable and invisible aligners (like ‘Invisalign Teen).
What makes our orthodontic treatment worth considering?
Evening And Weekend Appointments
We work when you don’t: offering appointments up to 7 pm and on Saturdays means that hard-working parents don’t have to sacrifice valuable work time to get their child’s brace adjusted.
Bearing in mind that this is usually a monthly commitment over the duration of treatment, it will save a lot of time off – combine this with state-of-the-art brace systems that get the job done quicker and the savings really mount up.
Furthermore, many parents worry about taking their child out of school for half a day a month and the effect this may have on their schooling.
No Waiting List
NHS waiting times to begin treatment are often over 18 months. Since most children are advised to wait until all their adult teeth have come through before starting, orthodontic treatment frequently doesn’t begin until the age of 14 or 15. This means braces can end up causing discomfort and distraction during the crucial GCSE years, a time when teenagers are already self-conscious about their appearance.
At Winning Smiles, we often start treatment around 11 or 12 (or earlier for our ‘early intervention cases, see below), which means that by 13 or 14, treatment is complete, often around the time their GCSE syllabus is starting.
Early Intervention
In a significant number of cases, orthodontic treatment should be started prior to a child’s pubertal growth spurt to obtain the best results. We know that in such cases, treatment can be finished much earlier, extractions can be avoided and the final result is just so much better (wider smiles, better function).
We routinely check our children to see if they require this type of early intervention orthodontics and will start treatment as early as 8 years old if necessary. This way the treatment is finished much earlier.
If these same cases are treated at 13, the amount of time with the train tracks on is much increased, and often extractions are needed, which results in fewer teeth to eat with and a noticeably narrower smile.
Faster Treatment
Using the most up-to-date orthodontic systems means that treatments that used to take 2 years or more can now be reduced to around 18 months. These systems (eg, Damon braces) cost quite a bit more than conventional systems but this is more than offset by the convenience of reduced treatment time, reduced number of visits to the clinic etc.
All Cases Treated From The Mild To Complex
As mentioned above, many parents have to come to terms with their child being refused orthodontics on the NHS because they are told their teeth are ‘not crooked enough’. We regularly treat these mild cases, and they can often be completed in 6 months or less, and our reduced fees reflect the simplicity of such cases, monthly payment terms still available.
Discreet Braces And Clear Aligners
Despite the well publicised celebrity orthodontic cases of recent years (e.g., Tom Cruise) many parents and children haven’t fallen in love with the ‘Brace Face’ look. Many of our orthodontic systems are discreet and ‘cosmetic’, we use the same systems for our young patients as we do for our adults because we know that many patients prefer not to advertise the fact that they are having treatment.
We are also Invisalign Teen accredited, which means that we routinely provide Invisalign ‘almost invisible aligners’ for our younger patients. Not just train-tracks (although even our train tracks are of the cosmetic variety, discreet, white brackets).
Dental Plan
We also now offer our dental plan to any child, whether the parent is registered with us or not.
What They Say About Us
Exemplary Customer Service
From start to finish the Winning Smiles team has had an exemplary approach to customer service. The initial call to make an appointment for a consultation was handled extremely professionally by Dental Receptionists. They were able to make an appointment around my busy schedule and I got an appointment within 10 days.
The consultation went ahead as planned, where I had photos taken of my teeth and then advised of the best plan of action to improve my misaligned teeth. Also, during the consultation, I was advised of the payment options and potential payment plans if I couldn’t settle the bill as a whole.
Then came the pre-dental treatment to ready me for my braces. The Hygienist was absolutely brilliant. She cleaned my teeth and also went in to great detail on how I should clean and maintain my teeth.
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