How much do braces cost?

[LuvOrlando]

SO I just got back from the Orthodontist and am absolutely floored from sticker shock. I don't know if his prices are high or normal but holy moly. Top & bottom for 20 months on a 12 year old kid, what is reasonable? I think I may go get some second opinions, not sure yet. I'm ok with spending if its necessary but I feel like I might be signing off on a mugging

 

[MagicalMysteryDream]

5400 is the normal around here with a Herbst and retainer.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

It varies by severity, type purchased, location, etc. I would say a baseline estimate would be $4,000 - $6,000 before insurance.

 

[taylor1293]

SO I just got back from the Orthodontist and am absolutely floored from sticker shock. I don't know if his prices are high or normal but holy moly. Top & bottom for 20 months on a 12 year old kid, what is reasonable? I think I may go get some second opinions, not sure yet. I'm ok with spending if its necessary but I feel like I might be signing off on a mugging

What was your quote?

We are paying $3,800 for top and bottom and this will include retainer. Our insurance only covers about $1,600 of it I think.

 

[goofystitchfan]

I agree with the previous posts. If you are lucky enough to have insurance pay then good for you! Our orthodontist has split up our payments and does not charge any interest. I pur mine on our Disney Visa.... might as well get something out of it

 

[joviroxx]

Coincidentally, I just got back with my DS from the orthodontist this morning and received our quote as well. Here is what Ive got.. Regular braces for 18 months, top and bottom.

Because of our insurance, the negotiated rate with our ortho is $4700. With our ortho, the price depends on your insurance. I do know that without insurance the rate is higher. Our insurance will pick up $1000 of the $4700. We will be paying $187 a month for 18 months. Id be interested to see how that compares to the price you received.

 

[LuvOrlando]

OK so $6300 is high, add on the $300 I just spent to have images taken and we are up at $6600. I thought it was a bit much

 

[joviroxx]

OK so $6300 is high, add on the $300 I just spent to have images taken and we are up at $6600. I thought it was a bit much

We paid $47 for the images after insurance (covers 70%)

 

[jlewisinsyr]

OK so $6300 is high, add on the $300 I just spent to have images taken and we are up at $6600. I thought it was a bit much

Not necessarily, its still within an acceptable range I think. Although I see no issues with getting a second opinion.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

OK so $6300 is high, add on the $300 I just spent to have images taken and we are up at $6600. I thought it was a bit much

They charged you to have images done? I had an ortho that tried to do that. I laughed in his face literally and then he tried to play it off as if "all" orthodontists offices did that.

Uh-huh....No most orthos, look in the mouth examine and give you a quote without charging you a dime.

Oh and my oldest was in the 4500 range but that was awhile ago. My youngest just got braces and they charged 5380.

 

[Pigeon]

I would get at least three opinions.

My sister has one son who needed braces. The treatment plans were all over the place. She must have gone to a dozen orthos, and there was no consensus at all. Prices also varied accordingly.

 

[goofy!]

Dd's bill was close to $5,000 10 years ago, top teeth only.

With DS, we lucked out. An ortho was recommended to us and as she was just starting her practice (fresh out of school), she was offering the first x amount of customers a $3,000 deal for everything. Between DH's insurance and ours, we shelled out $119.00 out of pocket - total. We have been really happy with her too. Can't tell much difference between the high priced ortho we used for our daughter (with his pictures of Hollywood kids he did on his wall) to our fresh out of college ortho.

 

[joviroxx]

They charged you to have images done? I had an ortho that tried to do that. I laughed in his face literally and then he tried to play it off as if "all" orthodontists offices did that.

Uh-huh....No most orthos, look in the mouth examine and give you a quote without charging you a dime.

Oh and my oldest was in the 4500 range but that was awhile ago. My youngest just got braces and they charged 5380.

The consulting visit and panamex xray was free but I do have to pay $47 for pre-images prior to putting on the braces. Not sure what else that includes as we aren't getting it done until Wednesday

 

[suzannen]

Here in NYC, our DD went to a top-rated orthodontist and the cost was $6,000, which included 2 sets of Invisalign Retainers and 6 retainer check visits. Two of DD's friends got cheaper quotes from different orthos and went with them to save money and, unfortunately, both ended up having serious problems One actually had to switch orthos 3/4 way through due to mistakes and problems he had caused, and by the end had paid $3,000 more than the original highest quote. So, just make sure if you find a cheaper quote, before you decide to go for the lower cost, RESEARCH the references for the orthodontist! (Actually, research the high cost one, too!)

 

[hulagirl87]

this thread is coming at a perfect time. My sister just found out that her youngest 2 kids (15 and 11) need braces She hasn't had the consults yet to see how much they will be, but she is scared. She doesn't know if her ex-husband's insurance will pay for any of it but hopefully it will! that's pretty expensive!!!! Her oldest had the Invisalign but kept losing it. So the younger 2 won't be getting that.

 

[klj27]

5400 is the normal around here with a Herbst and retainer.

This was $5600 for us for the same treatment. We did pay 200 extra for clear brackets on top.

ETA: We don't have any ortho insurance.

 

[bellebud]

this is funny - I started the same thread a month or so ago (maybe on the family board instead of here though), because I had sticker shock.

dd11's braces are costing $5700 (or 5800) for 2 years. no night brace or anything, and I *think* that includes a retainer afterwards.

 

[Mom3girls]

I just paid off my oldest DD's braces last month and go on Wednesday to get DD#2 started! We had to pay a total of $4600. And that includes the retainer and expander too. Of which our insurance paid $1800. The ortho told us to expect the same with DD#2 also.

 

[bettyann29]

My youngest, and thankfully the last to go into braces, got them a few weeks ago and the cost was $5000.. insurance is paying $2500 and we had to pay the other $2500..

 

[mamamary]

I couldn't find the exact paperwork but my DD's braces were also around $5,000 (which included everything except I believe the initial x-rays which were about $300). She will only be in braces 1 year at the most (we're almost there). Now my son needed more work and wore them close to two years but it was the same price anyway. Our insurance pays about half and we pay a certain amount of money, interest free, for a year.

We had gotten three different opinions/prices for my son three years ago and all three prices were different. We did go with the cheapest one (a good Orthodontist practice) and it was ALOT cheaper than the first one we visited and slightly cheaper with the second one we visited. So I'd def. shop around.