How much are you paying for braces?

[drinkme]

I'm not trying to find a cheaper place, just wondering what everyone else is paying. My dd10 had her dentist appt yesterday and she has all of her adult teeth in (except wisdom teeth...lol). Her dentist says she ready for braces. She'll wear them 2 years, and it's going to cost $5500!!!!! Our insurance only pays for $1000. I have to pay up front, so I'll probably just use my Disney rewards card. But, there goes our WDW vacation for Mothers Day 2010.

So, is this what everyone else is paying for full mouth braces?

 

[etraible]

My DS got braces 3 years ago, it was $4300, plus he had to get 3 teeth pulled (not because of cavities, it was before he could get braces) and that was another $500. I shopped around. I made an appt with Sears Dental, and there was a waiting room full of people. After waiting a 45 minutes (and it still wasn't our turn), I asked if this was the norm and they (the people in the lobby) said yes, every time they came. I left. Orthodontists should be reasonably on time, and you'll be doing this for two to three years. The second place, American Dental, gave me a quote and then said that price was only if I signed that minute, otherwise it'd be significantly more. I thought that was too high pressured and told them so, they said it was for "people who knew what they wanted." Again, I left. I finally got 2 quotes, which were within $100 of each other.

Do you have a flex spending account at work? $5500 pre tax dollars is like $4125 after tax dollars. (Your tax rate may vary.)

I feel your pain. Wait till you have college tuition payments!

 

[lisaross]

that seems to be about the right price..I've been checking around as well as my 9 yr old is going to need. My cvg pays 2000.00 and if you use an "inhouse" recommended ortho, the price is capped at 4500! so i found a good recommend ortho in my plan - so now i need to save up the 2500!

lisa

 

[drinkme]

Do you have a flex spending account at work? $5500 pre tax dollars is like $4125 after tax dollars. (Your tax rate may vary.)

I feel your pain. Wait till you have college tuition payments!

I didn't even think of the flex spending!!! Thanks for that tip! We never usually do that, but I'll have dh sign up for it at his work for 2010. We were planning on getting the braces after xmas anyway.

Don't even talk about college!! lol. I was telling dh that the kids were just so expensive. We'd have so much money if we didn't have all of these kids!! lol (before anyone flames me, you know I'm just joking)

And the ironic part is that I'm working like crazy getting other medical bills paid off. We are going to have them all paid off (plus some other bills) in June 2010. Now we're right back to paying off this medical/dental bill. It never ends with the medical bills.

 

[mousecraszy]

Our DD12's braces were/are @ $5500. We knew it was going to be pricey and so we planned. I carry the health/dental benefits for my family but hubby added dental only for him and our daughter for this year. My plan pays $2000 and his $1000 for othodontia. We also put $$ into a Medical Flexible Spending Account which we have tapped for the balance. This worked very well for us and believe it or not, the double coverage has helped with hubby's recent dental problems as well. It's really ridiculous how pricey braces have gotten and just pray your DD will be compliant with wearing her retainer after the braces come off!! Hang in there.

 

[NHdisneylover]

5-6K is what I hear most people whose kids have "basic" issues which can be fixed in very standard ways paying. Be happy that is all you have as it sky rockets quickly from there. And, absolutely use your flex plan to help

My braces back in the mid/late eighties ran $6600 of which my mom's insurance paid $1000.

DD12 had to have oral surgery first. She has a tooth that grew sideways and up, instead of out, and it was implanting itself into the bone in the roof of her mouth The surgery pulled it out of the bone and pointed it down as well as leaving a "channel" in the gum for the tooth to come down through. A chain was attached to the tooth under the gum. if the tooth will not drop through the channel on its own in one year she will get braces on the toop teeth and the chain will be attached to the braces. The tooth will be pulled out by taking one link out of the chain every 6 weeks or so. Additionally she has an overbite and some crooked teeth/spacing issues. It is looking good for the overbite and spacing to be fixed by just a custom plastic apparatus she wears every night for 10 hours.
The estimate in the USA for all of this was $16,000 of which our insurance would have covered $1,000 I consider us lucky that we found out were were moving while still scheduling the surgery and the orthodontist said to hold off and have one person do all the work. Here in Germany, we will pay at most about $2000. That is worst case scenario. Best guess is we will pay about $1000 (for the braces to pull the tooth down--looks like she will not need braces with internal head gear to realign the jaw). I am loving public insurance right about now

 

[eeyorethegreat]

My youngest son has an ortho appointment today. His braces- two years on the teeth then one to two with a retainer is $4000. Our dental pays $1500. We have a payment plan set up to pay $90 a month after an initial $600+ payment. He got them at the end of the summer. Not crazy about the office staff, like the Dr a lot and the Dental assistants are good so far. With our insurance we were really limited in where we could go so it was either this office or another two hours away. This one takes an hour to drive to big chunk of time out of the day hour down and back for 15 minutes in the chair for the work. If you can look into the various options you have in practices before you sign on for the treatment.

 

[drinkme]

Here in Germany, we will pay at most about $2000. That is worst case scenario. Best guess is we will pay about $1000 (for the braces to pull the tooth down--looks like she will not need braces with internal head gear to realign the jaw). I am loving public insurance right about now

OP here. My ds9 also had his appt yesterday. The dentist said there is a problem with his lower jaw being too small. We have to come back in a couple of weeks to get an impression made, then he will come up with a "plan" (which sounds to me like lots more $$$$$). I don't even want to know what that's going to cost.

Yes, having a public insurance plan right now sounds pretty good.

