Daughter needs braces

[Cathy baby RN]

All six of our children have had braces. The last two just got them off.
All was out of pocket. 6x$5,000
Our kids range from 13-25 so it has been spread out over several years. Our dentist offered a payment plan, which we used.Our last child was adopted, so I thought since gentics didn't factor in, maybe he wouldn't need them.
Wrong. Sometimes I think anyone that sits in their chair would need braces. It's not just crooked teeth they correct, it's the whole bite thing too.
Now we have 3 in college

P.S.My husband and I plan on retirement when we are age 99.

 

[Disneholic]

ds11 has wanted braces for a couple of years. We seen two orthodontists and both have said all the baby teeth need to be out first.
Don't quite remember the requirement for the permenant teeth, but they wanted the mouth to grow a little more and possibly have more room for the teeth.

 

[eliza61]

My youngest just got his removed recently. total price was ~4,800. whenever he complains about them, I always tell him that my trip to France is in his mouth.

 

[katieandallycat]

Our youngest DD, 9, has a underbite. We just got home from getting her final fillings done. She did great, she's autistic, so finally getting the cleaning (she used to scream and kick in the chair) and 2 filling appt done is a really big deal for her (we did nitrous, not injections). Dr said, because she is so slow at lossing teeth (only lost 8 and none are loose) and the autism, she would wait until she is at least 11 or 12 and has had a few more times in the chair. So she's more relaxed and understands what is going on.

 

[kimluvswdw]

I just took my daughter to the ortho last week and it is going to cost me 4k out of pocket.

 

[Kaa]

My son has them for a crossbite. His were $4400 and insurance paid half. He will be getting them off this summer.

 

[elgerber]

My 12 year old dd is 15 months into her treatment, $5400. insurance picked up $1000 of it.

 

[EverythingDisney]

We had a free evaulation last year w/ ortho. We were told DD needed to lose 6 more teeth 1st... Some fell out, and the others the dentist pulled for us.
Braces will be $5650. Our appt. for down payment (our stimulus check) and monthly payment info is this Thursday.
The ortho people did tell me that we are only allowed to finance for 24 months, regardless of how long DD has the braces on

 

[SunKat]

My dd11 has braces and an upper palate expander. Total cost was around $5,500. Our insurance doesn't cover any of it. We received a discount for paying cash. Our other option at the time was to get on a payment plan. The orthodontist refers you to a company that sets you up on a payment plan. I think it required an $800 deposit, then monthly payments and then the balance had to be paid off six months before the braces come off.

 

[ceecee]

We are in Canada, but my daughter's 2 year treatment plan, with clarity (clear) braces were $6000.00.

I 'just' found out that many regular GP dentists will do them for half that! So try getting some quotes from a regular GP that does orthodontics. I wish I had known this. We went to a fancy kids orthodontist with the fancy little chairs and tvs,etc... and got taken. I thought you had to use a place like this....turns out you dont!

Go to an Orthodontist for braces! I worked for a dentist that started the ortho course on the weekend (we jokingly called it model ortho) and started doing braces right away. He really didn't know what he was doing and this girls bite got really messed up. Orthodontists have years more training than weekends for a few months, pay the extra and you hopefully won't need braces to fix a messed up bite.
Typically 4000-6000 (invisalines are more expensive) watch though because some orthodontists do the phase I and phase II thing.

 

[addicted2dizney]

Hi,
I'm a Dental Hygienist and my husband is a Dentist. I also have two, DD(14) and DS (12) currently in orthodontic treatment. I'm in NJ and I would say the average cost ranges between $4k and $6k depending on the type of case, the length of the case and the type of materials used. For example using clear ceramic brackets (more costly DD has them) or metal brackets. (DS didn't care he got them! )
We always recommend our patients with overbites to see the orthodontist ASAP! It's something that it important for the orthodontist to at least take a look at and make an assestment of. Sometimes depending on the case there are appliances that can be placed in the mouth to help the arch of the teeth and avoid some of the permanent teeth to come in crooked and make more work for the true bracket style braces later.
I would recommend you go now. Get a few opinions on the case. My DD had a two phase treatment. It was the best for her. My DS is in phase one as well but due to his growth pattern his started much later than DD's. Keep in mind that your friends and others may give you advice and tell you what their kid needed but there are many, many types of orhtodontic conditions that are treated in different ways. Each case will be different, some will cost different and some will need longer/shorter treatment and some will need the braces to come off in the middle.
My DD's front teeth were so crooked when she was 8 that she had an early phase orthodontic case that lasted 1 year. After that she wore a retainer until She was 13 1/2. All during that time when the braces were off we visited the orthodontist every 6 months so he could keep an eye on things. It's almost been a year they are on now and they should be off in Sept.
Good Luck to you, feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
Also to everyone out there.... Please,please,please have your children wear their retainers when they are done! Retainers are for a lifetime not just for a few months! We do not do "traditional orthodontics at our office but we do do invsialign, (adult clear braces). I can not tell you how many of these cases could have been avoided if these people wore their retainers. Sorry if this is soooo long. It's just a topic I love and am passionate about!

 

[addicted2dizney]

Go to an Orthodontist for braces! I worked for a dentist that started the ortho course on the weekend (we jokingly called it model ortho) and started doing braces right away. He really didn't know what he was doing and this girls bite got really messed up. Orthodontists have years more training than weekends for a few months, pay the extra and you hopefully won't need braces to fix a messed up bite.
Typically 4000-6000 (invisalines are more expensive) watch though because some orthodontists do the phase I and phase II thing.

