Braces and a touch decision

[LaDonna]

so my husband convinced me to switch dental plans the start of this year because we would only have to pay $500 for dd's braces, i figured it was too good to be true, and in a way it was, I only have 3 people in my area to choose from, here are the details, the first office I went to everyone was super nice, I liked the doc, but it was so old and run down and no room to hardly move(packed like sardines I felt) that guy wanted to do headgear at night which I thought a little old school, he's been practicing ortho for over 30 years, and when looking online has got about 5 bad reviews and 1 good review, the second guy although much nicer office etc. wanted to pull up to possibly 4 perm teeth, which my gut told me just didn't seem right, office an staff were nice and their reviews were soso, my third choice had a lot more bad reviews online so I'm not even wasting my time, and to top it all off I drive 35 minutes away to a place that was listed on my insurance site but they tell me oh we don't take that insurance anymore and that they had been asking for awhile for them to take them off their site, I was so pissed I called my insurance right there to file a complaint! Way to use up some gas Well went ahead and did the consult and he says he just wants to do regular braces nothing else special.
I did one other consult out of my insurance plan and they wanted to do one of those things you put in the roof of your mouth and turn a key, can't remember the name. So 4 completely different opinions! WHEW! But all these estimates were about $4,500-$6,000(the first 2 guys I mentioned I'd actually only be paying the $500 copay though).......so I dunno if I should just do the headgear guy for $500 or just wait another year switch insurance(we are able to choose from a few every year, it is actually the same company just different benefits, the other one we can switch to is at the same cost(which is actually free for us) and pays up to $1000 for braces, which means we'll still be having to pay around $4000) ............I just can't quit thinking about it, is it worth it to take my chance at the old run down office that I didn't feel real comfortable in and wondering about the headgear but loved the staff and doctor or wait until next year and spend a lot more money? Unfortunately I've asked so many and everyone else seems to be on the same boat, they really don't know what they'd do.......the pros and cons are really kind of even I guess you should say.......if it wasn't such a big price difference I think the decision would be easier.....
so anyone want to help me think this out some more.....I've really overthinked I think really

 

[Mommee]

I don't think headgear is old school. Making them wear it during the day is. DS wore headgear at night only, and he's 15. Our ortho is not much older than me, and there's a county-wide pool of beatifully-smiling children around here (without unnecessary teeth pulling!) to convince anyone of his skill.

If you're concerned at all, I think your best bet is recommendations from parents who've used that particular ortho.

 

[LaDonna]

I don't think headgear is old school. Making them wear it during the day is. DS wore headgear at night only, and he's 15. Our ortho is not much older than me, and there's a county-wide pool of beatifully-smiling children around here (without unnecessary teeth pulling!) to convince anyone of his skill.

If you're concerned at all, I think your best bet is recommendations from parents who've used that particular ortho.

We've got so so many orthos around here I don't know of anyone else that has gone there

 

[maleficentmom]

Don't know if this helps,but my daughter had the spreader thing that adjusts with the key in the roof of her mouth, that seems to be what a lot of the other kids here get at first before they get the braces on.We had a guy that was retirement age and a guy that took over his practice that was new.We liked both. I would ask my family dentist for a recommendation.

 

[LaDonna]

Don't know if this helps,but my daughter had the spreader thing that adjusts with the key in the roof of her mouth, that seems to be what a lot of the other kids here get at first before they get the braces on.We had a guy that was retirement age and a guy that took over his practice that was new.We liked both. I would ask my family dentist for a recommendation.

The Headgear guy is who my dentist recommended, but I've only been at this particular dentist since January, and I'm always one to believe everyone has a partnership w/ everyone else just to make money, ya' know hey you refer these people and I'll give you etc etc

I'll be on the puter all day today trying to figure this out, I only have until Friday though, that is when the Headgear guys estimate expires.....

 

[ceecee]

The problem with some of those dental plans that you have to go to a certain dentist. That dentist has agreed to take a write off and usually you get what you pay for. If you're only looking at $500 difference ($1000 instead of $500? if you switch plans) I would look around. I work for a dentist and we refer to 4 orthos in the area and only one still uses headgear (he is retiring soon). I would ask the parents of your kid's friends in ortho who they have had success with. You can't tell by the older vs new expensive office or the friendly staff!!!

 

[laughinplace199]

How old is your DD?

My DD11 has braces and my DS9 has the palate expander (that you turn the key in).

At my DD's first visit, the ortho said we could either have the expander or we could have 4 adult teeth pulled before she put DD's braces on. The palate expander would have done a decent job, but pulling 4 teeth would be the way to get the best results for DD. The ortho left it up to us and and we ended up having the teeth pulled.

As far as DS goes, he currently has the expander and will get braces eventually. The ortho said that the bones in the upper jaw typically close around age 11, so it's best to have the expander put in before that happens. If your DD is getting close to this age, waiting a year might not be a good idea.

 

[minnie1928]

To me, 12 seems old for a palate expander...my kids (and their friends) seem to get them in the 7/8 age range. So, if that turns out to be the case, that 12 is too old then pulling the 4 teeth makes sense. It sounds like they need to make some room to shift the teeth around. FWIW, I had 4 teeth pulled before I got my braces.

My best friends are dentists and they preferred the expander for their son. The line of thinking was that you don't want to pull permanent teeth that are healthy, if you don't have to.

 

[LaDonna]

The problem with some of those dental plans that you have to go to a certain dentist. That dentist has agreed to take a write off and usually you get what you pay for. If you're only looking at $500 difference ($1000 instead of $500? if you switch plans) I would look around. I work for a dentist and we refer to 4 orthos in the area and only one still uses headgear (he is retiring soon). I would ask the parents of your kid's friends in ortho who they have had success with. You can't tell by the older vs new expensive office or the friendly staff!!!

oops maybe I didn't say something right

I only have to pay a $500 copay for the first 2 guys I mentions, thats it, no more fees etc....I made sure I checked that out and it is legit, only $500 dollars

and if I wait I'll only have a $1,000 coverage, meaning I'll be paying around $4500 give or take out of pocket

 

[LaDonna]

How old is your DD?

