Cost of braces

[luvmy3jewels]

I didn't want to hijack the other ortho thread, but would like to find out how expensive braces are these days. Within the last two months, our kids' pediatrician and dentist have both commented on how expensive my children's teeth are going to be when it comes to braces. All three have small mouths and large permanent teeth, so it looks like we may have to go the palate extender route (I think they call it phase 1 and phase 2 braces?) My youngest dd has an underbite, so the dentist said that she will start with the ortho earlier than the oldest two. Given how close my kids are in age, we could easily end up paying for three sets of braces at once.

I would like to start saving money towards their braces, but have no idea how much I need to shoot for. I'm just looking for a ballpark figure to get an idea of how much it costs these days.

Thanks for any info that you can provide!!

 

[eswill]

I started my whole braces procedure in August '07 and the total cost was $5550. Wow, I just looked at my paperwork beside me at my desk to get that figure; I'd forgotten how expensive it was! I still have them on, and they are the clear type on top. I do feel I have a top-notch orthodontist though.

 

[Suzanna1973]

My son was 9 when he had to get the palate(sp) extender for his mouth before his braces. My insurance covered $1500, but I was left with $3500. My orthodontist was really sweet and set up payments so that I could pay it off in a year.

 

[MS_mom_1965]

It may vary where you live, but my son had the invisible braces on top, and regular on bottom, and they were around $4,300. That was about 3 years ago when he got them.

Do you have dental insurance? It may pay for all or part of the cost. My insurance paid $1,500, and I had to pay the rest.

 

[Aliceacc]

My son is in the process of getting them. It will be $5500. And we had to put $3100 down before starting an 18 month payment plan for the rest.

 

[mary0305]

All three of my children are now in Phase 1 braces and all had the Palate Expander. My orthodontist charged $ 2495 per child. He also gave us a family discount of 10% for the 2nd and 3rd child. I don't remember if there were any other charges for x-rays, etc. I do know that I set it up on a payment plan with their office. My payment was $ 525 per month for I believe 15 months. We did not have any insurance to cover it.

All 3 began treatment in March, 2008 when they were 9, 8, and 8. They had the top braces, palate expander and a bottom retainer. One has gotten her's off. She has added a top retainer. All of this was included in the price. All follow up visits (as well as repairs) were also included.

Let me know if you have any questions and GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

[Arielle22]

Both my dds are in braces so I feel you pain! I tell them their braces are a car payment.

Cost was $5,500 with $1,500 down and $200 per month for 20 months. I am just about to pay the final payment on dd16 while dd14 has another 6 months of payments.

Our insurance paid $1,500 for each.

DD14 had top braces only a couple of years ago along with the palate expander. So her $1,500 in insurance went towards that. The 2nd round she is in now we had to pay the entire $5,500.

 

[Disney_Mama]

My DD is doing the braces thing right now. She had the palet expander and one to bring her lower jaw forward. Total cost $5600 CDN. Insurance only covers $1000.

 

[LIBLULA]

My DD9 orthodontist is doing her dental work in 2 phases. She started phase 1 at the age of 7 (braces and palate expander). She had them removed last October. Now she has permanent retainer in bottom and removable on top (she wears only at night now). She gets her 2nd set of braces when all of her adult teeth are in. I took her for 6 month check up and he told us within next 6 months she will loose 6 teeth! I was hoping it would be a couple of years before we had to pay for the 2nd set! It's going to cost us $6500 for both phases, including the retainers. I have dental insurance that covers $1000.

 

[yellowtink]

Well when I was about 9 I got only the fromt 6 teeth done and our orthodontist didn't charge because he knew that I would be getting a full set soon enough. I think mine cost about 4,000 or 5,000 i can't remember.

 

[Princess Tink]

DS did phase 1 (pallete expander) a couple years ago, and it cost us $1500. We started Phase 2 in Feb for full braces and its costing us $5500. His orthodontist is great, and since we've done both phases with him he gave us 50% of Phase 1 credit towards Phase 2... making $4750. Also the price of Phase 2 full braces went up to $6500 between the 2 phases, and since we were already seeing him (every 3 months for follow ups), he gave us the price originally quoted 2 years ago.

 

[mjkacmom]

Four of mine definitely need them, one is a maybe. Ours will cost $6500 each, with insurance paying $1500 per child. Our might be higher due to the high COL here, though. I think $5000 is average.

 

[All American]

Growing up, I had to have braces twice. My dad always called it my "million-dollar smile".

 

[disneymomjcs]

Yes they are a small fortune.

DD12 just started in May with a bite plate on top and a space maintainer on the bottom. Waiting for 3 more teeth to fall out.

Cost: $5530

Down Payment $530

and the rest $189 a month for almost two year give or take a month. Ballpark!

Like a second car payment and I'm all over her about keeping her teeth clean.

Insurance didn't cover braces. Then my husband's company switched dental insurance after we picked. We would of had to start over and go to someone else. So we ate all the cost.

 

[amamax2]

So, as you can see by all the responses, the average cost is about $5000. My son is 12 and just started a few months ago - seems literally everyone we know with a child around the same age has them - and we are all paying around $5000 give or take. Before my son got them, I googled to see what I might be loking at, and $5000 was also the number.

Our insurance will pay $1000 total and the orthodontist does have us paying a somewhat large down payment, plus then a more "reasonable" (ha ha) amount each month for the duration of the treatment ($185).

Good luck!!

 

[Disneyfun1]

We have 2 kids in braces. They were about 5500 each. Luckily, we have dual insurance-one at my work, one at my wifes. Mine paid 1500 and my wifes paid 2000, leaving a balance of 2000. They wanted 1100 up front and then payment of about 90/month for a year. On the second child, we just paid the 2000 all at once. She is actually getting hers off next week!

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

Dd13's braces are costing $5600. The ins paid for $1500 and the ortho gave me a coupon for $200. So, we put $500 down and are paying $107 a month for around 2 years.

 

[luvmy3jewels]

Thanks for all of the replies! It sounds like I need to save at least $15,000 at a minimum. Probably more, since I think dd's underbite is going to require extensive work to fix. This year I will be down to only paying for one child in pre-school/Kindergarten, so I think I'm going to try to put away the extra savings from that every month towards the cause. I also think that the year(s) they get them on, we will put away more every month into our HSA plan so at least we won't be taxed on the money we are paying. (Assuming that it is an allowed expense under an HSA).

Unfortunately, I've been paying for dental insurance through my job that does not cover orthodontics. DH is going to check through his employer and see if they have a dental plan that would cover some of it. Has anyone ever bought a "stand alone" dental plan that covers orthodontics?

Thanks again!!

 

[pooh17]

Braces for my DS cost $4400, my dental ins. covers 1/2. Ortho allows us to make monthly payments for 24 months, so ~$70 a month OOP. His teeth were basically straight - the braces are fixing an overbite.

Around here (NH), orthodontists will give you a free estimate. Although the avg seems to be around $5000, it wouldn't hurt to try to get an estimate. I mention this because it can be significantly more than $5k depending on the problem.

 

[3happydancers]

My daughter just went for her ortho appt. yesterday. She has been under his care for the last few years. First phase palete expansions for both top and bottom-cost $3000.00. NO INSURANCE

Yesterday's visit we were told braces needed for top and bottom for about 18 months. Cost, $3500.00 which includes all visits. Still NO INSURANCE

His office offered a payment plan but I think I will go with CARE CREDIT because my monthly payment will be much less ($100.00) and then I will pay off the rest with next years tax return.

Honestly thought, her ortho dentist is also a specialist in the palete, has a great reputation, and my daughter loves him. So that said, it's worth the price if you have a great doctor!