Took DS to the Orthodontist

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

After the other thread about how much people are paying for kids' braces I was prepared for the worst!

We are looking at $2400 out of pocket. $200 down payment, $110 per month for the next 20 months. They said without insurance the cost would have been over $4100!

They said his teeth really aren't that bad, and we can actually wait until the last 2 baby teeth on the bottom come out before we put him in braces. I find that FASCINATING because we had a consult with another orthodontist nearly two years ago who told me I shouldn't wait more than 6 weeks to put DS in braces! We had different insurance then, and that guy would have been MUCH more expensive. No wonder he wanted me to think there was a rush!

As it stands now we will probably wait until Fall to put them on because once everything has been cleared through the insurance it will be time for Disney, then back to school. I want him to have time to adjust to 5th grade before we tackle the braces. They said his mouth will be sore for a couple of weeks, so maybe I will have them put on mid-December just before the break. That way he can get used to them at home.

 

[Cass]

110 a month is pretty good for such an life long investment of nice teeth

 

[allie&mattsmom]

I feel your pain. We're going through this with our DD. She just got her braces only on in May. We paid half down, over $2100 and we'll pay the remaining $2,100 in January through my DH's flex account. Plus we already paid $1,700 a couple of years ago for her palate expander and retainer.

Then, to top it all off, we find out her adult eye teeth (saw this on xray) are horizontal and will never come in on their own so sometime in the near future we have to go to an oral surgeon and he will pull her baby eye teeth and somehow attach "chains" to her adult eye teeth so that occasionally her orthodontist can tighten the chains to pull those eye teeth down. Yikes! I feel really bad for her that she has to go through all of this. Oh, and then the oral surgeon has to "snip" that little piece of gum between her two front teeth. So who knows how much all of that will cost.

I explained to DD what a huge investment this is and that she MUST follow the rules of what she can and can not drink and eat. She's been dying to drink gatorade and lemonade but that's a big no-no and she also had to give up her favorite snack, Doritos.

So far it doesn't look as if my DS-9 needs them. He was disappointed to learn this because he thinks braces look cool.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

It really isn't too bad. Especially since we were thinking it would be for 36 months or so! 20 monthly payments is definitely not that bad. We do want DS to have a nice smile, but more importantly, we want all of his teeth to fit in his mouth!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Yikes! Your poor DD! No wonder they told us DS's teeth aren't all that bad! He just has some crowding - no extractions necessary, nothing whacky on his x-rays. His mouth just isn't big enough for all those adult-size teeth.

Caring for the braces will be a bit of a challenge. I think DH and I will probably be helping DS brush and floss just to make sure it is done thoroughly. We didn't really get into a discussion of "forbidden" food and beverages. I am sure there will be restrictions he isn't happy with, but the braces won't be on forever. He really doesn't eat a lot of sticky things, and he never chews gum. He does love lemonade, so he'll be sad if he isn't allowed to have that!

 

[ElizK]

Then, to top it all off, we find out her adult eye teeth (saw this on xray) are horizontal and will never come in on their own so sometime in the near future we have to go to an oral surgeon and he will pull her baby eye teeth and somehow attach "chains" to her adult eye teeth so that occasionally her orthodontist can tighten the chains to pull those eye teeth down. Yikes! I feel really bad for her that she has to go through all of this. Oh, and then the oral surgeon has to "snip" that little piece of gum between her two front teeth. So who knows how much all of that will cost.

DD11 is going to be doing the same thing, most likely. The dentist pulled her baby eye teeth a couple of months ago. He's hoping that at least one of the adult teeth comes down on its own. He said most likely they would have to pull the other down. DD11 still has quite a few baby teeth, so she's still looking at at least another year before she gets her braces. DD14 (PinkiePie14 here on the Dis) gets her braces off in August!

 

[ElizK]

Yikes! Your poor DD! No wonder they told us DS's teeth aren't all that bad! He just has some crowding - no extractions necessary, nothing whacky on his x-rays. His mouth just isn't big enough for all those adult-size teeth.

Caring for the braces will be a bit of a challenge. I think DH and I will probably be helping DS brush and floss just to make sure it is done thoroughly. We didn't really get into a discussion of "forbidden" food and beverages. I am sure there will be restrictions he isn't happy with, but the braces won't be on forever. He really doesn't eat a lot of sticky things, and he never chews gum. He does love lemonade, so he'll be sad if he isn't allowed to have that!

You might think about getting a water pic. Nobody in my family can "remember" to floss, but none of us mind using the water pic. The dentist said that was just as good as flossing. He's the one that recommended it. It was especially helpful for DD14 with her braces.

 

[pixiepower1971]

Why no Doritos? My daughter has braces and they were not on the unapproved list. Neither was Gatorade or Lemonade.


She had to give up all gummy candy and hard foods like big fat sourdough pretzals and hard pizza crust...other then that she has had no restrictions.


Some good brushing and flossing and no problems. She didn't have much pain...uncomfortable a day or 2 but thats it!

 

[Momma Rabbit]

My DD12 just got her braces two weeks ago. She was in pain for about 3 days. Our list of no no foods were sticky candies, gum, popcorn, hard chips like doritos,and corn chips. We were not told of any forbidden drinks

 

[froglady]

$110/month was what I was paying for DD's braces back in '97-99, so it sounds as if you're getting a good price. She also had to have teeth removed before they were applied due to overcrowding.