As far as DS goes, he currently has the expander and will get braces eventually. The ortho said that the bones in the upper jaw typically close around age 11, so it's best to have the expander put in before that happens. If your DD is getting close to this age, waiting a year might not be a good idea.

She turned 13 today
WEird though out of the 4 guys only one recommended pulling teeth. Yeah one guy told me around 13-14 is when there really might not be any way of expanding the jaw and you have to pull teeth, so that is another agonizing reason I can't decide wether to wait or not.......it is really coming down to wether I think this headgear guy will do a good job, since his office just seemed so run down and dinky, it just seemed strange.....the 5 bad reviews he did get had to do mostly with him/staff being rude, not answering ?'s, or adding on additional charges

 

[LaDonna]

I honestly didn't think the crowding looked that bad in my dh's mouth.....but then again I'm no dentist I like to go on my guy instinct a lot, not sure if that is a good thing

 

[rbork]

Had a hyrax aka expander when I was 19!
Yes they DO work even at 19 yrs old. just split the pallet alittle more abuptly than the gradual spread of the expander. Doesn't matter what age you are, someone can fix your teeth. Just varies in how they do it! My criteria was personal recomendations foremost. Good Luck with your decision.

 

[angierae]

We chose pulling teeth and night headgear over jaw surgery for DD16 and the results after 18 months are AMAZING. I wouldn't discount headgear just because it's "old school" - there has to be a way to keep the back teeth from moving forward when there's gaps from pulling teeth, and that's what the headgear does.

 

[hsembrick]

Honestly I don't know what I would do, my kiddos are probably going to have to have braces in the next year or so but we haven't reached that point yet. Luckily their dentist is also an ortho so I don't have to worry about finding a new dentist.

In reference to the insurance, this is exactly why DH and I decided to drop our dental insurance. Right now we pay roughly $400 ever six months for cleanings (so far we have been in the no cavity club) and we have not been able to find dental insurance that would justify the cost per month verses what we have to pay in visits. Even with dental we would have to pay $1000+ for braces and just don't see the point when we can put that money away now and pay OAP when the time comes.

 

[fakereadhed]

Had a hyrax aka expander when I was 19!
Yes they DO work even at 19 yrs old. just split the pallet alittle more abuptly than the gradual spread of the expander. Doesn't matter what age you are, someone can fix your teeth. Just varies in how they do it! My criteria was personal recomendations foremost. Good Luck with your decision.

Agreed! My DD got hers at 15.

Many ways to do braces. Pick the one that feels like the best option and has good recommendations from people you know. If you see a someone with braces, ask their parents what they think of the experience with their ortho. Much better than online reviews. Those are mostly left by people with extremely positive or negative experiences.

 

[girli565]

My cousin uses head gear at night. A lot of orthos in my area use head gear, it's not old school, it's effective and cheaper than surgery and less painful than pulling teeth.

 

[rockiesfan]

Could you call the headgear orthodontist and ask him why he recommends that over pulling, then call the one who recommended pulling the four permanent teeth and ask him why he recommends that over headgear, and compare responses? DD started treatment at 8 and eventually (at 11) had four permanent teeth pulled. Her orthodontist said he could use an expander but that with the size of her teeth (huge) and mouth (small), she'd end up looking like a horse! DD loves horses but didn't want to look like one I felt better about having the teeth pulled once he explained the reasoning. DD finished treatment in September and has a beautiful smile I would make sure you like and trust the staff because you'll be spending a lot of time there . . .

 

[humalexis]

My DD9 has a palate expander and it was really amazing to see how big the gap in her top front teeth got in only 35 days. After we finished turning the key they connected her four top front teeth with typical looking braces and in less than a few weeks the teeth had shifted together and the palate is still expanded so she now has more room for her back adult teeth to come in. She now has to wear what my ortho called a face mask at night. It really isn't a mask but it fits on her forehead and chin with a metal bar connecting those pieces and then their is a cross bar for the rubber bands to hook onto so that her jaw will be moved forward. They were really nice about telling her she did not have to wear at a sleepover and she could even forgo the ordeal while at WDW in June!! Yay!!

I think you should try to find some people who have had kids use these orthodontists and see how they feel. Our ortho had a smile book with probably 200 kids and adults with before and after pics. I hope you can figure out a decision that works well for you.

 

[BabyFu18]

If you can afford it, I'd say go with the doctor/office you are most comfortable with and that your child is most comfortable with and if you need to ask about payment plans to help offset the cost that isn't covered by insurance.

 

[LaDonna]

If you can afford it, I'd say go with the doctor/office you are most comfortable with and that your child is most comfortable with and if you need to ask about payment plans to help offset the cost that isn't covered by insurance.

lol I put touch decision instead of tough

hmmm that is the thing, we could afford it I guess, you do what you have to do, but we'd have to do without some extra stuff like our yearly vacation, and going out sort of stuff, which we really don't do that much anyways
And we'd probably have to work some more overtime......just trying to weigh if it is worth it....

I'm starting to lean more toward the $500 headgear guy.....I'm thinking even if he did do something wrong, worst case scenario would be we have to go to another ortho, perhaps switch insurance get the $1,000 help there and have another ortho fix it and then we'd only be out the extra $500 we had to pay originally.....unless when switching insurance they'd say that was preexisting or something and wouldn't cover it......of course the cost for the second ortho would be cheaper perhaps if 1st ortho already did some work