Orthodontic Insurance

[jmkst58]

Has anyone else purchased this? Do you recommend it? Why or why not?

***My dd is only 10- so i've just started to research this. HOWEVER--- she's almost out of baby teeth already!!! She only goes to the dentist twice a year for cleanings. I can't remember her ever having a cavity (my youngest is the exact opposite story- so strange, but anyway). So my DH usually takes her and I don't get to chat with her dentist much. I'm going to this time though. She has like 3 baby teeth left to fall out!! So really only 3 more adult teeth to grow in and then I think they are going to be recommending braces. Her teeth seem healthy but they are not the least bit straight. ugh. braces.

so I started reading about it today. Seems like my dental insurance is saying that our portion will be $4300 and then I read about orthodontic insurance- but I can't find much about it. Should you purchase it before a dentist or orthodontist even suggest braces? (I read something about them claiming it a 'pre-exsisting' condition).

I'm so confused. Does anyone know on average what percentage it covers? Any help would be appreciated. I'm not finding much. And if i need to get it before they refer her- then I'd like to get started soon.


thanks so much!!!

 

[mjkacmom]

Never heard of it, and there have been many discussions regarding braces on this board. Typically, dental insurance covers between $1000 - $1500, rarely more. Dd14's braces cost $6300, and she started around 9 with the palate expander. Multiply that by 5 - ugh!

 

[PixieTl]

our new insurance doesn't cover any orthodontics, at all, which stinks, but depending on your doctor, they may have very good payments plans. We pay a certain percentage upfront and then about $200 a month. I have seen brochures about different insurances offered there, but the doctor office one seems to be the most cost efficient! And we have 2 in braces right now and 2 more that haven't, but that day is coming!
Good luck!

 

[ceecee]

I've never heard of a seperate ortho plan. Ortho is usually covered under dental insurance, but like a pp said they have a limit of $500-2500 lifetime, some even limit ortho to kids.
Purchasing dental insurance on your own and not thru an employer can cost a lot! Watch out for the waiting period as well. Fortunately most orthodontists offer interest free payment plans.

 

[bjscheel]

I posted the same question earlier this summer, because our dentist said we should get it. There doesn't seem to be anything useful in the way of orthodontic insurance, but there are some discount programs you can join and use a participating orthodontist. We could have signed up for dental on DH's plan but it was practically useless- you pay more in premiums than it's worth and covers no ortho.

We are supposed to go back this winter to see what he thinks. I'm not convinced DD11 needs them. She has a gap in front, but so did I when I was her age. I wonder if when the rest of her teeth grow in they will move together.

DD9 however, has an underbite. I've done some reading on methods of correcting and they make me cringe! I too had an underbite that went away as my teeth grew in, but I don't see any progress with her.

So yeah, ortho insurance would be nice for us, but I sure didn't find anything either.

 

[crjack]

I have two teens that have both been through braces. For us, the ortho coverage was a rider or add-on that was part of DH's dental insurance but many plans just cover dental.

It may be just as economical to use a flex spending account. The ortho's around my area let you use them and it can save you a fair amount of $$.

Most will also offer various payment options. My combined total for 2 children was $11,000 for everything (treatment, x-rays, retainer, etc.). Our ortho coverage took care of $2K per child, which was great. (At one point DH's dental did not include ortho so the timing was perfect.)

For the balance we could pay (for each child) upfront for a 5% discount, do one year of no interest equal monthly payments, or do a longer payment plan with interest.

If you have a flex spending account option explore that as an option too and just plan accordingly .

Good luck.

 

[jmkst58]

Thanks for steering me in the right direction. Doesn't sound like I was on the right track at all. I will spend my time researching everything else mentioned (I didn't even think about the flexible spending- we actually aren't using one right now but now thinking we might just do that next year). So thanks.

And thanks for sharing--- I can see my family going through it all REAL SOON too. Too soon.

 

[mdsoccermom]

We have orthodontia coverage with our dental insurance and it has been wonderful. It will cover orthodontics up to $3,000 per person. I switched dental insurance to include this coverage over 2 years ago knowing that DD would be heading down the braces route and that it takes 2 years from the time of purchase to take effect. It went into effect this past January and DD got her braces. It doesn't cover the braces entirely, but it cut the cost to us more than half over what we would have paid without it.

We have it through Met Life. My husband, however, is a federal employee so we got it through the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

 

[jmkst58]

We have orthodontia coverage with our dental insurance and it has been wonderful. It will cover orthodontics up to $3,000 per person. I switched dental insurance to include this coverage over 2 years ago knowing that DD would be heading down the braces route and that it takes 2 years from the time of purchase to take effect. It went into effect this past January and DD got her braces. It doesn't cover the braces entirely, but it cut the cost to us more than half over what we would have paid without it.

