So, how much do braces cost?

[Kellyscrapbooks]

I figure they cost more than a trip to Disney. We just found out that dd is definately going to need them. The good news is we have a few years to save up, she's still only lost 5 baby teeth.

 

[tinker*dust]

I currently have braces and mine cost just over $5000. Next up is DS who will be starting Phase I in September. I'm sure it will be another $5000 for him as well.

Yep, that's two trips to WDW!

 

[Allison]

I was having a plan of treatment meeting about the same time as you were today.

I only found out what Phase 1 will cost. This is putting an expander in his mouth for about 10 months. The cost is $1680.

Phase 2 is headgear for a year.

Phase 3 is the actual braces.

The good thing is 75% of the cost of Phase 1 and 2 is applied to the cost of the braces.

 

[KelNottAt]

Hi. OP checking in.

DS's treatment plan costs about $5,100 without insurance. Since the ortho is in our dental network, he is contracted to accept $3,970 as full payment. We pay half ($1,985) and the insurance will pay half ($1,985).

I guess we'll use the ortho's 12-month interest-free financing for our half. Another alternative would be to pull $$ out of our HSA. But, since the HSA is earning interest, I'm reluctant to spend that money when 0% financing is available. Wouldn't you agree?

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Allison]

Hi. OP checking in.

DS's treatment plan costs about $5,100 without insurance. Since the ortho is in our dental network, he is contracted to accept $3,970 as full payment. We pay half ($1,985) and the insurance will pay half ($1,985).

I guess we'll use the ortho's 12-month interest-free financing for our half. Another alternative would be to pull $$ out of our HSA. But, since the HSA is earning interest, I'm reluctant to spend that money when 0% financing is available. Wouldn't you agree?

Thanks for all the replies.

Our orthodonist offers a 10% discount if you pay it all up front ($840 for the first phase) or monthly payments. I think we will take the money out of savings to get the discount and then pay savings back each month instead of the payment to the doctor's office.

 

[jjarman]

DS16 is getting his off next month. We are so glad. He has worn them about a year and a half. I think his total was about $4500. Our insurance was supposed to pay only $1500 but I think they messed up and paid about $2000. His orthodontist has a program where the kids start at about age 7-9 with evaluations and giving dentist instructions on which teeth to pull. This helped DS a lot. He also had an appliance in the roof of his mouth. All of this was in with the $4500. We paid $100 a month until we got on the Dave Ramsay plan and then we paid it off pretty quick. There was no interest either on it.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

$4500

$1000 of that, the ins pays.

The rest, we pay. $150 / month

 

[Sandi]

This post was timed perfectly for us. Just took DD11 for her orthodontia consultation yesterday. We are in for about 2 years and the prediction is $5000, provided we get good cooperation from DD. Insurance is at 50% up to a $1000 lifetime max (better than a sharp stick in the eye, but not much). I was wondering whether this was a reasonable estimate -- friends here say it's ballpark and you guys helped confirm that.

 

[Mom2apirate&princess]

My ds has them. $4800 total. Insurance paid for $2000. We are paying $183 a month for 15 months. Two payments to go and they are paid off! He will still be wearing them until next summer.
The dentist informed me that in about a year dd will need them as well....

 

[Diabolicdesire]

Our orthodonist offers a 10% discount if you pay it all up front ($840 for the first phase) or monthly payments. I think we will take the money out of savings to get the discount and then pay savings back each month instead of the payment to the doctor's office.

When my DD got braces I read an article that advised not to pay the whole thing upfront because if the office should close, the doctor is not good or you should have to move that you would possibly be out the money. May not matter much with phase one but if full braces run you a few thousand it may be something to think about before deciding to pay up front.

 

[Melrosgirl]

DD's are costing $4000. Insurance paid for $1000 of it. (18 month's supposedly of braces. Almost done!) Ortho lets us pay $155 a month, no interest.

 

[Pigeon]

I was just quoted $5800 by two orthos for braces for 18 months or so for my 14 year old. Ceramic would have added about $400.

