Braces!

[HeyIt'sMe]

Well, we went for DD's first orthodontic consultation today and she does indeed need braces (she is thrilled, by the way - for real!). She's having the top braces put on April 21 and the bottom braces put on about 10 weeks after that.

It will cost between $5,200-$5,600 and the course of treatment is 18-22 months. Our insurance covers $1,000 for orthodontia and the balance can be paid in monthly interest-free installments.

Gotta love kids and the ways they empty your wallet. We just stopped paying $260/month for her after-school care and now we'll be paying ~$200/month for braces. Oh well, at least she'll have a healthy & pretty smile!

 

[vicb]

I put both my kids braces monthly payment on my Disney visa card so atleast I got some Disney dollars for it!

 

[runwad]

OMG I hear ya, we just went today too!! Have the same 1k coverage on orthadontia and my 13 yr old is thrilled too. I on the other hand am p*ssed. This is a kid w/perfect teeth. EXCEPT finally lost her last baby molar all the way in the back on the left and the thing is growing in sideways! WTH?? She needs a whole mouth full of braces to turn one tooth. I questioned this and he said that moving that tooth will cause her teeth to shift and the top and the bottom may not line up anymore, but no worries she'll be back to perfect when we're done. ggggrrrr I'm not happy as her 11 yr old sister definitely needs them and I don't relish doing both at the same time. Lets hope the 8yr olds teeth grow in straight. Don't you ever wonder why all kids need braces now but when we were growing up hardly anyone did? I'm from a family of 5 kids and all of us have perfect teeth. My husband and his sister have perfect teeth why do our kids have so many problems?

 

[Leajess99]

Well, we went for DD's first orthodontic consultation today and she does indeed need braces (she is thrilled, by the way - for real!). She's having the top braces put on April 21 and the bottom braces put on about 10 weeks after that.

It will cost between $5,200-$5,600 and the course of treatment is 18-22 months. Our insurance covers $1,000 for orthodontia and the balance can be paid in monthly interest-free installments.

Gotta love kids and the ways they empty your wallet. We just stopped paying $260/month for her after-school care and now we'll be paying ~$200/month for braces. Oh well, at least she'll have a healthy & pretty smile!

We have been through one set with my 10 year and she will be getting a complete set soon. The first set was just a partial to fix her top teeth as they were knocked out early in an accident. Those were $600 after the insurance covered what they would pay.

My oldest had a complete set and we had to pay $100 a month for that. I think the insurance also covered $1000 but not 100% sure right now. He was also excited about them. I love our Orthodontist though as he is wonderful. We first started seeing him when my oldest was 5 or 6 and his dentist wanted him placed in a chin cup to redistribute the growth of his jaw. That was going to cost $1000 after insurance IF insurance even paid. Talked to the Orthodontist and felt great with the decision and he has been our orthodontist ever since.

 

[peyton18]

My DD 14 just got hers last week. $5400 but insurance does pay $2500. I had braces growing up & all my friends did too. DH didn't need them but both his sisters did. Unfortunately my husband is quite the daredevil & knocked out a front tooth when he was in high school. I don't know how his mom survived raising him!

 

[Meg_Herc]

Before getting braces, I would ask your dentist how necessary he thinks they would be. My dentist first told me that I may need braces, so we booked an appointment with an orthodontist. The ortho told me that yes I must must get them or horrible things would happen Four years later (originally 2 years but the ortho kept upping it) and $3000 later I get them off, my dentist does x rays and nothing has changed. NOTHING. Apparently there was no change between this set of x rays, and the set of x rays from before I had braces. : That was 5 years ago, and everything is still looking a -okay

 

[The Three Cabs]

I just started treatment for TWO kids last month. My younger had his top braces put on and will get bottoms next year and my older has an expander in his mouth and hasn't gotten the braces yet. All for a grand total of $10,800!!! I told them we could have gone to Disney twice and stayed at the Poly for that price. Thankfully my ex has them on his insurance and it pays 50% so I look at it as buy one get one free. The only catch is he has to stay at his job for the next 2 1/2 years for the total insurance coverage. I am praying he stays, his tract record isn't the best. Thankfully they offer interest free payment plans for the rest. My parents didn't get braces for me as a kid and I always was a bit resentful towards them, I promised myself my boys would get them even if I had to go broke trying. I figure when they are done and paid for it will be my turn!

