Affording braces

[TLHB70]

subscribing.............

We are about to have to face braces for DD (age 11). The dentist pulled two teeth hoping that the new ones would help straighten some things when they came in. It doesn't look like it is helping much. I have no doubt that we will have to deal with braces this upcoming year. Her next apppointment is in December. I have heard from friends that prices vary. I guess I will look at several orthodontists and ask for consultations.
I will read and learn from all of you with experience.

 

[alexandmaddie]

DD 11 got her braces on yesterday as well! Total was $5000. Our insurance will pay for $1000, I put a down a $1000 down payment yesterday. We will make $100 payments through Aug of 2007 (10 total), then in Sept 2007 it will change to $249 month for 8 months. I flexed $2000 through DH's Flexible Spending Account for this year and will flex the other $2000 next year. No interest.

I ended up taking DD for consultations at 5 different orthodontists in the area. They were all basically the same amount, with one being $200 more. We ended up going with the first office we visited, but I still feel better knowing I did my research.

Poor DD - her mouth is really sore today. She has the Damon brackets. She doesn't go back for 10 weeks to have them tightened. I thought this seemed like a really long time. When I had braces 20 years ago, I think I went back at least monthly.

Krista

 

[DVC Jen]

don't walk.. RUN away from that place.

We have delta dental too (not sure what your coverage is) but they are paying a good chunk of both of our DDs braces (yes two in them at the same time).

We just finished paying for our oldest hers were 112.00 a month and our youngests are 107.00 a month.

We have gone through monarch dental and even though they are a "chain" they have been doing a great job and are really good with our girls.

 

[crz4mm2]

I agree with most of the other posters to wait til Jan. BUT, I would definately shop around.
OUr local ortho office does in house financing. If you make the downpayment, the mothly payments are interest free. It is a great deal if you ask me.
Maybe someone near you offers the same?
Good luck. Braces are quite expensive. My two kids have had them and I have had them!

 

[we3disneygo]

my dd is facing oral surgery for a upper tooth not coming out and 2 teeth on the bottom that are fully formed but not coming out will have to have a gold chain hooked to them somehow and the ortho. will have to gently pull them up each visit, she already had a set of braces in the 3rd grade, so were looking at another 2 years, and 4000. which wouldn't be so bad if our electric bill in our state wasn't going up 55% Jan.1 !!!!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I forgot to mention that she also neglected to tell us that afternoon appointments are also subject to a further discount, but since we didn't get as far as making the appointment maybe she didn't think it was necessary to tell us about it.

Our dentist did suggest two other Orthos, but since friend goes to the same dentist and had gone through the same in the past year I heeded her advice.

Should I contact the others for consults before January or should I wait until the insurance is available? I think the insurance pays $1000.

 

[crz4mm2]

Should I contact the others for consults before January or should I wait until the insurance is available? I think the insurance pays $1000.

Are the consultations free?
If so, go ahead and contact them. I would.

 

[TLHB70]

Are the consultations free?

I was wondering if most consultations are free????
I am the one that posted ealier.....I am following this thread because we think we will be having to do braces with DD this upcoming year.

 

[billythefish]

My advice, move to the UK, it's FREE for kids to have braces. My three all had them and I didn't pay a penny. That's extortionate what they expect you to pay over there.

 

[justjulie]

Our $5,200 investment came off yesterday and I must admit, my son's teeth are beautiful - it was worth every penny. I think we paid $400 at the beginning and then approximately $164 monthly for the next two years - that included unlimited visits - broken wire, teeth sore, just need some reassurance - unlimited appointments - no extra charge. We have a $2,000 cap on orthodontics but it was still worth the out-of-pocket expense of seeing my child SMILE without any apprehension for the first time in a long time.

 

[chasbos]

I will be working on our 4th child with mouth hardware in the near future!

My 1st DD was only a retainer - thank goodness = $900 (was $1000 got 10% off for paying in full)

DD #2 - has full braces and was $4800 - 10% = $4320

DD #3 - has top braces and an appliance currently, cost to date is $3400 - 10% = $3060. With phase 2 yet to come.

My dentist offers the 10% discount for payment up front or you can pay in monthly installments. I find that when I use my CC - which I get 2% cash back on and the 10% discount I am better off.

