Braces for DD11

[elgerber]

My dd's braces, 7 years ago were $5400, and insurance only paid $1000 of that. That quote seems really low. Our price didn't include the retainer or retainer rechecks either.

 

[indimom]

DS's teeth were obviously going to need braces. He started with the expander at 10, followed by a couple stages of braces. We're almost finished now at 14. Total cost $6,000 (insurance covered $1,000).

DD's teeth were straight, but she had one tooth that never erupted and one twisted eye tooth. She had braces just on the top for 12 months to pull the one tooth into place, and they straightened the eye tooth at the same time (we wouldn't have bothered with it had it added to the time or cost). Total cost $1,500 (insurance covered $1,000).

I would get a second or third opinion just to be sure. We had three bids for DD because the first recommended full braces for $5,000 and we just didn't think that was necessary. The other two bids were similar and had the same advice. We chose the one whose office was more convenient.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Four in braces...$6000 each, insurance covered $1500. And that is $6000 with discount for multiple kids!

 

[mjkacmom]

Wow, that's practically free! My kids' braces averaged around $6200 each, and ds15's teeth looked fine (until I saw the xrays - they didn't line up). Dd13 gets checked every 6 months, until she has all of her adult teeth. The orthodontist says that she might not need them.

There are two reasons to get braces - cosmetic, and bite. My parents had relatively straight teeth as children, so didn't have braces. They have had so many problems with their teeth and gums (and they are OCD on top of their dental care). I thought I was doomed. However, I had braces, my teeth are still perfectly straight, and I have had no dental problems.

I've know ds since he was 12, and his straight teeth have definitely shifted as he aged, and he has more dental issues than I do.

 

[mm1971]

So took my DD11 to see the ortho today, they are saying she has an irregular "bite" and her teeth are misaligned. I don't see it, but I'm no dentist, they look pretty straight with no gaps or anything, she has all her adult teeth. So after insurance and all, upper and lower braces for 18 months are going to be $1550.00. Anyone know if this is a good price, DH and I never got them(no money-poor growing up), so have no idea if that is a good "deal" Any help?

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. DS had the invisaligns for 24 months. It is a little more expensive than braces, but for 24 months of braces it was $5K before deducting the insurance. DD is just starting the same and it was similar for pricing. If I could get away with paying $1.5K I think I would celebrate with a trip to WDW!:good vibes

I would take a look at the full cost to see if that makes sense, not the end cost to you though. We had 3 estimates done on DS and they were really different. We chose the $5K, but also had quotes as high as almost $10K. Ask what the full amount is. I would say if it's between $3.5K and $6K, it is competitive with what we have seen. We did not get other estimates for DD as we like the Ortho we used for DS and got a discount for for he repeat business.

 

[StephMK]

Wow, that is either a great price or you have amazing insurance. We have our last kid in braces and it's been right around $5000 per kid, $3500 out of pocket for each, including retainers and all appts. DS would have been ok without them but has them to correct some minor issues. We figured better now than run into issues later.

I am so excited because the last kid is getting his braces off and our last payment will be this fall.

 

[ceecee]

Sounds like a really good price to me. Assuming most insurance co only pay $1000-2500.00. Still I would get a second opinion. Make sure you go to an Orthodontist and not a general dentist.

 

[sookie]

Well, the regular dentist last time we went in for cleaning told us once all her adult teeth came in, we should go see an ortho. So that was the reason we went to see one, they were all in. TBH I barely went to the dentist as a child, so just figured that was commonplace.

For bite problems, I would treat her early rather than later. The pain of having braces as an adult absolutely sucks.

 

[JVL1018]

So took my DD11 to see the ortho today, they are saying she has an irregular "bite" and her teeth are misaligned. I don't see it, but I'm no dentist, they look pretty straight with no gaps or anything, she has all her adult teeth. So after insurance and all, upper and lower braces for 18 months are going to be $1550.00. Anyone know if this is a good price, DH and I never got them(no money-poor growing up), so have no idea if that is a good "deal" Any help?

That seems very inexpensive. My daughter had one tooth that was slightly crooked. Her ortho at first was hoping to move it with a retainer, but it ended up not being feasible. He said it was up to us, if we should even get them, I thought she looked fine, but she said she wanted the braces.
She got upper and lower braces to correct the one tooth to make sure her bite was totally aligned.
Insurance paid $1500, we put down $700 and pay $105 a month for 20 months. She just got them off-had the braces on for a year. Total $4300

My son, we started him a few months after our daughter, for some reason I thought it would be easier to just to them together and get it over with. LOL He needs them for 2 years and we did the $1500 from insurance, $700 down and it's $180 a month for 20 months. Total $5800.

 

[newdeal]

I am a dentist. Braces are mostly for cosmetic improvement. As for correcting the bite not all cases end up with a perfect bite afterwards, and even if they do its all down the drain if the kid doesn't wear the retainers as directed. Very few people naturally have perfectly straight teeth. Most of those people also do not have issues with their TMJs even if their bites are way off. Similarly there is no guarantee that straightening the teeth will help with preventing TMJ issues. The bottom line is there are a whole bunch of reasons to get braces, but really its cosmetic treatment and so it depends on if you value that and if you feel it is needed. What is even more important is if the child feels it is needed because they are the ones wearing the hardware for a few years, they are the ones that will need to wear retainers for many years after that, and they are the ones who if they aren't keeping the braces clean will end up having a whole host of cavities when the braces come off. Food for thought

 

[nikkistevej]

I am a dentist. Braces are mostly for cosmetic improvement. As for correcting the bite not all cases end up with a perfect bite afterwards, and even if they do its all down the drain if the kid doesn't wear the retainers as directed. Very few people naturally have perfectly straight teeth. Most of those people also do not have issues with their TMJs even if their bites are way off. Similarly there is no guarantee that straightening the teeth will help with preventing TMJ issues. The bottom line is there are a whole bunch of reasons to get braces, but really its cosmetic treatment and so it depends on if you value that and if you feel it is needed. What is even more important is if the child feels it is needed because they are the ones wearing the hardware for a few years, they are the ones that will need to wear retainers for many years after that, and they are the ones who if they aren't keeping the braces clean will end up having a whole host of cavities when the braces come off. Food for thought

Thanks for your input- especially being a dentist, that definitely gives a different perspective.