Help me let this budget buster go...

[MAGICX2]

We had an ortho consult with the ortho in our regular dentist office. He told us he did not believe in 1st phase/2nd phase braces. He told us to use a popsicle stick to try to bring DS8 front tooth forward. He has trapped front teeth. They are turned inward and one edge of the tooth is "trapped" behind the bottom teeth. He said the popsicle stick would slowly force the tooth forward. After 3 months of trying the popsicle stick trick we took him to another ortho that a friend recommended. She said that she only saw the popsicle trick used in third world countries while she was in the military. They don't have braces in third world countries and she said it takes years not months for it to work. So she recommended pilars on DS's molars to open up his jaw (lifting front teeth away from bottom), putting brackets on front teeth to turn them, then once turned his canine's should drop in and brackets put on them as well. His canine's have not been able to come in due to the space being blocked by the twisted front teeth.
All told for 1st phase, $1300. This includes the xrays, digital images, impressions, etc. We are set up on a montly payment plan, but did have to pay $300 out of pocket. My dental insurance pays 80/20 up to a $1500 lifetime max, so I guess i am lucky.
Does health insurance, like Med Mutual, typically pay any portion towards this?

 

[bumbershoot]

Your child is 9. When I was 9, that was the line given to my mom. She bought it. Took 4 teeth out, had braces, blah blah blah.

Now I'm 40, and there is lots of room in the back of my jaw, would have been perfect to house all those teeth that there was "no room" for. There's been taht much room since I was an adult and my face grew to adult size.

As a child, they just don't know how big your mouth is going to be. Backfired in my case!

IMO, unless there's something BEYOND drastic going on, orthodontia can be taken care of the "children" once they are adults, dagnabit! Sure wish my mom hadn't bought the ortho's line of junk, b/c there's NO chance I would have done it.

Oh and when you look at the rare pix of me with my teeth showing as a kid, my teeth look almost exactly how they look now...I was ordered post-braces to show my teeth when I smiled, so there's a difference in *style* of smile, but when you compare teeth, NO difference.

 

[SandrA9810]

I still have a baby tooth and I've never had a dentist recommend pulling it out. Granted I don't think it's attached to the bone, but I haven't had any issues with it. And thankfully my dentist also doesn't think I need my wisdom teeth pulled.

The FSA account is great. It's pre-taxed, and it comes out each paycheck over a year, but you're given the full amount at the start of the year. You set the amount you want, or what you think you'll need. Just remember it has to be used for any benefits in the current year, sometimes it does allow for rollover into the new year for a couple of months. But you can't stock pile it, because once it expires, it's gone. I have 550$ to use before March, so I'm letting Kari get an expensive pair of sunglasses and a new pair of regular glasses. I usually don't go out of range on frames, so I'll just use it to pay the 40$ co-pay. And with anything left over, it'll be used towards more dental work for her.

And if you do have some left over by the end of the year, you can always stock pile on OTC meds that qualify for the FSA. Most stores now label the ones you can get with it.

 

[jakoky]

HI there... I have 3 teenagers...

Our ortho is one who believes in waiting for all the adult teeth before starting...i have no idea if this is the "right" way, but so far, so good...

oldest dd, we had NO coverage...5600 out of pocket for us...OUCH...paid in monthly installments, no interest, in and out of braces in less than 19 months, and i say, she has a 6000 dollar smile...

ds-no coverage for the first bit....coverage kicked in after about 2000 dollars, so we ended up getting the last 75% of the last 3700 back...my dh's insurance will give us back 75% dental/ortho per year...i got very lucky...he just got his braces off last week after 39 months...he had a huge overbite with teeth that stuck out a lot...lets just say his teeth are amazing now...and i think our ortho lost a lot of money on him...due to many reasons, he was in a year and a half longer than he should have been...

younger dd-started braces in aug...5400 total, i planned it perfectly and we will get 75 of this back..(started late one year, full year of payments, then some the next year)...her braces wont hurt us at all...which is good, she truly didnt "need" them, it was a choice, and we felt we had two who had them so we let her choose...

All i know, it is a LOT of money, and yes, it is so worth it in the end,but it doesnt mean it doesnt hurt when paying it out...


Good luck
shar

 

[mamalle]

Its worth it is all I can say. dd is about done with phase one and I have 2 more payments to go for her. If she needs phase II it will be for straightening only. we also have great insurance and its 50/50 so OOP is $1700 total. For mine its $2500. I have a long way to go and just had a extraction and mine was covered 100% also. dh has a baby tooth still and you can tell for sure. its totally shorter than his other teeth and when he smiles Im sure people wonder. Its too bad they didnt do anything when he was younger to correct this. Its was the main reason we went took our daughter in at age 9 since the odds were pretty good her teeth would of been impacted if not given room to come down like they have now..

 

[tinkarooni]

Hey there OP. It is painful isn't it.....for us to write the check that is....imagine the poor kids.