Also taken into consideration is the tax benefits I receive.

My kids had better appreciate there nice straight teeth!

 

[laurie31]

I forgot to mention that she also neglected to tell us that afternoon appointments are also subject to a further discount,

Wow. We have to take turns for afternoon appointments. The schools here have sent out letters stating parents should make doctor and dental appointments after school hours (because of NCLB) .

EVERYONE can't go after school. So the secretary told us that they rotated the afternoon appts. so it would be fair to everyone. (If we check our kids out of school twice we have to meet with the principal about "truancy" )

I'd be happy to pay MORE for an afternoon appointment! LOL

If you insurance will pay $1000, that's plenty of incentive to wait! (think of it as getting paid $100 a week for waiting! It's exactly 10 weeks away!)

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I would like to hear more about the Flex account people have used toward braces. My company uses Wageworks and I think the cap is $2500 and our insurance covers $1000. We are planning on getting our first DDs braces on in Feb, gives us enough time to save and pay maybe $600- $800 out of pocket the day the are put on. We do not want to finance anything. I'm hoping with the large amount from our Flex account, the insurance and a down payment that large, hopefully we can get a small monthly payment and work on paying extra through the year so that we can pay them off in 2007. Then, hopefully get DD 11 in braces in Feb of 2008, start everything over again.
Granted, DD12 has had a consultation, but she still had 2 molars that hadn't come out. Well, one came out a couple of days ago in Disneyland and the second one is loose. Anyway, during this consultation, no financial discussion whatsoever. Long story short, just curious if the ortho office takes both the Flex account money and insurance right off the top leaving us with the remainder to set up on payments?

 

[laurie31]

I would like to hear more about the Flex account people have used toward braces.


Long story short, just curious if the ortho office takes both the Flex account money and insurance right off the top leaving us with the remainder to set up on payments?

Ours has a $5000 cap, but I think we only put $1800 in there this year. We had no clue last November that we'd be getting braces this year (that's the tough part about flex accounts - the predicting how much to put in there).

Obviously next year's amount will be more...

I think it would be individualized amoung offices whether they would take your whole flex amount off the top, but I don't see why they wouldn't. They don't care what account the money is coming out of, I presume Ours did take the insurance payment off the top, but I'm just going to use the flex money to make the payments so I didn't ask about that. I guess I could make one big payment instead. Hmmm....I'm off to check how much of the $1800 is left (both girls got new glasses this month too...plus my DH had minor surgery months ago, so there's likely way less than $1000 ).

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Thanks for the info. I kinda wish our cap was $5000, that would hopefully pay off the entire amount. It would probably hurt my paycheck quite a bit though. But I understand that the pretax savings can really add up. Regardless, I think it's a great option for companies to offer.
From what I understand, it's all put on a credit like card at the beginning of the year. I just cant wait to get them both in braces!

 

[kirbsam]

My advice, move to the UK, it's FREE for kids to have braces. My three all had them and I didn't pay a penny. That's extortionate what they expect you to pay over there.

yeah, but then we would move back here and all the kids would have this irresistable urge to drive on the left side of the road when they got their drivers licenses. it would lead to anarchy.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

DD#2 is getting braces soon. Our options are full payment ($4300), a down payment of $1800 and then monthly no-interest payments of $126, or calling a finance company for interest bearing options for the full amount. We filed bankruptcy 2 years ago due to DH's company failing so I know we'd be denied. I think I am going to borrow the DP from my mom (I still owe her some from DD#1--it's been a rough couple of years!) and make the payments. DD#2 already had a small set of braces for one year to correct an underbite, and my $1000 that the insurance pays went to that.
I can use flex $ (section 125) but it's all reimbursement. I will have $1100 in that account next year. I plan on making a payment, getting reimbursed and paying the next one with the reimbursement.
As for appointments, they gave me that "rotate appointments" stuff--but I'm a teacher and told them I can't take a day off 3 times a year for them, so they stopped bringing it up! The appt. to get them on is only first thing in the morning, but I made it on a teacher in-service day so she won't miss any school. (DD#1 got hers on on Martin Luther King day--I'm so mean!)
I don't even want to know if DS needs braces!
Robin M.