Has Anyone Used a Dental School for Braces?

[vhoffman]

DD will need braces soon. They're waiting for some adult teeth to come in before beginning. Even with insurance, the cost will be quite high.

I was wondering if going to a dental school would be more cost effective? Do dental schools even do braces? The nearest dental school is about 2 hours drive away. It might be worth it for significant savings, but how many visits should we expect to make during a year for braces, adjustments, etc? It would involve time out of school, gas, etc. Just wanted to know if anyone has used a dental school for braces, what the cost and quality is like.

 

[kami2199]

The university of Iowa is about 2 hours away from us. I had a friend who took her son there for braces and she was happy with it since they were closely supervised. But...I think she said he had to meet certain criteria to get into the program since it is a learning experience and they want to expose them to different situations. I would say it's definately worth checking out though. I'm not sure how much she saved. It did get kind of tiresome driving 2 hours for a dental appointment so keep that in mind. I think she took him at least once a month. With the price of gas, it may not be worth the savings.

ETA - certain dental requirements, not income

 

[Mickeys.friend]

You need to meet low income requirements or have state medical assistance in order to go to a dental school for any treatment.

 

[vhoffman]

Didn't know we need to meet low income requirements to use a dental school. Well, nice try

I suppose if not everyone would be flocking to dental schools and leaving those poor orthodontists without a source of income

I had dental work done at a dental school as a child, either we were poor or the requirements were different then!

 

[kami2199]

You need to meet low income requirements or have state medical assistance in order to go to a dental school for any treatment.

I really don't think that is correct. My friend doesn't meet either of those requirements as far as I know.

Heres a link and paragraph that says differently:

http://www.dentistry.uiowa.edu/public/patients/care/care.html#provideroptions

We welcome everyone to our clinics, and provide comprehensive and referral dental services. Patients requesting student care are first evaluated by faculty dentists in Admissions. Treatment may be recommended by one of the following providers: students, residents, or faculty. Excellent dentistry will be provided with all three options.

Now, that being said, I guess I don't know what my friend meant by meeting certain criteria to be accepted into the program but I remember her telling me that very clearly. But...this was also about 5 years ago.

OP - what dental school are you looking at?

 

[vhoffman]

University of Texas San Antonio, about 2 hour drive for us.

 

[kami2199]

University of Texas San Antonio, about 2 hour drive for us.

Here would be a link for yours

http://dental.uthscsa.edu/patientcare/default.html

Now they talk about meeting certain criteria for the teaching potential as well.

 

[vhoffman]

Thanks for the link, worth looking into.

 

[ceecee]

We have a dental school near us and you do not have to be low income to go. You do pay a fee for services, it is a dental school and as such I doubt they do orthodontics. I would not want a general dentist doing ortho on me. We have to go in every 8 weeks, if a bracket comes off you have to go in to have it put back on...2 hours would be a drive.

 

[delilah]

When I was in graduate/medical school I had most of my dental work done at the dental school. The dental school did orthodontics, and the dental student to which I was assigned determined that I needed orthodontic treatment. However, the specific treatment I needed didn't meet the criteria for problems that they wanted the dental students to address, so, I needed to go to an orthodontist in the community. I actually waited until I finished residency to do so, due to expense and time restraints.

 

[Kellyscrapbooks]

You need to meet low income requirements or have state medical assistance in order to go to a dental school for any treatment.

Not here you don't. They are happy to take anyone who would like the care and don't mind being worked on by students in my area.

 

[CEDmom]

Once the braces are in place you normally go once a month for adjustments. However, emergency things can come up that need to be taken care of right away. It's something to consider.

 

[crjack]

My sister took her two boys to Tufts here in Boston for their braces and there definitely wasnt any criteria for income. The program is closely supervised by the faculty who are all certified in their fields (dental, ortho, oral surgery, etc.) She was very pleased with it and it did save some $$$$, especially for two.

The commute for her though was under 30 min. max so I don't know, based on the monthly appointments and extra visits, if I would ever do a two hour ride. As others have said the gas costs alone would be significant.

Check out the services and fees just to gauge the savings. My DS just got his on ($5600) so I feel your pain on this one. Good luck.

 

[adisneynut]

Yes we did go to the Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry in Augusta, Ga for our daughter. It is about 80 miles form us. We had to go through a screening visit where they decide if you need braces and that is a 30.00 fee. If you need then then your pay a dental records fee where they x-ray you and take impressions. They ask for 25% downpayment when you get the braces on and then you can make monthly payments.

It was around 3,100.00 for her braces. Back in 97-2000 our oldest daugher had them also and we used a private orthodontist and hers were 3700.00.

Just call your school and see howthey screen applicants. My daughter loves her student. They are actual dentist and everytying is carefully checked.

 

[Mickey1Fan]

My son went to a dental school for his braces. I liked that it was the most up to date equipment and everything was checked by a professor.

Paid about 1/4 of what an orthodontist would charge. Anyone could go, they had criteria for the work to be done. Had to be done within three years and minor adjustments.

 

[rcpae]

I just checked into this for our 3rd daughter. The first two went to private orthdontists. We live in central Ohio and the dental clinic at OSU does braces. I have heard good things about their services and their prices.

 

[vhoffman]

Its certainly something to consider, but the 2-hour drive might not be the best, especially for something as ongoing as braces. And, like someone else said, what if a wire breaks, or some other emergency? It would be different if the dental school was here in town.

 

[simpilotswife]

I was on the receiving end of dental school about 33 yrs ago. I hated it. The worst for me was when my Orthodontist graduated and they gave a new one who was a real jerk. When he would adjust me it would hurt more than was necessary (after a couple of year I knew what it should feel like) and the instructors wouldn't listen.

 

[sara74]

From my personal experience IN dental school there were no income requirements to have work done by a dental student. For orthodontics one would be treated my an orthodontic resident - that is a dental school graduate (ie already a dentist) who is pursuing further training in orthodontics. These ortho programs are 2-3 years long. The residents are supervised by licensed orthodontists. The residents have already graduated from dental school themselves. I had my ortho done while I was a dental student by an ortho resident at my school (UConn) It was much less expensive than a private practice, they accepted the insurance coverage that I still had from my parents (I was a young student so I was covered while I was still under 24 years old) and the end result was, in my professional opinion, very nice indeed.

With all that said, if I had to drive 2 hours to do it I would question the savings, what with the price of gas these days and the intangible price of one's time having to make that trip each month!

 

[ilovejack02]

You need to meet low income requirements or have state medical assistance in order to go to a dental school for any treatment.

Not here in Louisiana thank goodness