Braces, how much and at what age?

[iwannago!!]

Mine got hers on shortly before turning 13. She did not need a palate extender & got the small bracket version (nothing special). 2 yrs they will be on & cost is $5700.

 

[MK2thcleaner]

I would advise you to do a great deal of research if your orthodontist recommends the two phase approached starting with a very young child. There is a great deal of research published in the peer-reviewed dental literature which demonstrates that there is very little benefit other than to the orthodontist's portfolio.

I think a second opinion is always a good thing, especially if you have very little personal experience with the orthodontists philosophies. However, I do believe that there are many cases where early ortho treatment can lesson and even possibly prevent a "second phase" of treatment. I do agree that full ortho on primary teeth may not be the best treatment option or even necessary. However, many times a Phase I treatment might include a palate expander, lip bumper, or any of that other mouth filling hardware that is not bands and brackets. I have plenty of patients, that when treated young, did not require second phase ortho that included braces.

I do agree that there are plenty of practitioners out there trying to pad their pocketbooks, but I don't feel it's the majority. As a hygienist, I only refer my patients to specialists that I would be willing to see myself.

As a patient, ask your hygienist who they or their family members have seen. You could ask the same of your dentist if that makes you more comfortable.

 

[StephMK]

DD, now 14, did phase 1 when she was 8. I'm glad we didn't wait because her front 4 teeth were crooked & the side 2 stuck out farther forward than the very front. She now has a beautiful smile where I think she would have become self conscious. We haven't gone in for a phase 2 consultation yet because we moved.

Recently, her incisors were coming down too far forward but once her baby tooth fell out on one side, that tooth is coming down into place better. I'm hopeful the other one will as well because the rest look really good in my non-expert opinion. Her mouth tends to hang onto to her baby teeth but I think we're finally down to the last 2.

 

[moonbeams4]

We started seeing the Ortho when my daughter was seven. Our dentist referred us. She has just had a initial consultation and check-ups at this point, that have resulted in extractions - 10 to be exact. 6 primary and 4 permanent. The positive for this is that the extractions are covered by our dental insurance, and is suppose to help defer lengthy treatment later during the ortho part -which we don't have insurance for. The cost of the Ortho will be all on us, and we don't yet have a final number, until all her teeth are in place. I'm hoping what we've done so far keep the final number on the low side.

 

[coneeny4]

My dd who is 10 now went when she was 6 for a consult and he recommended to have her 4 bottom front teeth removed because her second teeth were growing up behind, we did that.

Next we went back in last October and he recommended removing 4 teeth on the top after having a whole mouth xray we did that.

Now we go back in June for braces. It will be $5000.00 with monthly payments of $125.00.

 

[dahrjo]

I took my DD9 to 4 different orthodontists in the area. Just to see who we liked and wanted to spend the next 8 years with. (DS will also need braces)!

We got 4 different opinions!!

I didn't know what to do, so we just have done nothing for about 6 months.
I don't really like the 2 phase option, because it is twice the cost and we should end up with the same results with doing the 1 phase in a year or so.

 

[kimsuenew]

Our DS was 10, our dentist had to pull two permanant teeth before the Orth. could put them on. They cost $4500.00, but thankfully we had a total of $3000.00 covered by insurance! We had to put $500.00 cash down and the remaining $1000.00 was divided into $100.00 monthly payments, complete with a payment book!

DS has a mouth that is to small for all his teeth in the upper section, had an overbite, and had strong roots on the two front teeth (they did not come out before the permanant teeth came in, he had to have the two baby teeth pulled as well) so the front two teeth came in sideways somewhat.

Braces were, hands down, the BEST purchase we have EVER made as a couple! He has an absolutely beautiful smile now and is confidant! He cringes at old pictures he sees, he simply cannot believe that his overbite was that prominant.

 

[Cindy B]

I waited until 7th grade for my son. It was about $5000 but first the ortho gave a generous cut for our insurance and it became around $1800. We put about $1600 in the FSA (after figuring out the initial with insuance amount), so we only paid about $200 out of pocket. He just got them a few months ago and will get rid of them by around 9th grade. We waited until 7th for a few reasons: 1) we wanted my son to get all his baby teeth out 2) DH missed the FSA cutoff last year to sign up

My daughter is in 5th grade and will need braces as well. We used all our FSA money this year so we will get her started the last quarter of this year when we sign up for FSA.

