OT- How much did you pay for your child's braces?

[annakris1973]

DD11 needs braces, terribly, and we have no dental insurance. We have a medical savings plan with DH's job, but if we put the max in every month we will really feel a pinch. I know we could finance, but DH wants to try and do it this way, and not pay interest. The cheapest estimate so far was $4900, and that included everything including all appliances for 2 years.
Is that similar to what you have paid?

 

[ncbyrne]

My DGD 13, just got her braces off. She started at age 8 with a palette expander for 18 months. Then she wore regular braces for almost 3 years. She got them off a month ago and her teeth look fabulous! But, now she wears clear retainers 24/7 (except for eating) for 6 more months - after that, only at night. Cost was about $7,000.

 

[drag n' fly]

My ds is getting braces next month. It was suppose to be this month but bumped. Initially we have to pay 1840.00 just to get them on and pay monthly until our insurance runs out then we will just pay it off. Our insurance only covers 1500.00 of it. All together it comes to 6700.00. In six months we have to do the same thing all over for dd. Up here the orthodontist doesnt finance he just automatically comes up with a payment plan and you use it until your insurance runs out. After that you can choose to keep paying 200 dollars a month or just pay it off.

 

[shelly3girls]

My DGD 13, just got her braces off. She started at age 8 with a palette expander for 18 months. Then she wore regular braces for almost 3 years. She got them off a month ago and her teeth look fabulous! But, now she wears clear retainers 24/7 (except for eating) for 6 more months - after that, only at night. Cost was about $7,000.

Sorry to hyjack the thread but I would love to hear of your DGD experience. My daughter may be going through the same thing starting in the spring and she is scared.

 

[mrsmom]

My dd 12 got get braces this past MArch andi have no orthodotics insurance and i paid 4,000. I pay 108 .00 an month.
Kim

 

[LisaNJ25]

DD11 needs braces, terribly, and we have no dental insurance. We have a medical savings plan with DH's job, but if we put the max in every month we will really feel a pinch. I know we could finance, but DH wants to try and do it this way, and not pay interest. The cheapest estimate so far was $4900, and that included everything including all appliances for 2 years.
Is that similar to what you have paid?

Thats not to far off from mine.. I want to say 4500.. and we are paying $2200 after insurance. That included everything.. braces, pallette expanderm retainer over a 2 year period. We pay $65 a month. DS is 14

 

[alexandmaddie]

My DD11 just got her's on in Oct. Total for the braces is $5000. Our dental insurance will pay $1000, so we are in for $4000. We flex'd $2000 this year and will flex another $2000, next year. We had to pay $1000 when they were first put on. We will pay $100/month for 10 months and then $250/month for 8 months after that. They will then be paid in full. Our orthodontist does not charge interest and is very agreeable to almost any payment plan - as long as there is a pretty good down payment and is paid in full by the time the braces are off.

Krista

 

[disneyeveryyear]

My DS12 got his braces on in July. He had spent six months in a palatal (sp?) bar before that.

Total cost for everything was about $5,130.00. We have no insurance for this, so he gave us a $770 professional courtesy discount (we know him personally). We paid $880 down and now pay $145.00/month, for 24 months, with no interest.

Hopefully we'll have a small break before DD7 starts hers.

 

[mamacatnv]

My DS has had his on for a year with about 7 months to go. Total cost was $5500 our insurance paid $1500 and we pay the rest. I had a $500 down payment and pay $160 a month. I too Flexed the annual costs so we shave $$ off of our income and save more in taxes. My Ortho does not charge interest either.

I talked to many friends and took him for 3 consultations. Every Ortho was different and the price ranged from $4700 - $5500 with the duration and treatment plans ranging from 12-26 months depending, it was crazy and really difficult to figure out what was best since everyone's plan was so different. I conferred with my dentist to help with the final decision.

My DS is wearing what is called the "Damon System" it involves single wires that are replaced at 8-12 week intervals. No teeth were removed, no palette expanders just wire and rubber bands. The braces themselves are very small half silver half clear so his mouth doesn't look huge.

 

[ziggystardust]

I (at 25) got my braces off almost a year ago (for the 2nd time).

Mine cost a little over 4000- No orthodontic insurance, and I had them on for about 18months, this time. When I had them on the first time, I'm not sure the cost b/c my parents insurance covered it but I had them on for over 8 years.

I started with an expander(the first time), b/c I am a mouth breather , as they call it, and the roof of my mouth was a lot higher than it should have been. It was painful when you had to turn the key and for a few hours after but your mouth gets used to it pretty quickly. Now I don't know if its b/c i had a bad orthodontist the first time around which I did but I don't believe the expander worked for me. It could have been just the way I reacted to it too but my DBF had a similar experience when he was younger with a different doctor.

My second ortho. basically worked with what i had and now my teeth are beautiful. I'm allowed to brag b/c I've spent many many years covering up my mouth ful of metal!

**i have braces in my sig pic

 

[hegs65]

I paid $8K total for my 2 boys-our dental insurance didn't cover any of it. We paid it over 2 years interest free. Now, dd11 is due to get them except I have to change orthodontists because the one we have is only available 3 days per month!

 

[disneysnowflake]

I just made a thread about my experience with the consult I just had. I didn't know there was another ortho thread on here.

