Is this overpriced for dental work?

[tchrchgo]

my 8 yr old needs braces on his bottom teeth- apparently 2 teeth (the canines?) came out too early (the replacements aren't expected until 11yrs old) and the teeth to either side moved over and they have to make room for the teeth to come in when he's 11. They said they will put braces on the 4 front teeth and the back molars I think. They quoted me $1800. My insurance does not cover orthodontics.

Does $1800 seem high for just the bottom teeth? A friend's daughter got a full mouth of braces for $5000, so to me $1800 seems in line.

We are in the suburbs of Chicago.

Thanks!

 

[cvjw]

My 1st grader had a similar problem. His 2 baby front teeth were knocked out by a friend on a trampoline at a very early age. The permanent teeth came in early, and since none of the surrounding teeth were permanent, they shifted apart and blocked his other permanent teeth from coming in. He had 4 braces - 2 on top front teeth and 2 on back molars. He also had to have his pallet expanded to make room for the other permanent teeth to come in. My orthodontist charged us around $1300 for the work. We were already clients of the orthodontist - as his older brother had already had work done, so I think we might have gotten a discount. My son was in braces for over a year to get everything right = he had to wear the braces to keep his teeth in place until all of the permanent teeth in question came in properly.

 

[Havana]

$1,800 is about the same as we are paying now for braces on just the top teeth.

 

[GinCar]

I would love that deal! $5500 for top, bottom and a Herbst device.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Sounds about right but remember that OFTEN when a child does the braces at 8, they do need more work down the raod. Just a head's up.

 

[UCFALUM]

We were quoted $5000 for my 8 yo for full braces but he seems so young. And she wants to pull permanent teeth-eekkkk!
We're in FL and dragging my feet.

 

[rsschneck]

I am a dental hygienist of 20 years and $1800 sounds about right.

My daughter has had 8 primary teeth extracted @ Oral surgeon to make room for permanent teeth (robbing Peter to pay Paul). This was in elementary school. Annual ortho appointments from age 6 until she actually got started at age 11 (almost 12). She had a palatal expander, Mara appliance and full braces (all at the same time). She is down to full braces and it has been two years already. Orthodontist took a new pano x-ray and ceph and the difference is amazing. Every child's mouth is different and needs a different course of treatment. My daughter's ortho was $6500 (clear brackets were more expensive). I think we have gotten our money's worth because originally we were thinking about oral surgery and braces at about $16,000 plus.

Our ortho coverage only covered $1500 so $5000 has been out of pocket.

 

[bumbershoot]

Well, does it make *sense* to you? I mean, teeth shift around, and his jaw is still growing. To me, it makes no sense (I had teeth removed, I had the evil palate expander of death, cried from pain every single time the key was turned, and I had the exact same mouth at the end of that plus braces as I did before...only difference was I was threatened that if I did not smile with teeth showing I would be in serious trouble, so instead of a mouth-closed shy-girl smile, I showed teeth).

DS knocked out a tooth at 6 months old, then had 2 extracted at 2 because they grew in yellow, turned brown and started disintegrating (horrid teeth on his father's father's side). I have absolutely no worries that his jaw will be messed up as teeth come in, even though teeth definitely shifted around to try to close gaps. I think his teeth will figure it all out.

So there's just no chance I would pay $1 to have an ortho mess with his jaw, when I know his jaw is going to grow and change over time. If he wants and feels he needs braces once he's grown completely, he can pay for it.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

I think 1800 is in line for otho work. I had a lot of ortho work done including surgery and i am glad my parents had it done. Anyways I had a permanant bottom retainer til recently (behind the bottom front 4 teeth) and it popped the glue on 3 teeth..anyways the options ran from 365 to reglue to free to remove (16 years of having it on) so you can shop around or you can check around if you think it is too high but seems about right

 

[dimimi]

my 8 yr old needs braces on his bottom teeth- apparently 2 teeth (the canines?) came out too early (the replacements aren't expected until 11yrs old) and the teeth to either side moved over and they have to make room for the teeth to come in when he's 11. They said they will put braces on the 4 front teeth and the back molars I think. They quoted me $1800. My insurance does not cover orthodontics.

Does $1800 seem high for just the bottom teeth? A friend's daughter got a full mouth of braces for $5000, so to me $1800 seems in line.

We are in the suburbs of Chicago.

Thanks!

You really need to go to several orthodontists and get prices. Each area of the states have different prices.

 

[MSSANDRA]

But be sure to look at the whole picture when choosing and not just cost. We started pre-work at one place and while it was cheaper we just were not happy there. The place we choose was a little higher but they were SO great to deal with. You will have to deal with them for a long time and that appointment lady can be your best friend or your worst nightmare! Get a good feel for your place before you start.

 

[Leajess99]

Wow, my middle dd, now 12, had braces placed on just the top front teeth at 8 due to having the front teeth knocked out too early and then they grew in in a V shape. The braces cost me $500 and they were on for a year. As soon as her last 2 molars come in she will go into full braces as she has a severe underbite.

My son's full set of braces with palate expander and 4 teeth removed due to extreme overcrowding cost like $4500 and insurance paid part of that. His smile is so perfect and he really had to have the braces (not for cosmetic reasons).

 

[chrisn]

My DD's braces were $4000 (when she was 10 - now 22), My DS's phase 1 was 2600, Herbst appliance 1700, phase 2 2200. My braces were 5500. 1800sounds like a steel to me. Giving your child a healthy and confident smile is one of the single most important things you can do for them. Being self conscious of my teeth and smile when I was young shaped my personality and how I (didn't) projected myself. I've just gone through 2 years of Ortho and cosmetic dentistry as an adult and it's been one of the best things I have ever done for myself. I'm learning to smile and project when I speak. It's a whole new world. I wish my parents would of had the forsight to take care of this when I was young (I begged my dad). For my own children, this was/is an absolute priority.

 

[angwill]

I am in NW Illinois and paid $600 for 8 braces on my top teeth that have now been on for 8 months and will probably be on for about 2 more months. I think I would get second opinions.

 

[cm8]

my 8 yr old needs braces on his bottom teeth- apparently 2 teeth (the canines?) came out too early (the replacements aren't expected until 11yrs old) and the teeth to either side moved over and they have to make room for the teeth to come in when he's 11. They said they will put braces on the 4 front teeth and the back molars I think. They quoted me $1800. My insurance does not cover orthodontics.

Does $1800 seem high for just the bottom teeth? A friend's daughter got a full mouth of braces for $5000, so to me $1800 seems in line.

We are in the suburbs of Chicago.

Thanks!

My full set of braces were $2200.00 and were the Johnson's by a pretty well know orthodontist in sc!! I too would get a second opinion!