My DD9 had to have the stage 1 braces too. Her bite was so bad that she was actually wearing at the bottom teeth with the top ones. $2500. No insurance to cover any of it. At least you had some insurance. Ours was 100% out of pocket. My dental doesn't cover any orthodontist work. You better believe I'm saving for phase 2.

 

[ceecee]

$2500.00 is cheap for ortho especially if an orthodontist is doing it and not a general dentist. Sometimes Phase I and II are needed but there are some orthodontists that do it routinely. We have one in our town that does almost all 6-7 yr olds with growth appl. The dentist I work for doesn't even refer kids that age unless they are really bad.

 

[TiggerStac]

My DS is in the middle of phase 1 now. His teeth were so overcrowed and coming in crooked. He had to have 2 teeth pulled, one was starting to get wiggly. He has a palate expander in that has been in for almost 5 months, he gets it out on 1/8/10. He has 4 brackets on the top and a space maintainer on the bottom. He'll have the braces and space maintainer for 15-18 months, he got those in September.

Our insurance covered 1200, we had to pay 350 for "records", and 1600 after insurance. I paid 600 up front and split 100/month for 10 months. He will need phase 2 when he is 11-13, but for now we are fixing his massive overcrowding. There are actually 6 different things that need to be done...

 

[indimom]

I'm glad a couple of you commented on the baby teeth situation also. The dentist acted like he didn't think they would last into her 20/30s, that baby teeth just aren't designed to last that long. So, it was kind of nice to hear that we may not have to worry about that issue any time soon.
As far as her looks go, we're really lucky. Her baby teeth issue are upper mollars and you have to really look to notice them, they are really short compared to the teeth around them. I never noticed until the dentist pointed it out.

Hubby also helped me out a little bit on the $$$ issue, by surprising me with the fact that he's been secretly saving for our December trip. He probably has enough tucked away to take care of that, so we won't have to hit our savings for anything other than Stage I. Gotta love that man!

Thanks again for all the advice. I really do think we are doing the right thing and going with the right orthodontist. This is the same woman who will be working on my other niece (13) soon and she is only getting braces and all her permanent teeth are in, so I don't think she routinely recommends two stages or tries to inflate costs. We're just the lucky ones. DS seems to have hubby's mouth and he had serious crowding issues and impacted teeth which caused him a lot of trouble over the years thanks to no money for treatment as a kid. Still has very crooked lower teeth that he is committed to hiding, he would gladly spend another $5,000 to make sure DS doesn't have the same problem.

Thanks Much!!

 

[mmeb144]

Where do you live in Indiana? I live near the Illinois border in northwest Indiana. I took both my kids to an orthodontist in Watseka, IL. Very cost effective. I didn't feel like they were only out to get my money. Both my kids are out of braces and their smiles look great, when they brush.

 

[indimom]

We live in southeastern Indiana, about an hour from both Indy and Cincinnati, Ohio. I went to ISU in Terre Haute back in the early 90s though. It was a nice area...when it didn't smell.
I have to agree about the brushing. I told DS that he's going to have to do a lot better on the brushing when he's got all this metal in his mouth...

 

[marcyinPA]

I've been in on a braces discussion with other people in other areas of the country and the price really varies! I think it depends on supply and demand, honestly. In our area, there are literally hundreds of orthodontists, so the competition is pretty high.

My DS14 got his braces last January, after wearing a retainer since 3rd grade. We paid $400 up front for the retainer, and that price included every appointment from 3rd grade until he got the braces in 8th grade. The braces themselves were $1750, for which we paid $250 up front, and then $100 a month for 15 months. Just 5 more months to go...I'm ecstatic! He will probably be in the braces for 2 years.

Our orthodontist does not believe in pulling teeth unless it is absolutely necessary. That is the reason why DS was in the retainer for so long...it took that long for his teeth to fall out!

 

[klj27]

Well, I don't know if this will make you feel any better, my younger DD had to have a Herbst with her braces, and her smile is costing us $6,500. And yes, that is with insurance. so, our out of pocket is 5,000. It is crazy what a smile costs.

This is the same treatment plan as us, $6580! We have NO orthodontia coverage.

 

[klj27]

We live in southeastern Indiana, about an hour from both Indy and Cincinnati, Ohio. I went to ISU in Terre Haute back in the early 90s though. It was a nice area...when it didn't smell.
I have to agree about the brushing. I told DS that he's going to have to do a lot better on the brushing when he's got all this metal in his mouth...

I grew up in SE Indiana, about an hour from Cincy and Indy, but closer to Cincy!

 

[HugsForEeyore]

If the OP wants to feel better, I am living proof of what can happen if parents don't fix their kid's teeth. When I was a kid, my parents refused me braces - they never saw it as their responsibility (they thought braces were vain). My parents had the money, they just wouldn't get me braces. I had badly crooked, crowded teeth - the worst was 2 of my canines were in their own row in front of the other teeth, protruding at a 45 degree angle. I couldn't smile, I couldn't even open my mouth right over the protrusion. I looked horrible. I was teased by classmates and forget about dating. I could see people staring at me funny when I opened my mouth. My parents said I needed to learn to live with it. Just how it is.

