full payment for orthodontist?

[arihillfarm]

I am lucky and have good insurance so only had to pay $900 copay for which I did have the option to pay over time with no interest. The rest is covered by my insurance (for my DD12 phase 1 and phase 2). Plus I really like this orthodontist.

Who do you have your dental insurance through? We're currently shopping for a plan and think our daughter will eventually need braces.

-Astrid

 

[krcit]

We are getting DD's braces in a few weeks. Our insurance did not cover it at all. So it is all OOP for us. I am taking her to the same Ortho that did my braces and am very comfortable with him. However I would not pay the whole balance upfront. In fact, he did not even suggest that. We have to pay about $900 upfront. I would rather keep my money in a savings account to get a little interest back since I do not have to pay interest on the payment plan.

I agree. My kids ortho is a girl I went to school with and I trust her completely. However, I would not pay upfront. Nope. I paid a lump sum in the beginning and now pay $150 a month on my credit cards(I get points!) My friends just went through an experience where their ortho passed away suddenly. Obviously, that doesn't happen often but is just one example of what could happen. I remember when my best friend was getting married and the catering hall was trying to get her to pay upfront I talked her out of that one, lol

 

[cats mom]

Our OOP is only $2500, they wanted us to pay $500 then the balance in 20 months. I have read on this board regarding discount, hence I asked the office manager about the discount if we were to pay upfront, she said no one ever asked before, hence she discussed with the orthodontist and offered me $150 for the discount. However, it was the sudden increase that bothers me. Initially they told me it was $4300 in a previous visit, but then after they found out the insurance pays $2000, I could hear the orthodontist talking that it wasn't much for them (meaning us), hence he asked for $4500. I am kicking myself that I signed the contract and paid the deposit on that day.
There was a story on the news a few months ago about an orthodontist closing the business leaving his clients out of the money. Hence I just don't trust the office any more.

It's possible that there was a legitimate increase effective 10/1, but after reading the part of your post I took the liberty of bolding, I'm afraid the ortho just saw potential for a larger profit. I wouldn't be comfortable at that office either. Now that you've signed a contract and paid the deposit you're in a tough spot though.

I think practices closing outright is pretty rare so that wouldn't be a huge concern for me personally. More often a practice is sold and someone else takes over. But not trusting the ortho is not a good thing.

btw, you generally have to sign a contract agreeing to complete treatment with a practice, so it's not like paying in installments gives you complete freedom either. I had a friend who moved part way through her DS's treatment. She asked the ortho if he would try to work out something with an office in her new location. Not only did he say no, he said that even if she found a new ortho and didn't continue treatment with him he would sue for full payment as per the contract she signed. Of course not all orthos are that nasty, but unfortunately it does happen.

 

[mamalle]

I would never pay upfront. My insurance sure doesnt.. They pay them a monthly installment. We have 3 including myself in braces. I paid off dd in Feb. Started up ds in March. Mine is paid off in Nov and ds will be in Feb. I believe the insurance just finished paying off their portion for my daughter last month. Godforbid something happens we had 3 different opinions from orthodontists and they all were % down and then monthly installments besides paying upfront.. Our insurance paid $2500 toward each of us.. but like I said even they didnt pay it all upfront.. lol

 

[toystory1130]

We paid ours upfront and at a Dental School no less. They offered a 10% discount that was already more than $1000 less than the othos she saw for an estimate. She had a good match with the student and her teeth are looking wonderful.

 

[shoney]

DS12 recently had braces put on.

We had to pay a small deposit $300.00 and then the balance paid over 20 months. (that is how long they think they will be on for)

I did inquire about paying in full in the hopes of a large discount. They did not. They said they could give me $200.00 off. I decided to just pay it off over time and get points on my cc.

I did have to sign a paper stating that the insurance was paying $1200.00, but that was being paid over time. In the event we were no longer insured at some point, we would be responsible for any remaining balance of the at $120000 amount.

 

[Sadie22]

Our pediatric dentist was also an orthodontist and brought in partners to the practice so someone was always available in an emergency, of which we had several over the years. We never worried about the practice failing as all the practice members were wonderful. Our dental insurance paid so much for general dental and so much for ortho per year. The ortho worked with us to bill the insurance so much per quarter per kid so that we got the maximum benefit from our ortho insurance. We paid the balance in equal monthly payments, interest-free.

 

[Marionnette]

Do the people who are responding to this thread today realize that the OP posted their question in 2010? That child is probably done with braces by now!

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

We paid for DS's braces in full, since we got a substantial discount for doing it. I'm not worried about the ortho absconding with the money and leaving town.

We were offered a payment plan as an option, but we choose to do full payment to get the discount.

We did this as well, for the substantial discount and to not have another monthly payment. I'd rather pay it and be done with it. It NEVER crossed my mind that they would up and leave. Although we know people who have used this same orthodontist for years before we did...

I'm currently saving for braces for my older dd and my younger dd when she needs her second round. I plan to pay in full the next 2 times as well.

 

[tvguy]

I held back 25% of the payment until it was done and paid them that in one lump sum.

I would not pay a roofer, a cabinet maker, a painter etc in full for work not yet complete.

DW made payments. 10 years later we did the same with our oldest. Paid in full in advance with our youngest because of the 15% discount and because we had been with the practice for 20 years and felt comfortable.

Now, as I am in the middle of a remodel, I have to comment on the roofer/cabinet maker/painter situation. By law here they can not require more than 10% or $1,000 max down, but every contractor I got bids from had a very aggressive payment schedule in their contracts that made sure the customer never has the upper hand. And many require the customer to purchase cabinets/flooring and all other materials directly from the supplier, so the contractor is protected. I can understand why, with the economy the way it is, too many customers walked away leaving contractors with $10,000's of dollars tied up in materials they could not return. So much so that those payment schedules are not negotiable. This is a far cry from my last project where I put $1,000 down.....paid 1/3 of the remaining balance at the half way point, 1/3 at completion of work, and 1/3 upon the project passing final inspection. Contractors today do not have working capital, they expect the customer to have the money and pay as the project goes along.

 

[teacup princess]

We paid in full for the braces in advance and got a discount for doing so.
DH and I both took out Southwest Visa's for the bonus points deal and the ortho let us split the cost on the two cards. With our 100000 points we flew the six of us to Disney. It was almost like getting free braces (or at least it makes me feel better thinking that).

I'm not worried about them leaving town.