DS (13) goes to the same Pediatric dentist, and he doesn't anticipate any braces (so far.) Unlike DD, DS doesn't need glasses, either, and his skin is almost perfect. DD hates him!

Not really, but it does seem unfair that he isn't facing the added hassle of monthly trips to the dentist & frequent trips to the dermatologist and optometrist, and all of the missed school/missed activities/rushing around that it entailed.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Why no Doritos? My daughter has braces and they were not on the unapproved list. Neither was Gatorade or Lemonade.


She had to give up all gummy candy and hard foods like big fat sourdough pretzals and hard pizza crust...other then that she has had no restrictions.


Some good brushing and flossing and no problems. She didn't have much pain...uncomfortable a day or 2 but thats it!

The Doritos are too hard and might break a wire. As far as the gatorade and lemonade, it is because of the concentration of acid and the amount of sugar in each. This is important since a lot of acid and a lot of sugar will cause decalcification - "white spots", on teeth. You should see the list of beverages she can not have!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Joining to see what I have to look forward to with DD soon.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Wow it's amazing how different dentists/orthodontists can be.

No restrictions for our DS's... and they are about to BOTH get their braces off in the next month or so.

DS #1 has been in them only a year and a half..... DS #2 has been in them about 6-7 YEARS. His two bottom front teeth were turned a quarter turn so they needed immediate attention.

Neither of them had a lot of pain - the biggest mess was finding time for the zillions of appointments.

Each of ours cost around $4000 total. No insurance.

 

[pixiepower1971]

The Doritos are too hard and might break a wire. As far as the gatorade and lemonade, it is because of the concentration of acid and the amount of sugar in each. This is important since a lot of acid and a lot of sugar will cause decalcification - "white spots", on teeth. You should see the list of beverages she can not have!

The drinks the ortho said she could have in moderation but did not ban anything outright. No problems so far with her eating Doritos. No broken wires so far! We were pretty tough on the banned gummie worms the first few months but have relented some. She has learned ways around the "bans" such as sucking on the gummie worms until the are really small and soft!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We'll see how complicated the braces are and what sort of "no-no" list he ends up with! I was looking at a brochure about a type of braces that said the brackets are smaller and there are no elastic bands to trap food particles. The question is, will DS be wearing THOSE braces? We didn't get into a discussion of the devices that will be involved, so I don't know exactly what we will be dealing with.

I had a friend in high school who had enormous white spots on his teeth after his braces came off. Now I know why!

 

[kellydizfan]

Boy the braces are low in your neck of the woods. We are looking at 5,000 for braces and bottom appliance for widning the mouth. That is before the insurance but they told me that the insurance may not pay the total of $1,500 that they will cover. We have to put $1,800 down then monthly payments of I think they are $180.00 for 18 months. My first dd is to have them off in the next couple of months - they thought next month but not sure and she will have them on 2 1/2 years in August. Hopefully they will come off before our Disney trip. My middle dd is waiting till September to get hers on. Wanted to finish one before I started the next one. I haven't heard if my DS will need them or not but he will have to wait until DD #2 gets hers off. Can't afford to do both at the same time.

 

[Nite0wl71]

DD13 just got her braces put on Thursday. They cost $4300, insurance picked up $2400 and we paid $1900.

Doritoes were also on her list, as well as ice cubes, gum, sticky candy. They said she could eat pizza crusts and bagles if she cut them up and put them towards the back.

She is in some pain right now and is only eating soft foods. The biggest problem is a couple of the brackets are digging into the top lip. I don't know if it is because her mouth is still swollen or because the tooth is high.

 

[SillyMe]

I feel your pain. We're going through this with our DD. She just got her braces only on in May. We paid half down, over $2100 and we'll pay the remaining $2,100 in January through my DH's flex account. Plus we already paid $1,700 a couple of years ago for her palate expander and retainer.

Then, to top it all off, we find out her adult eye teeth (saw this on xray) are horizontal and will never come in on their own so sometime in the near future we have to go to an oral surgeon and he will pull her baby eye teeth and somehow attach "chains" to her adult eye teeth so that occasionally her orthodontist can tighten the chains to pull those eye teeth down. Yikes! I feel really bad for her that she has to go through all of this. Oh, and then the oral surgeon has to "snip" that little piece of gum between her two front teeth. So who knows how much all of that will cost.

I explained to DD what a huge investment this is and that she MUST follow the rules of what she can and can not drink and eat. She's been dying to drink gatorade and lemonade but that's a big no-no and she also had to give up her favorite snack, Doritos.

So far it doesn't look as if my DS-9 needs them. He was disappointed to learn this because he thinks braces look cool.

My dd14 had a similar problem. Her eye teeth were totally out of place. The first ortho told me that they would have to do what your dd's having done. Then when I switched orthos, the 2nd one showed me the xrays. They were completely out of place and not able to be pulled down and into place. She had to have both of them removed and there was actually a hole in her jaw that needed to be grafted. Believe it or not, she still has her baby eye teeth in place. They'll remain there as long as possible and eventually need either implants or a bridge. I felt so bad for her when she had her surgery. Now, I had 2 of my teeth pulled into place when I was a teen like they will do to your dd's eye teeth. Be prepared, it's not pretty. It hurt like hell! Best wishes to your dd. It's sooooo worth it though! Just keep reminding her of that.