Braces

[SandyinMonterey]

My daughter will probably need braces. Just trying to figure out ballpark cost. I do know according to our dental plan we have a lifetime max of $1500? Is that good or low?

 

[Lisaloo]

Any coverage is better than what we have (zero orthodontic!). We are on our second kid, both have been around $5000. $750 down then $175/month for 24 months.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

That is the same as mine. My out of pocket was about $3K after insurance, but I would imagine it would vary based on the treatment plan. DD's orthodontist also allows monthly payments, which works well since I make a monthly Health Savings Account contribution through work.

 

[katie111]

We have 2 kids with braces and they are about the same, about $5k each.

 

[tvguy]

$1,500 is pretty good, most dental plans exclude braces. I did have an option for orthodontic for a few years, but it was a rip off. $100 a month, you had to stay with the plan for 2 years, maximum life time benefit was....drum roll.......was $2,400......or exactly the same as the total premiums you would be paying.

 

[Belle0101]

Our old dental insurance was $1250 and our new is $1500.

 

[WeLuvTink!]

Son got braces last year. $5000

 

[Gena001]

All the plans I've had for the last 20 years (I used to be plan administrator many years) had ortho covered at 50%.

BUT word to the wise: treatment costs can vary widely! I took my DD to 3 different orthos for consultation. One was $4200. The fancy office (with a TV at each chair) was $5,600. We went on the referral of my BFF and this particular office had two prices: one price ($4400) for the convenience of making an appointment at any time during their working day; and another price ($3,200) if you limited your appointment times to BEFORE 2 PM (thus missing school). I just made sure our appointments were around lunch time or an electives. Hardly missed any core classes in 2.5 years of braces!

Get x-rays done at 1 office & take them w/ you to the next offices. The orthos in our area do not charge for consultations. (now the oral surgeon was a different story....)

Good luck!

 

[FoundMyPrince]

My son just had braces put on four weeks ago...$6054 total. And, this was with a 5% savings as we paid cash up front. We could have paid $1000 down and spread the balance over 24 months. And, I will add this was in addition to any dental work he needed to have completed before the braces were put on...and that was an additional $2000+ (multiple teeth pulled, anesthesia, oral surgeon, etc.).

And, this is in mid-Missouri.

 

[tasha99]

My son's braces were too much---about 6K to start, then we moved and it was another 2k. Plus almost 3K in extractions. Insurance covered about 5k because the extractions were not counted as part of the ortho limit. We started in Alaska, though, which is a high cost of living area.

 

[bethy]

My DD is in her second set and the total this time is supposed to be around $6200. She met her lifetime max with the first set.

It does depend on what you need to have done - there are lots of variables.

 

[KTSMOM]

My DD's was around $5000. Do you have an insurance plan that lets you set aside money for medical expenses? We did this so it was all pretaxed money that came out of my DH's check, so saved a bit of money there. Also, we paid up front so we got a discount for doing that as well, maybe 5% or so, so you could check to see if that is an option for you.

 

[skysmom99]

My insurance pays $1200 for braces. The quoted amount has averaged $5K per kid for my two kids who've had orthodontics so far. One more to go but since we pay on a monthly payment plan, I'm waiting for kid #2 to be done before starting kid #3.

 

[AnnaS]

It sounds about average and okay. I think ours used to be $1,200 or $1,500 and might have gone up to $2,000. We are all over the braces ages now. Two of my kids got them and they were in the $5,000 - $6,000 range. This did not include retainers, chin cup and jaw extender (for one of my kids). Those were all out of pocket. From what I hear - dental plans don't seem to be that great with anyone.

You will be put on a monthly plan. Good luck.

 

[mjkacmom]

All of my kids were around $6300 total, insurance paying $1500 each, which is usually the max.

 

[angierae]

$1500 is the average of what insurance pays. Braces will run between $3k-5k, and I would highly suggest getting several consultations - what they want to do will vary by orthodontist and the price will vary, too. We saw four different orthodontists before I settled with one. (Consultations were free.)

 

[kj2mom]

Just got done with my daughter's braces, they were $5,500 and our insurance covered $1,700. Actually we didn't get orthodontic insurance until after she got braces (her dad got deployed and had access to different care than initially with the reserves) and it was a great surprise that they would still cover her even though the treatment had already begun. It was like getting a $1,700 gift! Of course everyone is different but seems like the rough ball park is $5,000-$6,000 or so most places for most needs.

 

[Dismom820]

I have braces now, mine costs $4,000...I was able to put $3,000 down and they lowered my grand total because of that...all i owe is $800...and i'm able to take my time paying it because i put such a large amount down and have 18 months of work to pay on. braces are going to be pretty pricey any way you look at it...but they're totally worth it!

 

[Mommee]

Ds-$3500, just braces and power bands, 2 yrs. of treatment
Dd1- $2800 expander first, then 6 ms later 12 ms. In Braces
Dd2- $3000, expander and braces concurrently, 12 ms.

Ds was a one-phase treatment. Dd1 was a two-phaser but doesn't need the second phase due to obsessive retainer wearing. Dd2 gets her braces later this summer, she's also a 2-phaser but may not need the second phase due to tiny teeth that have left tons of room in her mouth. We had the option of expander only for now and braces later, but the way her teeth look bother her so I will risk doing it again.

After reading how much others pay, I'm pretty impressed with our costs!

We used to have $1500 toward orthodontics; it was raised last year to $2000.

 

[Silverscreen]

We have zero orthodontic coverage. Our youngest just completed phase 1... He is 7. He only needed them on the top and the cost was $1500. Had to put down $400, and then monthly payments. He only had them on for 9 months. Hopefully with the retainer he won't need a phase 2!!!! (crossing fingers) Eldest just went in this week, had to have 1 tooth pulled now, and come back to ortho in 6 mos to see how his teeth shift. Then may need to pull another or get them on then. I'm afraid to have to pay 2 more rounds of braces.... sigh. Oh, and we're in North/Central FL