 

[cvjw]

Check with several orthodontists. When my older son was 9, he needed to have an expander put in, and braces on 4 of his top teeth to fix a crossbite. I got several opinions from friends about which orthodontist to use. I went to the first one, and his price was $4500 for the work. I went to the next one on the list, and his price was $2500 for the same work. We went with the second one. My younger son needed an expander also, and a couple of braces when he was 7 - my orthodontist only charged $1500 for that work. Now, my older son has a full set of braces from the same orthodontist, and he only charged $3800. That includes retainers and everything. Shop around, and find a doctor that you like. My orthodontist gives great discounts for repeat business.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

My DS11 is destined to have braces. His xrays look like his teeth are coming in sideways! Our dentist has said he has an impacted canine-$$$, and the Ortho has put off anything for 15 more months. I had no idea about the cost!!! I don't know what I thought it was going to be. I guess I can start an Ortho checking account, I already have a separate vacation account. Great idea about the flex spending, thanks for all the heads up everyone!

 

[Boncho]

My son only had to get top braces (a golf ball hit him in the mouth ) and it is costing $3,300.00.

 

[NHdisneylover]

OP here. My ds9 also had his appt yesterday. The dentist said there is a problem with his lower jaw being too small. We have to come back in a couple of weeks to get an impression made, then he will come up with a "plan" (which sounds to me like lots more $$$$$). I don't even want to know what that's going to cost.

Yes, having a public insurance plan right now sounds pretty good.

Good luck to you. I think crowding in the upper or lower jaw is still relativly routine--so hopefully you will not be out too much more. It does seem these things always add up doesn't it?

 

[FINFAN]

DS are $4,300...DD's were $3,100 4 years earlier. We get 3 "free" bracket replacements , after that $40 a pop DS also had to go thru headgear for 2 years prior to the braces which used up our insurance coverage of $1200, so all in all he is $5500 plus any brackets past the 3. I have 19 payments left of $125 a month, which will just switch to college funding anyway, but at least his smile will be nice!

 

[mjkacmom]

Our insurance pays $1500 (which I hear is good), and braces total $6500 (and all 5 kids need them - dd13 is sporting them right now).

 

[NMW]

My sons were $5800 plus $270 for the records fee. I paid 10% down and then could do 0% financing for 3 years with them. $110 a month. Insurance reimbursed $2000.

It was supposed to be 3 years of treatment. 1 year with braces on the top teeth only and head gear to correct an overjet and then right into 2 years of the full set of braces. Well, after the first year we were all set to go except that 1 of his 12 year old molars was missing. She gave it 6 months to come in on its own. Than she gave it ANOTHER 6 months and nothing...no molar.

So, we had to go to an oral surgeon to get the tooth exposed and than go that day to the ortho to get the full set put on. We had to go every 3 weeks to get the chain pulling down the exposed molar tightened until they could finally just put a bracket on it. My regular dental insurance coverd the oral surgeon...it was not connected to ortho. So that was 80/20-they pay 80% we pay 20%...maybe around $150 (I can't remember).

So we had a year delay where I was still making braces payments (with no braces on his teeth) waiting for that missing molar. They are paid off now and he is one year into the 2 years of the full set of braces. I have to say, that he teeth look amazingly straight and he no longer has an overjet, but a perfect bite.

My friend just took her son and he some missing top teeth issue as well as needing braces and she was told $8000. This is the ortho that did both her daughters and she is so bummed. She's thinking about getting a second opinion, but all the orthos around here seem comparable in price so she's not sure it's worth it.

 

[Disney Ella]

Both of my kids got braces in January and it cost $5200 for each of them, minus the $1500 per child that insurance covers. I paid for the initial $1200 deposit and some of the monthly payments with our flexible spending plan. DH's employer caps contributions to flexible spending at $3,000, so between braces and other medical expenses, we have already used all of the money for this year. Next year, the flexible spending program will cover all of the monthly payments, which will be nice.

 

[HM]

$4800 for DS (2 yr plan)
$5200 for DD (2 1/2 year plan w/ small sibling discount)

We had three options for paying and chose to put down 20% and be billed in equal payments over the course of their treatment (currently $137.75/mon for DD).

Our insurance covered $1500 of each, paying us over the course of 6 months.

I would suggest not looking for "cheap", but get several opinions (should be free for a consultation) and see what each orthodontist has to say about their plan for your child. Go with what sounds correct and competent. Be sure to meet the other office staff as well, as your daughter will be seeing them a lot.

 

[CSI:Jude]

Reading this makes me cringe about the way we are in the UK. We in the UK moan so much about our NHS and we take it all for granted. I couldnt imagine being in the position where i had to raise that kind of money. We do crazy taxes on some things but at least its all spread out.
It really makes you think about what you've got when you hear the other side of the story.

One question though...how do you all do it? How do you fund medical/dental bills? I couldn't afford to pay that kind of money

Hope you dont mind me asking

Jude x

 

[disney4us2002]

My son's lower jaw was also small and we started with expanders. The whole thing took more than 5 years but his smile is absolutely beautiful. When you say you have to pay up front, do you mean all of it? We paid $112 per month for nearly 5 years. There are only 2 orthos in this small area but both offer payment plans. I think they recognize most people can't afford to shell out $5000 in one pop!

 

[undertheradar]

With the medical flex spending plan, we have bumped our plan to $3500 for the past and upcoming year. DD#1 had hers put on this year and our prepay with discount was $2100, DD#2 will get hers on in January and our prepay with discount is under $1900. Insurance pays $2000 for each girl. With the medical spending account, our plan allows you to spend the funds before they are deducted.
I would advise checking with your insurance plans to verify how much and how they pay. Even though we have prepaid DD#1's plan, there is a monthly charge billed to insurance for the balance owed by the insurance plan.