Yes, stay away from the General Dentists that do ortho. Leave that to the Orthodondist.

Actually Two Phase thing has become more of a standard in the industry and helps the orthodontist the teeth into place and customize treatment better.
Invisalign is NOT for children EVER! There are quite a few reasons but we are invisalign certified and part of that is that you do NOT do invisalign on minors. (under 18)

 

[IDoDis]

DS (9 yr. old) finished phase one of his treatment last month. He only had braces on the top and that cost us $2600 out of pocket. The insurance paid the other $1000.00. He only wore the braces for 10 months. He'll need phase 2 when all of his permanent teeth & molars are in -- probably in 2 to three years.

The insurance only pays once in a lifetime for braces, so for phase two, we'll have to pay all of it and it will be top and bottom for about 18 months.

DD will be getting her braces on tat the end of this month. She's having the pictures and x-rays taken on May 10th, so I'll know the price on that day. He said she'll need top and bottom for about a year. I'm guessing $4500.00.

 

[juliana_sd]

We always recommend our patients with overbites to see the orthodontist ASAP!

I am glad to hear you say this. DS' dentist recommended he go when he turns 6. He's got an overbite and a very high/narrow palate.

 

[WisconsinDisneyGirl]

Thank you for the great post addicted2disney! Great info!

I am a 36 year old mom that has to have braces! Teeth were great and never needed them until now. After having two kids my jaw "moved" and now I need braces (and maybe surgery) at a cost of $6700. I was blown away. My teeth look fine but they are wearing down quickly. I then went to Marquette Univ. Dental School. They can do them for $3200. They tell me that my insurance may cover some of it. We will see. Can't wait. Well, maybe I will look like a teenager again!

 

[coneeny4]

Hi,

Also to everyone out there.... Please,please,please have your children wear their retainers when they are done! Retainers are for a lifetime not just for a few months! We do not do "traditional orthodontics at our office but we do do invsialign, (adult clear braces). I can not tell you how many of these cases could have been avoided if these people wore their retainers. Sorry if this is soooo long. It's just a topic I love and am passionate about!

My niece is 15 and had her brace's off last year. Well she went to the dentist last week and he recommends she has brace's again because she only wore her retainer for 6 months after the brace's were removed and her teeth are back to the way they were.

 

[Happy_Mom]

I have two in braces and they will both be $5500-$5800 by the time everything is said and done. If I had taken them to the college it would have been about a thousand less each- but it's an hour each way.

 

[grlzmom]

I feel the pain.

We have had 3 so far go through braces. One was a complicated case and ended up in four year treatment. The other two both had phase one and phase two treatment about 24 months total. I think we averaged 5k per kid (including us having to pay extra when a couple of retainers were lost usually thrown away with the lunch tray never to be seen again). Another dd goes next week for her six month "recall" at the orthodontist and I fully expect him to tell us its time (she is turning 12 and was almost ready last time).

Currently, I have brackets on myself (had them as a teenager, beautiful results and never thought I would be doing them again at 38) as I had a very bad four wheeler accident in December and broke my jaw, knocked my bite out of alignment, lost a couple of teeth and all the rest were loose (along with a huge laceration on my face and leg). Counting the two implants, the many root canals for the fractured teeth, the crowns that will eventually get put on, plastic surgeon for the facial laceration (I opted to pay for the plastics guy as the cut was huge 64 stitches and involved putting my lip back on) and the braces, my dental bill will end up being well over 20k. All out of pocket and these are all DISCOUNTED prices. The braces are ceramic and paying 1500 for them. I was wearing helmet, long pants, long sleeves and gloves and rode frequently, now of course the whole family is banned from the four wheelers.

Now at least I know about implants as dd14 will need a couple after age 18 and done growing as she is congenitally missing her permanent teeth in two spots. By then I will be done with paying for mine and can start on hers. Apparently this has a familial tendency and 1/5 kids average it so I may have another one of the younger ones in the same situation. Boy I hope not.

I agree about NOT using the regular dentist for Orthodontics. We also have seen and heard some bad results from a general dentist who was doing them here. We drive an hour to the orthodontist which is getting expensive with gas prices but he is wonderful.

On a happy note, my dd18 who is graduating in two weeks second in her class got a full ride four year scholarship for college (academic) and that will save us ALOT of money. Covers everything but books.

 

[Minnie's Pal]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1775857&page=2

See post #25

 

[taximomfor4]

Yes, stay away from the General Dentists that do ortho. Leave that to the Orthodondist.

Actually Two Phase thing has become more of a standard in the industry and helps the orthodontist the teeth into place and customize treatment better.
Invisalign is NOT for children EVER! There are quite a few reasons but we are invisalign certified and part of that is that you do NOT do invisalign on minors. (under 18)

Actually, after visiting several orthodontists, I finally contacted two different instructors of the program at wellknown universities. Both of them agree that the 2-phase thing WAS current. They both do it, but only in very rare cases. The one has only recommended it on 2 kids in the past 8 yrs, after studies that questioned the value of the 2 phase thing.

Now we decided to take our kids to one of them for treatment. He says my oldest dd, who had a closed bite, could have done 2-phase treatment but it would have nearly doubled our cost, and MIGHT have shaved a few months off her braces time.

So if I went to an ortho, and he recommended 2-phase treatment, I would ask what the benefit would be, and what the difference would be if I waited and did all at once. You might be pleasantly surprised at the savings!

In the case of a child whose teeth is truly causing problems, though, THAT is when our ortho does 2 phases.