Cost of braces

[mamalle]

since there are two of us in this house right now in braces:

dd age 9 started phase 1 in April 2009. she has a crossbite and a issue like her dad with her teeth crowding. He has a baby tooth that is still in since the adult one is impeded in his palate. I'd prefer for history not to repeat itself. So she has 4 braces on the top 4 and a distal jet appliance for 9-12 mths for phase one. Her bottoms look perfect and if she needs phase two it will be less hardware and just for straightening. She is looking great! Her costs are:
$3480 and our responsiblity is $1740. ( our insurance pays up to $2500 life time orthodontic treatment for each family member). I paid $500 down and $124 per month for 10 months.

Mine is an issue with a larger overbite and crooked front tooth and right side shifting forward. I have been in them since late april and looking at 15-18 months of braces. I will be having a tooth also extracted late summer. I have clear on top and metal on the bottom. My costs are $5280 total- my out of pocket is $2780 and I paid $580 down payment and paying $122 for 18 months. They take it as a automatic monthly deduction- interest free. Im so looking forward to claiming all of this on our taxes next year!!! I will have dd's paid off my december and looking to be pretty close for mine..

our price includes the retainer, emergency visits, etc.

just to let you know- its flipping amazing the transformation in both our teeth. wow what a smile we will have... I figured at age 40 I would be getting a breast lift not braces. lol but its so worth it!

 

[margiemc]

DD12 got braces in January, 2008. We were quoted $5200. We had to give the ortho $750 up front and paid $138 a month for 15 months. My dental insurance covered the rest. The office billing manager told me not to quit my job since that was some of the best coverage out there. BTW, DD's braces are coming off the end of summer and her teeth look great!

 

[clanmcculloch]

My 11 year old got her braces 1.5 years ago. The cost was $5500. Insurance paid $2000 so my balance was $3500. We had discussed her braces late in the year and the appointment for putting them on fell at the beginning of the following year so I was able to max out my pre-tax Health Care account and pay up front. My orthodontist gives a 10% discount for paying up front. It also ensured that I paid with pre-tax dollars.

Our orthodontist does free orthodontal exams on kids until their ready for othro work. My almost 9 year old started this at 7. We knew even back then that she would need ortho work eventually based on her bite. Well, at her most recent checkup, we were told that at her December appointment she'll most likely be ready to begin so I figure if we start in January I'll be able to do the same thing with the pre-tax account.

 

[Delilah Bleu]

My dd got braces in Jan 09. Total cost $4600 with insurance covering 50% up to $3500. My cost $2300 and I put that in a FSA so I paid with tax free $. It's expensive!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I try not to think about the cost but more so the beautiful results, and with one DD out of braces for 3 years now, it is easier to focus on that. Yes it was very expensive but her smaile is amazing!!!!

DD14 needed a herbst appliance and braces Total $5100 She broke a set of retaineers since and that was $300 and insurance paid $1000 so we paid $4400.

DD10 needed a round of 2x4 braces, now a permanent retainer, she will have a herbst and then full braces starting in January. Her total cost $7200 Insurance has paid $1000.

DD7 goes for her first visit later this year, again insurance will pay $1000.
With any luck, DD10's will be paid off before DD7 starts.

I know we could have gone cheaper, but our ortho came very highly recomended and after seeing our first DD I can see why. It was money very well spent!

 

[tiggrsbride]

DS had braces and a retainer back in '03 and we split $3800 with insurance. Monthly payments were about $50.

DD had phase one treatment in '05 with spacers, a palette expander, top braces and retainer. Our dental insurance covered $1600 (out of a $2000 lifetime total) and we paid $1600 with a deposit and a monthly payment of $100. We were told Met Life was an awesome dental plan. We had a negotiated rate and a sibling discount.

Fast forward to phase two...DH changed jobs and we have a new dental insurance provider Just got the paperwork. Original estimate for braces for two years and retainers $5480. Negotiated rate with our insurer: $4205, $2000 insurance will cover, the remainder is our responsibility. We will be paying about $100 per month for two years after a $150 deposit. We got lucky by switching insurers and getting a network discount.

Still, two kids, almost $6000 total out of our pocket for pretty teeth is a tough figure to chew on! How many trips to Disney would that be?