Anyway, basic braces for DS is $4500. We also had a $200 consultation fee to be paid before braces get put on.

In my situation the ortho won't put the braces on until I see a surgeon. DS needs 4 wisdom teeth and another tooth out. Then she wants the oral surgeon (her spouse) to surgically spread DS's palate. $3000 if done in his office. $5000 plus all hospital costs if done in the hospital. $500 for the oral surgeon consult before he'll tell me exactly what needs done.
There may be other costs involved, but I won't find out until I pay the $500 consult fee.

Then after having the surgery and healing (Dec 07 or Feb 08) he'd get braces.
A year after that the ortho wants her husband to break DS's jaw and have it aligned perfectly. This is definately surgical in-hospital.

We was told the total cost for braces is a minimum of $10,000 not including that last jaw breaking and realignment surgery.

We have no dental insurance. It stinks.

 

[MEM]

Sorry to hyjack the thread but I would love to hear of your DGD experience. My daughter may be going through the same thing starting in the spring and she is scared.

I am not the person whom you addressed, but DD10 is currently wearing what is called a rapid palatal expander - it works by separating the two halves of the hard palate. While children are still growing, there is a separation between the two halves called a "suture" - its still flexible and therefore the palate can be expanded. By age 14 in a female, the suture has closed and the expander (usually) won't work.

I was concerned about pain but it only hurt her for the first two nights - it was the pressure on her molars that hurt, not the expansion of the palate. Advil helped those first few nights and after that she didn't need it. The results are soon obvious - a gap appeared between her two front teeth which were once crossed over each other.

The actually "cranking" of the device is simple - hers is more of a lever than a key and its pretty much idiot-proof. I am very fortunate to work at a School of Dental Medicine and my kids orthodontia is a perq.

Please tell your daughter its nothing to be afraid of - the alternative to waiting is surgery. Its more a nuisance than anything. My daughter has a very low tolerance for pain.

 

[MEM]

I just made a thread about my experience with the consult I just had. I didn't know there was another ortho thread on here.

Anyway, basic braces for DS is $4500. We also had a $200 consultation fee to be paid before braces get put on.

In my situation the ortho won't put the braces on until I see a surgeon. DS needs 4 wisdom teeth and another tooth out. Then she wants the oral surgeon (her spouse) to surgically spread DS's palate. $3000 if done in his office. $5000 plus all hospital costs if done in the hospital. $500 for the oral surgeon consult before he'll tell me exactly what needs done.
There may be other costs involved, but I won't find out until I pay the $500 consult fee.

Then after having the surgery and healing (Dec 07 or Feb 08) he'd get braces.
A year after that the ortho wants her husband to break DS's jaw and have it aligned perfectly. This is definately surgical in-hospital.

We was told the total cost for braces is a minimum of $10,000 not including that last jaw breaking and realignment surgery.

We have no dental insurance. It stinks.

Heidi in PA - are you near Pitt's, Temple's or Penn's dental schools? Ortho residents are all the cream of their dental school classes and your son would receive excellent care - how old is he that he can't have the palate expanded with an appliance?

 

[Darcy03231]

DS had them on for 2 years (just got them off 6 mos ago). Total cost was about $3750, of which ins. paid $1500.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

I just got my braces off 2nd time also. The first time I had them on for 5 years and the ortho did a horrible job(parents paid). This time I had them on for 20 months and have a retainer for 6 months. My cost was over $6,000 with my insurance covering $800 of that. My dd is geting her braces on in a few years and we consult every 6 months for $40 and it'll run around $6,000 for hers as well.

 

[gottaluvdis]

This is a little bit of a different question, but ortho related. DD10 was just at the dentist and I asked about ortho. He said her bite is perfect, and ortho would only be needed for cosmetic reasons, i.e., if we wanted her teeth to be perfectly straight. Right now, the bottom front permanent teeth are crowded. The top teeth look OK so far. She lost a bunch of molars and canine teeth over the summer, so she has a lot of gaps on the sides and in back. Those teeth are beginning to emerge, but it's too early to tell if they will crowd. I had ortho at her age (my teeth were way worse than hers). My braces were off by age 12. We're definitely planning to go for an ortho consult (probably after some of the molars etc. have come in some more). I'm wondering how many of you would put your child in braces strictly for perfectly straight teeth? I know DH regrets not having braces for his bottom teeth (they are crowded, but no bite issues). We have insurance that would cover at least some of the cost.

 

[tar heel]

Ours were around $5,500 and insurance paid just $1,000.

For the person who talked about oral surgery. Our dental insurance does not cover oral surgery, but our health insurance does.

 

[Taylors6]

Right under $5000 for ours

 

[imsayin]

I'm wondering how many of you would put your child in braces strictly for perfectly straight teeth?

I wouldn't do it just to have the teeth perfect, but if they looked bad, I would do it. I lucked out with straight teeth on the top (a bit crammed on the bottom) because there was no money for braces in our house. Both my kids will need them, planning on around $6,000 each .

Then after having the surgery and healing (Dec 07 or Feb 08) he'd get braces.
A year after that the ortho wants her husband to break DS's jaw and have it aligned perfectly. This is definately surgical in-hospital.

We was told the total cost for braces is a minimum of $10,000 not including that last jaw breaking and realignment surgery.

I hope you get a second opinion. That sounds like a lot of work!