Braces, how much and at what age?

[Bibbidi]

Both my girls have small mouths and my oldest is almost 7. Already her two front bottom teeth have come in crooked because of crowding. What's the typical age to get braces on and other than through an FSA, how do you fund them? I'm not looking forward to both my girls having them. I guess I should start saving now.

 

[agentpleakley]

We're facing braces to -- DS is 11 soon to be 12 -- he just lost his last baby tooth. Our pediatric dentist scheduled him to meet the orthodontist this May. While this is earlier than I had my braces put on -- it seems most of his friends have already had theirs.

 

[momto2girls]

My daughter is 7 and she has a crossbite. In the fall of '08 or the winter of '09, she will need to have a palate expander and braces on her top four teeth. She will wear these for 8-12 months and then get them off. At that point, we will watch her development and see if she needs full braces in a few years.

The palate expander/braces treatment will cost us $3000. We are going to pay cash for it since we will get a small discount for paying up front. I do know that our orthodontist has payment plans too however.

Edited to add: We don't have dental insurance, so we will be paying the full cost ourselves.

 

[momto1disneyfan]

My DS was almost 15 before he got braces put on. It cost us $5300. We paid $1300 up front and then $200 per month for the next 20 months. However when my DS gets his braces off in September he will have to get a crown put on one of his teeth that will cost another $1000.

 

[Mkrop]

DS10 got his braces on two weeks ago. Without insurance they told us roughly $5K. They had payment options. I have a little coupon book to pay off what insurance isnt going to cover. DS was able to start right away bc he lost his last baby tooth when they put the spacers in. They said the closer you can start to when the adult are all in the better. Most places I looked at the evaluation was free. Plus our ped dentist told us we should go.

 

[MK2thcleaner]

The American Academy of Orthodontists recommends that each child have their first orthodontic consultation at age 7. Treatment generally begins when most, if not all baby teeth are gone, but in some situations if they catch them at that early age things can be done that keep them from needing full braces. Some kids need several phases, however, like the PP who mentioned palate extenders and the possibility of full ortho several years later.

Around here, no orthodontist charges for consultations. All of my patients are referred to an ortho and they see them usually every 6 months to a year until they are ready to begin. The first payment doesn't come until records are taken (impressions, xrays, pictures).

My ortho (I'm in braces as an adult) has a payment plan that is interest free, so I'm doing that. My total cost is about $4400.

 

[shopnfun2me2]

DD8 (will be 9 in May) got braces last June. $3060 total We expect to get them off them summer. Hopefully, this will be the only set that she will have to wear!

 

[actionvaughn]

I got my braces when I turned 14? 15? Not quite sure, but I do remember that they cost about $2500.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Where I live, if you have a child, it is assumed they WILL have braces. I don't know a single kid who escaped them. The accepted attitude is that only perfect teeth will do, and every kid needs braces to accomplish this.

The "Phase 1" and "Phase 2" is very common here. Many kids start braces around ages 7-8, usually along with a pallate expander device of some sort. They wear them for a year or two, then have the braces off briefly (with lots of retainer wearing now, of course), then full braces again from ages 11-13ish. Some never get them off between - I seen some in braces from 2nd grade to 8th. Most kids are done during 8th grade - the kids I know consider it an embarrassment to go to high school still in braces!

I tend to agree with the sentiment that every kid needs braces - I had horribly crooked teeth growing up, and well into adulthood (my parents simply refused to spend money on braces, regardless of the obvious fact I desperately needed them), and nothing good came of it. I looked awful, I was teased as a kid, and I was at a huge disadvantage professionally and socially because of my poor smile. I finally realized I was going nowhere career-wise, so I had surgery and 3 plus years of braces as a adult just to get a normal smile (and it was the BEST thing I ever did!). My braces cost $6100, and the surgery (no insurance) was $2000. Not cheap, but it's absolutely necessary to have the asset of straight, nice teeth nowadays to succeed professionally.

OP - you are a great parent for giving your children the asset of a great smile!

 

[4 Little Bears]

DS11 and DD13 got their braces two months ago. Even though DS is two years younger, the orthodontist said he was ready (he actually needed them more than DD.)

Each child was 6K; military dental insurance is paying $1500 and the orthodontist offered a $500 discount, so our cost per child is 4K. We had to pay almost 2K as a downpayment when they put the brackets on and can make payments on the remainder (appr. $150 per child each month for 18-20 months.)

After this is paid off, I can start saving for car insurance and college!

 

[fakereadhed]

My DD just got hers off at 15. She had them for about 18 months. She needed her palate expanded. The total cost was about $4000, with monthly payments about $170 after insurance payed $1000. Her orthodontist did not put braces on until she was older because he said you didn't know what we were dealing with until all of her permanent teeth were in. She has a beautiful smile, and I'm really glad we didn't put them on her sooner because it would have been an extra $2-3,000 for a two step process. We got a second opinion and are very happy with the results.