She has issues with one tooth, where the baby tooth never came out, and the adult tooth is undescended at at a wonky angle. The rest of her teeth are straight, although she has a very small overbite, unnoticeable unless you are an orthodontist scrutinizing her x-rays and looking for an excuse to slap on braces. "Our aim is perfection," he says.

When pressed, they admitted that there was a much less intrusive way of dealing with the issue with the undescended tooth, which costs about $1200, and should take 8 months. I'm a friend of one ortho's office manager, and she admitted quietly to me that lots of people don't ask about other options, and what we are doing (the less intrusive option) should give great results.

If you are looking at the phased approach for very young children, do a lot of research, because for many situations there is zero difference in outcomes. The refereed dental literature has some interesting studies.

 

[kkmcan]

My dds braces were $5800. Insurance paid for $1000. We did $1500 down, $185 month for 18 months.

Ds's braces are $5500 (discount for 2nd child). Insurance pays for $1000. We did $751 down, $150 month for 2 years. He also had to have 4 adult teeth extracted before getting his braces and that was $500 approx.

We did a second opinion and the other ortho wanted to charge $5400 but at his office you wait and you wait and then you wait some more so we went with the more expensive ortho. Like him better too.

 

[cookingqueen123]

Boy, I must be lucky. I am paying about $2500 (insurance paid another $900), no down payment and monthly payments of $107 for anywhere from 18-24 months. Hoping for 18 months so they are off before her Bat Mitzvah.

 

[QVCshopper]

We are blessed. My FIL and BIL are dentists, and refer people to our orthodontist. So, he is giving my DD her braces for free. Of course, we will thank him at XMas. But, I have to say that I would happily pay (and offered to). We started her at 6.5 and she just turned 7. She first had an upper expander, and also has 4 braces on her front teeth. The difference is amazing in just 6 months.

We started her young because she is very tall for her age; developmentally she is the size of your average 9 or 10 year old. She will soon need a lower expander, probably 4 front braces again, and later full braces.

 

[mrodgers]

We started her young because she is very tall for her age; developmentally she is the size of your average 9 or 10 year old. She will soon need a lower expander, probably 4 front braces again, and later full braces.

Wow, your 7 year old is 4' 9"! Whoops, you said average 9/10 year old.

Our daughter is pretty tall as well. She just turned 11 last month and is just shy of 5 foot. She was 4' 10.5" at 10.

We were going to do braces. She has one tooth that is in her gums straight across the front teeth. Didn't know our options and the ortho says they can pull it up easily. $4995 minus 2500 insurance (when I upgrade insurance in January.) We recently talked to the surgeon who would expose the tooth and he recommended we just have it taken out rather than pulled up with braces. Not worried about absolute perfect teeth because that one tooth was pretty much the main problem and the rest are all pretty straight. Thus, I have to call and cancel the ortho in which his wife was extremely pushy with scheduling and finance after talking to her ortho husband whom we did really like.

$60/month for 24 months after the initial $600ish down payment and insurance. Just fixing finances and would have done it for that one tooth, but going the direction of removing said tooth, it wouldn't help us in our finance repair to continue and do the braces just to go from really good teeth to absolutely perfect.

Society pushes kids into braces a bit too much I think.

 

[undertheradar]

Anyone notice that this is a 5 year old post being commented on today?

 

[momto2inKC]

While our insurance normally sucks, the ortho coverage is really good
DD 12 got her braces on Dec of last year. Total cost $5,400. Our insurance paid $4,293. We had a down payment of $500 then paid 10 monthly payments of $50 and today our final payment of $57 will be paid.

 

[QVCshopper]

Wow, your 7 year old is 4' 9"! Whoops, you said average 9/10 year old.

Our daughter is pretty tall as well. She just turned 11 last month and is just shy of 5 foot. She was 4' 10.5" at 10.

She was 4'6" at last check at age 6; I think she's even taller now, and she turned 7 less than a week ago. She's taller than fifth graders in her school, and she's in first grade. Anyway, they said we'd have to pull teeth if we didn't start now; her mouth is very tiny and squished.

 

[elgerber]

My dd had hers put on in January of 2007, $5400, not including the retainers.