 

[littleteapot]

DD 7 Had a palate expander for 8 months and is now wearing a retainer. Treatment was $400 and she will need another expander and braces somewhere around age 12.

DS 11 (now 12) started braces in November. They started him a little early so I could use money from my flexible spending account 2007. All of my kids will probably need braces, so I will have to be carefull about how we spent the money annually. My son's braces will be $4,800 total with insurance picking up $1000 lifetime.

 

[elgerber]

My dd just turned 11 when she got hers put on. She had had 2 consultations prior, but they were waiting for her adult moellers to come in. The cost of hers was $5400.

 

[EverythingDisney]

DD now 10 had her consult when she was 9yo. They told us to wait until all her baby teeth fell out. We ended up having 4 pulled, since they were taking forever (and the adult teeth were already growing in).
Cost for us $5650... We go back in May to see if she is ready to start.

 

[Bibbidi]

I would advise you to do a great deal of research if your orthodontist recommends the two phase approached starting with a very young child. There is a great deal of research published in the peer-reviewed dental literature which demonstrates that there is very little benefit other than to the orthodontist's portfolio.

Thanks, that's what I'm wondering. My daughter had to have two teeth pulled because fillings got infected and the teeth abscessed. Her pediatric dentist fitted her with one spacer yesterday and another will be put in on the other side in July. She has a very small mouth, like me, but I somehow got very straight teeth without braces. She will not be that lucky. Our dental insurance does not list a coverage amount for braces, so when the time comes they may or may not cover a portion. My younger daughter is several more years away from needing them, but I know it's coming.

Thanks for all the input and tips. I just wish insurance would consider braces more necessary than cosmetic. Grrr.

 

[Bibbidi]

My daughter gets her braces of Thursday She had them put on 18mo ago and they cost $6300. We waited longer than most and she had hers on the first year of High School. DH insurance pays $1500 the rest was monthly payments deduct from FSA. Next DD we will proably start in sixth grade. She already had to have two teeth pulled because of over crowding.

With regard to the FSA--did you know what your monthly payment would be to the orthodontist and then each year you just put that much in your FSA? I just wonder if when the time comes we'll be guessing at what we need to put in the FSA each year, or if we'll be pretty sure of the total cost that we need to save each year and have deducted. Hope that question made sense.

 

[DisneyDawnNH]

My son started with the ortho in December - started with a pallette expanding retainer and headgear for the next 1 year then he goes to braces then ? - it is suppose to be a 3 year process to the tune of 6300.00 I paid about 700 when he started, the insurace covered 1000 for ortho and I am making 2 payments of 2300.00n in January of 2008 and 2009 which I set up through my FSA account. So I am just a couple of months into it and they have 4000.00 from me already.

Just a little tip - the retainer is not covered for replacement which of course we have already needed to replace - that was an additional 275.00.

The only tip I received from dentist was not to let "them" pull out his teeth - good luck!

 

[DebMcDonald]

My daughter was 12 when they went on, they cost about $4600, we put down like $1200 and made payments without interest through them for $175 per month. They are off now, came off right about the time I made my last 20th payment.

 

[kathi29]

DD9 got her palate expander in March 07 when she was 8. Braces on the 2 front teeth and 2 permanent molars to start, and they bracketed the other 2 front teeth when they came down far enough to be included. The RPE came out last month, so she had it for 11 months.

In this phase, the ortho fixed her crossbite and her front teeth will be nicely aligned where they are supposed to be. He cautioned us that this does not mean we won't need another phase of braces later, but we have at least reduced the chances of that as well as reducing the chance of having to extract permanent teeth.

I know there are two camps regarding Phase I. If you look, you can find enough research to support your opinion no matter which side you are on. My feeling is this... when they kids are still growing, you can guide the teeth into place as they come in. If you wait for the jaw growth to stop, you are then moving teeth that already know where they want to be. As bones harden and teeth have their place within those bones, you are causing more pain and trauma by moving them at that point. Moving the teeth of a younger child with softer bones, putting those teeth where they belong, and allowing the bones to harden as the child grows is less painful.

My then 14 year old babysitter had an RPE and said it was horrible each and every time they had to turn it. My daughter didn't need painkillers to turn the RPE, has had very little tenderness after adjustments, and has more self confidence because her front teeth are straight.