We have it through Met Life. My husband, however, is a federal employee so we got it through the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

oooh. oooh. oooh. MY DENTAL INSURANCE IS MET LIFE!!! Unfortunately I'm not a Federal employee though. Sounds like maybe it wouldn't hurt to make a quick phone call to either HR or MetLife though!!! just to be sure.

THANK YOU! Nothing that I've ever gotten from HR or metlife ever mentioned anything about it-- but I can still hope.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

We have dental insurance through DH's work. The company is Cigna Dental. DH had a couple of choices of which dental insurance to choose and he chose one with orthodontic coverage because we had already been told to expect braces. Good choice, lol. So far we're paying $1400 oop for my DS's braces, that will include all of his visits for this phase. He only got braces on his front four teeth. DD needs braces on all of her teeth and a little bit of other work done, we're expected to pay $3300 for hers.

It doesn't cover adults at all, though. Our premium is pretty low, but that's because it's through an employer.

The orthodontist we see had a few different payment options. There was a discount for paying with cash in full, there was an additional 4% charge if you used a credit card. We opted for a cash payment plan where they deduct the payment from our checking account monthly. We haven't gotten DD's yet, I'm hoping to get enough of a tax return to pay hers in full.

 

[polkadotminnie]

We have orthodontia coverage with our dental insurance and it has been wonderful. It will cover orthodontics up to $3,000 per person. I switched dental insurance to include this coverage over 2 years ago knowing that DD would be heading down the braces route and that it takes 2 years from the time of purchase to take effect. It went into effect this past January and DD got her braces. It doesn't cover the braces entirely, but it cut the cost to us more than half over what we would have paid without it.

We have it through Met Life. My husband, however, is a federal employee so we got it through the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

We have this as well and love it.

 

[clh2]

As a previous poster mentioned - regardless of what insurance options you have - you can use "flex dollars" for ortho work. The main benefit is using pre-tax money.

I would ask your HR department how they handle payments related to ortho work. My employer will let you "claim" the downpayment when you pay it (in my case 25%) and then they split the remaining balance (your portion) over the estimated months of treatment. So - to make numbers nice and even - if your portion was going to be $4800, and the treatment estimated to last two year, my employers plan would allow me to claim 25% -which is $1200 oat the begniinning of treatment. Then the remaining 36 months owuld be split into 24 monthly reimbursements of $150 each.

The reason you need to research this - my employer will not let you "claim" all $4800 in one year. Since flex spending plans are usually irrevocable once the plan year starts - and since most are "use it or lose it" plans - you just need to make sure that you are planning appropriatley.

Hope that makes sense!

 

[Nicolepa]

so I started reading about it today. Seems like my dental insurance is saying that our portion will be $4300

Where are you getting this number from? Until the ortho has seen your child your really have no idea what to expect (other than A LOT).

For phase one, my first child had an expander and upper braces (front teeth) only for 6 months. Total was around $2700. $1500 of that paid for by insurance, the rest used a flex spending.

Child 2, starts phase one next week. Expander, full set of upper and lower for 18-24 months. Cost before discounts to $4100. After Discounts $3500, again insurance will pay $1500 and we will use our flex account for the balance.

 

[holycow]

We have Met Life and it only pays 1000.00

 

[lisaross]

our plan will pay 2000.00 per child BUT if u got to an orth on their list, the rate is capped at 4500.00 so thats what i'm doing. Pretty big list in my area.

 

[simonfrank]

Orthodontic insurance covers the pre treatment as well as treatment that is taken post to the braces plantation. But if you go for the dental insurance and want braces to be placed over your teeth then it won't bear the cost of braces and user will have to bear its cost by themselves. Getting Orthodontic insurance can help you bear its cost and can be easily applied.

 

[QVCshopper]

I have to worry about this as well. My DD is just 6.5, but she has really crowded teeth and the doctor says she needs upper and lower pallette extenders very soon. She's literally the size of an 8-10 year old, and is growing so quickly that he thinks she's ready. She'll get the extenders, let her teeth fall out and come in, and then do braces. She did really well with the x-rays and molds.

Anyway, three of my family members are dentists are refer to and trust this orthodontist. I've know him for at least ten years myself. But, I don't have any dental insurance right now (family does work for free), so I hope the orthodontist works with us. Guess I'll broach that subject next week.

 

[madonaalbert]

hi