 

[Leajess99]

OMG I hear ya, we just went today too!! Have the same 1k coverage on orthadontia and my 13 yr old is thrilled too. I on the other hand am p*ssed. This is a kid w/perfect teeth. EXCEPT finally lost her last baby molar all the way in the back on the left and the thing is growing in sideways! WTH?? She needs a whole mouth full of braces to turn one tooth. I questioned this and he said that moving that tooth will cause her teeth to shift and the top and the bottom may not line up anymore, but no worries she'll be back to perfect when we're done. ggggrrrr I'm not happy as her 11 yr old sister definitely needs them and I don't relish doing both at the same time. Lets hope the 8yr olds teeth grow in straight. Don't you ever wonder why all kids need braces now but when we were growing up hardly anyone did? I'm from a family of 5 kids and all of us have perfect teeth. My husband and his sister have perfect teeth why do our kids have so many problems?

I would seriously recommend maybe talking to another orthodontist for a second opinion. With all they can do you would think they could fix it without a full moth of braces. Umm, they pull teeth and make bridges and do not have to put a full set of braces on to fix that.

A lot of the braces now are cosmetic and not necessary. This is another reason that I like my orthodontist as he is honest about the braces as to whether you really need them. For some it has become big business though. There is one orthodontist here locally that will place a full set of braces on an 8 year old that still has baby teeth. To me that makes no sense since the adult teeth can come in differently.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

I have to make an appointment for one of my kids It looks like the other three will be ok. The dentist would love to put braces on all of them though but we looked at it this way...Their issues are not cosmetically necessary, they have no pain chewing and it does not hinder their speech so they aren't getting them. As far as my son who will need orthodontia (he has some misaligned teeth and a large gap in the front) we are going to research what needs to be done. I think a lot of kids get braces put on who don't really "need" them as in their teeth don't hinder eating/chewing, there are no speech issue due to it, there is no pain and their teeth aren't so misaligned that it could cause social issues. We'll do what we have to do but we aren't going to go over the top with it.

 

[momx2]

OMG I hear ya, we just went today too!! Have the same 1k coverage on orthadontia and my 13 yr old is thrilled too. I on the other hand am p*ssed. This is a kid w/perfect teeth. EXCEPT finally lost her last baby molar all the way in the back on the left and the thing is growing in sideways! WTH?? She needs a whole mouth full of braces to turn one tooth. I questioned this and he said that moving that tooth will cause her teeth to shift and the top and the bottom may not line up anymore, but no worries she'll be back to perfect when we're done. ggggrrrr I'm not happy as her 11 yr old sister definitely needs them and I don't relish doing both at the same time. Lets hope the 8yr olds teeth grow in straight. Don't you ever wonder why all kids need braces now but when we were growing up hardly anyone did? I'm from a family of 5 kids and all of us have perfect teeth. My husband and his sister have perfect teeth why do our kids have so many problems?

Get a second opinion. My dentist told my parents the same thing when I was about 15 years old. For one tooth to be straighten it would be a whole mouth-full of braces for 18 months or I would have crooked teeth by the time I was 30 and my bite would be off, etc....

Well, I declined because I thought braces would affect my boy chasing and by 30 I would be married and get braces then. I'm glad I did this because I'm 40 yet, have not had braces and don't need them. My one tooth is still crooked, but the rest are fine and my bite is fine.

 

[mjkacmom]

Well, we went for DD's first orthodontic consultation today and she does indeed need braces (she is thrilled, by the way - for real!). She's having the top braces put on April 21 and the bottom braces put on about 10 weeks after that.

It will cost between $5,200-$5,600 and the course of treatment is 18-22 months. Our insurance covers $1,000 for orthodontia and the balance can be paid in monthly interest-free installments.

Gotta love kids and the ways they empty your wallet. We just stopped paying $260/month for her after-school care and now we'll be paying ~$200/month for braces. Oh well, at least she'll have a healthy & pretty smile!

Just be thankful you have to get braces for ONE - I have to pay for braces for FIVE children. Just started paying for dd12's and I'll be paying for 3 others still when she starts college! $6200!

 

[Cinerbelle]

Both of my children got braces at the end of December. Total will come to $7k.... but my in laws are paying!! Thank God!!

 

[ColoradoMom!!]