 

[nana2tots]

The 13 yr old got her Braces on her 12th B'day, the almost 9 yr. old had to go yesterday for her impressions for her Braces, Thank God their Dad has Great insurance. , that they even think of Braces at 9 yrs. old, When my Daughter got hers, she was 15 yrs. old

 

[Jennabeth]

DD9 got her palate expander in March 07 when she was 8. Braces on the 2 front teeth and 2 permanent molars to start, and they bracketed the other 2 front teeth when they came down far enough to be included. The RPE came out last month, so she had it for 11 months.

In this phase, the ortho fixed her crossbite and her front teeth will be nicely aligned where they are supposed to be. He cautioned us that this does not mean we won't need another phase of braces later, but we have at least reduced the chances of that as well as reducing the chance of having to extract permanent teeth.

I know there are two camps regarding Phase I. If you look, you can find enough research to support your opinion no matter which side you are on. My feeling is this... when they kids are still growing, you can guide the teeth into place as they come in. If you wait for the jaw growth to stop, you are then moving teeth that already know where they want to be. As bones harden and teeth have their place within those bones, you are causing more pain and trauma by moving them at that point. Moving the teeth of a younger child with softer bones, putting those teeth where they belong, and allowing the bones to harden as the child grows is less painful.

My then 14 year old babysitter had an RPE and said it was horrible each and every time they had to turn it. My daughter didn't need painkillers to turn the RPE, has had very little tenderness after adjustments, and has more self confidence because her front teeth are straight.

I tend to agree with this. My dd is 8 and in Jan of this year receive a palette expander and braces on the top and bottom. Her front, middle teeth came in fine, but the teeth right beside those had a lot of trouble fitting. The teeth in the bottom came in behind all her other teeth, and the teeth on the top hadn't come in yet because there was no room. We hoped the expander would make enough room so they would come in the right spot. She had her braces for a day and I could see a change. Her teeth moved very quickly because of her young age and really didn't cause much harm. Now, after 8 weeks, her bottom teeth have spread out enough that they are going to pull the teeth in the back to the front. Her top teeth have spread out enough that those top teeth are starting to come in, in the correct place!!!

Once all of her teeth are in place and the braces come off (next year) they will put a semi-permanent retainer behind those teeth so they won't move while her molars are falling out/coming in. Once all the permanent teeth are in those retainers will be removed and she will have a normal one that she can remove. This is phase I and cost just under $3000. Insurance covered half and we did the rest out of an FSA (approx. $30 per week). They say we most likely will not need Phase II.

I'm very glad we did it at this age. She is the first to get braces in her class, but others will be following. Most likely she will be done by the time she is 9 and will not have to go to high school in braces. Her smile is so pretty now and she loves her braces and shows them off with pride. I will do the same thing it they are recommended for our younger dd (age 5).

 

[SandraVB79]

In my case, I needed to wait until I had all of my "real" teeth before I coudl start wearing braces. I think I started wearing them when I was about 11 or so.


Btw, be sure to warn all your friends and neighbours and family and who else to NOT give them any Easter baskets with gum and other candy (cfr a thread on the CB )

 

[DisneyCrazyX5]

DD 7 Had a palate expander for 8 months and is now wear a retainer. Treatment was $400 and she will need another expander and braces somewhere around age 12.

DS 11 (now 12) started braces in November. They started him a little early so I could use money from my flexible spending account 2007. All of my kids will probably need braces, so I will have to be carefull about how we spent the money annually. My son's braces will be $4,800 total with insurance picking up $1000 lifetime.

We have a 12 year old (6th grader), who is in braces. He also had the expanders when he was 8 for a year and then went to holding retainer until his braces were put on in Aug. 2007. We are still waiting for the top two eye teeth to come in enough for brackets.

We also have 7 year old twins, both of which started with their expanders in Aug. One is on his second upper expander since he needed some more width, and as a holding retainer on the bottom. His brother has expanded enough and we are not turning his anymore. He will get his holding retainers in May or June.

We make around a $200 payment a month total. Insurance paind a one time $1000 per boys.
I blame it all on my DH, he had braces and had to have some teeth pulled to make room. I am glad the boys are able to have the expanders and not need to have any teeth pulled.