 

[Mkaz]

My Ds 8 just got a palate expander about a month ago. On Friday he goes to have his eye teeth removed on the bottom (he has a very tiny mouth). Then they are going to put in a lip bumper, after another consult. I believe the lip bumper is similar to a retainer.

The total for the palate expander was $1,680.00. Our insurance doesn't cover it. We paid $680.00 up front, and the rest will be payments. I am not sure what his lip bumper is going to run just yet, but that will work the same way as the palate expander. After that, then he will need braces for a short period of time. I am not sure of the cost yet.

I would get a consultation for your 7 year old right now. If anything, they can start the process, or tell you when you should start the process. I wish I had taken my son last year, but the dentist we HAD wasn't at all concerned about his tiny little mouth. Anyway, good luck with everything. Just remember, cheaper isn't always better in this case. We did our homework before we made a decision.

 

[_queenie_]

I'd say the average cost is $4000-$5000.

Most kids get them at the start of seventh grade, some do in fifth grade and some do in high school, everyone's different.

I would reccomend waiting until eighth grade if your child has always had nice teeth, and them needing braces seems very sudden. My DD13 had an orthodontic consultation recommended by my regular dentist about a year and a half ago, and they thought she needed braces then. This came as a shock to me because she's always had a beautiful smile, even the dentist had always said so. We decided not to go through with the braces, it didn't have anything to do with money, she just really didn't want them and we thought she would be more ready a year later. I asked the dentist a few months ago if he thought she still needed braces and he said not at all, apparently, as I had already figured out, her teeth were just shifting due to the arrival of her molars.

Saved me some money!

 

[massagemama]

My Ds 8 just got a palate expander about a month ago. On Friday he goes to have his eye teeth removed on the bottom (he has a very tiny mouth). Then they are going to put in a lip bumper, after another consult. I believe the lip bumper is similar to a retainer.

The total for the palate expander was $1,680.00. Our insurance doesn't cover it. We paid $680.00 up front, and the rest will be payments. I am not sure what his lip bumper is going to run just yet, but that will work the same way as the palate expander. After that, then he will need braces for a short period of time. I am not sure of the cost yet.

My dd 8 got her palate expander and lip bumper last August. The lip bumper is just a wire that runs around the bottom teeth and slides into the bands on the back teeth. Hers has fallen out a few times and I just slip it back in, no big deal. The week after Christmas she got 4 braces on her top teeth, hopefully the expander will be coming out soon. The braces should be off by the end of the summer then she'll have a retainer for several months. This is all considered Phase 1 and was a total of about $2200. No insurance so we're on an installment plan. I'm hoping Phase 2 is easy, ds 6 will probably need them too!

 

[eliza61]

Both my girls have small mouths and my oldest is almost 7. Already her two front bottom teeth have come in crooked because of crowding. What's the typical age to get braces on and other than through an FSA, how do you fund them? I'm not looking forward to both my girls having them. I guess I should start saving now.

I tease my youngest son that my trip to Europe is in his mouth. His braces ran us $5,700 (ouch). My employee paid 25% of orthodontia and then we were on a payment plan for 13 months. He just had them taken off and is now in a retainer. I will admit, his teeth look beautiful.
Ooh I forgot he got them when he was 13, had to wear them for 16 months.

 

[Pigeon]

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.

 

[mitchwebb]

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.

 

[ilovedisney1]

I'm 18 and got my braces in September of '07. I think the total cost of the braces were $5,000. I am supposed to have them 12-14 months,hopefully not any longer than that!

 

[pbharris4]

DD who just turned 12 has severe overcrowding. About 3 months ago she had 2 baby teeth pulled (on one of them the permanent tooth never came down, it's actually horizontal and you can see the bulge on the roof of her mouth-it's behind the front teeth). She just had to get 4 baby molars pulled because they weren't coming out on their own and we did that last week. She'll go back for the upper braces and then has to see an Oral Surgeon to attach something from the weird impacted eye tooth to the braces. Then finally the bottom.

The actual braces and upkeep: $4,600 (insurance will cover $2000, rest monthly payments * we'll use Flex Savings.

The first 2 teeth pulled about $400
The 4 baby molars pulled $722.00
Oral Surgeon: Who Knows??? Don't really want to know at this point!

At least insurance will also pay some for the extractions.

 

[ceecee]

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 work for a dentist and he agrees with this, Phase I & II are money makers. There are a few in our area that do it. If you have ortho done before the permanent teeth are in or mostly in, there will have to be a Phase II. Palatal expanders can help, but these are usually done at a young age. $5000.00 is a good range for the price, but I think a lot depends on where you live, like all other fees.