Both our boys need them. 14 year old is done - he is always smiling so it's worth it. The younger one - hmmmmm - it's a little harder to part with the money.

What did help us is that we were able to use my husband FSA (flexible spending account) at work to pay. The money is taken out of his check pre-tax, and we use that to pay.

 

[LisaNJ25]

I hear ya.. I just paid off my teenagers.. Now my 9yo is going. She has to go though phase one which my insurance wont cover.... its $2800 with $1100 down and the balance paid over 10 months I have no choice because she still has her front baby teeth and has 5 teeth up in her gums trying to come down and she only needs 2 of them.. She goes to to an oral surgeon next week for a consultation on that.

Come braces times we have to pay 2200 out of pocker and insurance will pick up the rest

 

[Arky]

My DS11 got braces 2 weeks ago. We had gone for a consultation over a year ago and I was told it would be $5500. I wasn't prepared for that and we been trying to put money aside for them. So I finally go back and have the downpayment. Come to find out they are now a provider for my insurance and the price dropped for $4400. I was shocked, but pleased I saved money!!!

Make sure they are provider with your insurance, before they could just take the insurance money.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Oh yeah, after reading some other posts I just remembered that we have to pay 25% as a deposit. Good thing I have an FSA account at work (which will all be used up with this deposit).

DD needs braces because she has crowding and her bite is off - her lower teeth are being pushed back because her lower jaw is growing fast and the upper teeth aren't giving the lower teeth anywhere to grow but angled back.

DD is our only child - - I can't image having to get braces for several children!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I fell for you. Our oldest is thankfully done with hers, they were $5100 till she broker her retainers taking them out wrong, then they became $5500.

Our middle is between rounds, she had 2x4 braces taken off in Novmeber (she was excited to get hers too, she did look adorable in them!) Her second round will be next year, a herbst and then full braces. Her total bill is $7100. Our baby goes for her first appointment soon. As far as paying for it, you jsut do it. My DH needed them but his parents precious cigaretts and beer came first, to this day he wishes he ha them, maybe he'll get his after all the girls have them. It isn't easy, you make payments. Our insurance pays $1000 lifetime max. At least it's something...

My dd14 had such an awful smile sorry to say. She now has a beautiful smile and more importantly bites well. Money very well spent if you ask me!

 

[mamalle]

our dentist also said that dd who is 9 didnt need them yet. Thank goodness I went with my gut and got a orthodontist's opinion. I figured she would need them when I saw the panorex xray- so I wasnt surprised when he told me that he recommended phase I for her with head gear for 12-14 hrs per day. I would hate for her to wait till she is 13 and have impacted adult teeth like her dad did and than oral surgery for extracting and or pulling down impacted teeth on top of braces. So spring break she will get braces on the top only. she will be in them for 12-15 mths, along with the head gear. Most likely phase II will not be that indepth and will not cost as much. My quote is $3980. I get $500 off for using their ad thru the FD and another $1740 off since our insurance pays up to $2500 lifetime for braces. So my portion is $1740 and $87 less if I want to pay it all upfront. I figure not since I have a hard time with paying for something upfront with our current economy. So Im looking at $96 per month for 12 mths plus my down payment of $580. Its what I figured it would be. She will be in a retainer after that (which is included) until phase II if that is needed. Im hoping by doing this and giving her teeth some room to come down and her bite will be corrected- that it will be it but only time will tell.

 

[splash5]

We have great dental insurance for everything else, but covers nothing on orthodontia. My DS (14) got braces a year ago October. We had to put down $1500 and then pay $150 per month (interest free) for 24 months. He got the acrylics, and they don't show up much (they were a bit more than regular braces, but well worth it). At first, he kept losing brackets, but we seem to have that behind us now.

Originally they said he would be in them for 18-24 months - last visit the Orthodontist said he should be out this summer. So closer to the 18 month time frame.

 

[pixie921]

Our ds had braces put on the end of '08. He's missing two teeth on either side of the front of his mouth so once the braces come off, he'll either have to wear bridges or get implants. So the braces were definitely a necessity to get things lined up where they need to be. We have no dental insurance at all, but what can you do?

My brother should've had braces as a kid, but my parents didn't want to pay for them and now he's almost 40 with endless bite/jaw problems (he's paying for braces for both of his kids right now or he'd get his own). Dh and I decided no matter what it cost we weren't doing that to our son.