 

[Jennia]

I was able to get a discount by paying in full at the beginning-from $4000 to $3500. I had a gap between my upper teeth and lower teeth, so that my teeth didn't quite meet together when my jaw was closed.

 

[VBAndrea]

I paid $7000 for mine (clear braces on the front 6 top teeth). My sister had invisiline and paid $7000 for hers as well. I thought invisilne was supposed to be more expensive than traditional braces so I'm baffled as to why mine were so much (my mouth was a horrid mess though). Both of us were adults, both about 2-3 years ago.

 

[ceecee]

$5000-6000 in this area, depends a lot on where you live. Dental insurance usually pays $500-2000 depending on if you have it and your coverage. Most orthodontists offer interest free payment plans as well. Just don't try to save $ by going to a general dentist (a lot are doing them these days). If the teeth are all in when you start ortho you can usually by pass the phase I which a lot of orthodontists do. Some don't, by some do.

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

My DD had her top braces put on in April and her bottom braces on in June. Her treatment will be 18-22 months.

Here's what we were charged:
Treatment fee: $5,480
Records fee: $250
Total: $5,730

Our insurance covers only $1,000 for orthodontia. We paid a 15% deposit upfront and are paying the balance over 18 months at 0%.

 

[Aliceacc]

Our insurance doesn't cover any orthodonture. Nada, nothing, zilch.

 

[Kims09]

DH's set cost $5250. The ortho called it the Damon system and supposedly will take less time to complete...the ortho is guesstimating 14 months.
His ortho is great though. He allowed us to pick how much we wanted to put down and determine how much we wanted to pay per month.
We paid through a FSA.

Who would've thought little bits of metal could cost so much?

 

[mdetloff]

Keep in mind also that most orthos (at least around here) offer a free consultation. I had a friend tell me to get at least two opinions on what needed to be done. She had an experience where the docs wanted to do different things to get the teeth straight. Anyways, we checked out two drs here and they both actually agreed on what needed to be done with my ds's teeth, but their prices varied greatly! The first wanted $4400 and the second wanted $3500.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I did braces as an adult, and the braces plus extractions and retainers, plus extra trips to the general dentist for other related procedures needing to be done (and not one drop of insurance), it was pushing $10,000. But like another said - best thing I ever did. I got nowhere professionally with my original set of crappy crooked teeth. Not until they straightened with braces and I looked 100% better did I finally ace interviews and start to get somewhere in my career. And people treat you far better when you look better - wish I understood that sooner and got the braces much younger.

Having straight teeth is imperative nowadays for kids - a set of noticably crooked teeth is a huge disadvantage in so many aspects of life.

That $10,000 is best money I ever spent.

 

[natenapril]

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.

Ours is the same. We are in a high COL area and my DD's braces were 6500 and our insurance paid 1500. We are on a 24 month payment plan.

 

[Pigeon]

I would get many "second" opinions. For one of my nephews who had a mild overbite, my sister got ten. They varied hugely, both in treatment plans and associated costs. The differences in the way the various orthodontists described my nephew's dental issues were amazing. There was the guy who wanted to start treatment by breaking the kid's jaw, at which point my sister told the nephew to get out of the chair right then.

After you get a feel for what is really the correct diagnosis, go to Medline and look at the controlled studies about the Phase I, Phase 2 types of treatments. You may be extremely surprised to find that this type of treatment is, for many kids, no more effective than the more conventional treatment by any measurement other than yacht payments.

It is also just amazing how many kids with middle class or higher parents have "much smaller than normal" jaws.

I'm just starting this process with my own child and what I'm seeing is similar to what my sister saw.

 

[luvmy3jewels]

Thanks again for all of the info. that you guys have provided! I will definitely get several opinions/estimates before we decide which orthodontist to go with. It is nice to know a ball park figure that I will have to start saving towards.

To the poster who mentioned Medline. Is that a website?
Thanks!

 

[1PrincessMomma1]

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.

Same here.

 

[InLoveWithDOTS]

I have one dd who has been through them.... another a ds who needs them soon..... we were told around $6K for his. UGH.

 

[Pigeon]

Thanks again for all of the info. that you guys have provided! I will definitely get several opinions/estimates before we decide which orthodontist to go with. It is nice to know a ball park figure that I will have to start saving towards.

To the poster who mentioned Medline. Is that a website?
Thanks!

http://medlineplus.gov/

Medline is a major database of peer-reviewed medical literature.