But the stark reality of how it affected me when I presented myself in job interviews. I looked awful and I couldn't hide it. I realized I never saw anyone in professional settings with teeth like mine - everyone already had great smiles. Even in college, I noticed my friends from families with less money all had braces as kids. I was the only person I knew who had very ugly crooked teeth. I realized what a huge disadvantage I was at. And the amount of work I needed to fix my teeth and look normal would take years.

I found myself in a catch-22: I couldn't get a good job to pay to fix my teeth; and I couldn't fix my teeth since I couldn't land a good job to pay for it. Was I angry at my parents?? You betcha! But what was done was done.

Long story short, I never landed a good professional job after college; I finally bankrupted my savings (no insurance) as an adult for over 3 years of braces plus surgery (since only surgery could help me by then, as a kid I may have avoided it). It was a long and painful experience filled with all sort of appliances; I even wore the classic rubber bands! But it paid off BIG TIME. After my teeth were straight enough to look normal (still in braces even), I landed the 1st professional job I interviewed for. After that, I landed an even better job. The improvment in self-esteem was incredible, and I could see people treated me so much better when I could confidently smile. Best thing I ever did was braces - changed my whole life and identity.

There is no doubt in my mind how straight teeth and a great smile are an absolute neccessity today to succeed. I am thrilled to read these posts and see parents will do whatever it takes to give their kids a great smile.

 

[SandrA9810]

I wanted braces so badly as a kid, my mom even put a down payment one time. but because of a cavity, they couldn't start. 3 years later I finally had it taken care of, which then turned into a root canal. There was no insurance, and because my sister messed up her braces so bad by not wearing the retainer and all that fun stuff, my grandparent's never gave me the same chance.
I also turned 18 when I got the root canal done which then canceled out the original discounted place my mom put the deposit at.

I now have insurance, which would cost me 1,000$ a year OOP for braces, but I hate the idea of getting them. So many horror stories, I already get canker sores like crazy, and I really don't want my mouth to be torn up for 2 years waiting. I also don't think it would help my gummy smile, my front teeth are so far low, that my upper gums is what shows the most when i smile. I hate my teeth but I deal with it cause I dont want to go through the pain of braces.

It's surprising how much kids can tolerate.

 

[SILLYANDI]

I know first hand the pain and expense that can be caused by not doing orthodontia in phases. I am not claiming that OP's dentist is valid or trustworthy or not- I can only speak from my experience.
When I was 8 my dentist referred me to an orthodontist for an evaluation due to major cross bite, major under bite and malformed sinuses. My parents were told I would need 3 phases, palate expander, teeth pulled all kinds of work. My parents got 2nd & 3rd opinions (2nd said same thing 3rd said wait and see).

They listened to dr #3 (but had dr #1 do the work) and I ended up getting my braces at 11 years old along with a palate expander which caused black eyes and was extremely painful. I had to have surgery to remove wisdom teeth that were impacted in my sinuses (no place for them to come down with those 12 year molars there), face gear that was horribly embarrassing in junior high and after 6 years of "only 1 phase" I had to have full reconstruction of my jaws to finally get them where they should be and relieve the TMJ that was caused by all of it. Not to mention the tons of cavities I have because of wearing bands around all my teeth for so long (and yes, I was meticulous about brushing but not so good at flossing with all that metal). Final tally out of my parents pocket was over $50,000.

For comparison- My DD went to the same dentist & orthodontist for exactly the same problems at age 8 (the orthodontist still has my records and our facial measurements are nearly identical!). We opted to do the 3 phases that they suggested on their timeline (I couldn't bear to put my kid through what I did).
Phase 1 (palate expander and brackets on front 4 adult teeeth-with very little pain and no black eyes) is complete in less than a year-she has successfully added 13 mm to her upper jaw width, fully corrected over bite and her sinuses have been re shaped and are no longer causing problems. Her smile is already beautiful and we aren't even finished yet-her other adult teeth are coming down where they are supposed to). The orthodontist keeps pointing out how much easier this route is than what happened to me. My mom feels horrible after seeing how easy it has been and the significant changes in her looks and speech. I will only be out about $6000 by the end of this (a bargain in money and tears as far as I am concerned...)

 

[indimom]

Sounds like we're from the same neck of the woods.

I'm so sorry some of you had such dreadful experiences with your teeth. It's definately true that everyone has a different structure to their mouth and what works for one person may not work for another. I also agree with poster who said this is important for my son's future job searches. Not only does he have an issue with spitting a bit when he talks, he slurs his words some too, and being able to speak clearly again will be a HUGE bonus too.

When you hear awful stories like these, it makes the dollar signs not so important anymore.