How much for braces?

[MEmama]

Just curious what's "normal".

 

I just got a quote and was surprised (not, of course, in a good way). I guess it's more important than a new car...bah.

[hornblower]

Both my kids were just over 6,000 each. (crowding + class 2 malocclusion) 

I've just been quoted the same for my own teeth + a small family discount. 

[mommyoffive]

I am worried about this.

[Josh Blade]

My wife is getting invisalign in October and it's $5000 for that where we are (GA). That seems to be the going price for Invisalign elsewhere around Atlanta as well.

[rebcoola]

6,000 

[LuvToRead]

I am the the Midwest and I was just quoted $5800 for DD11.

[whitestavern]

I had them over 7 years ago and it was over $7000.

[EmilyGF]

I got two quotes. They were off from each other by $3K. The cheaper one came across as more competent and we are very happy with her. She sees my daughter less frequently than the other would (no rubber bands to match the season), but she is very clear and good at what she does.

 

Shop around.

Emily

[Guest]

I've put three kids through orthodontics, and it's usually around $5000, give or take some.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Kinsa

[Cindy in FL.]

$3500 here.

[itsheresomewhere]

6K not including the oral surgery for removing 4 teeth. DS has very crowded mouth and a few other issues.

 

This will include a retainer when his braces come off.

[Tess in the Burbs]

My son did a phase I with a new office and that round was 3k.  I knew it was a deal being a new office.  However, the guy had been in another city with good reviews.  AND we had lots of slots we liked for visit times.  Insurance paid $1500 toward this, so we only paid $1500.  

Here we had a first quote of 7k.  I went down the road less than 10 miles into a 'lower income town' and it is $5982 per kid but we get 10% off 2nd kid.  After insurance pays their $1500 we pay about $4500 first kid, $3900.  

 

I have found most dental insurance won't pay if another company has been paying.  however, they aren't all consistent with this.  DS changed insurance this round and the new insurance is paying the full $1500 and the old one had paid almost $400 already.  I also did some math and found the dental plan that pays $1500 max is better than the $2k max b/c the premium for the higher amount was greater than the benefit.  So consider all your options.  And like I said, don't just get a 2nd opinion...consider checking out places that aren't too far that are considered a lower income area.  In my case, it's less than 5 miles from my house but it was $1500 cheaper than the place we could walk to.  And you only go every 6-8 weeks...so farther away to save $$$ might be worth it.  

[Miss Peregrine]

$4500-ish.

[Pawz4me]

Right around $6,000.

[Night Elf]

One was over $5,000 and the other was over $4,000. Our insurance only paid $1,500 towards the fee.

[Caclcoca]

My dd's braces were around $5800.

[cjzimmer1]

$5000-$6000 depending on the specifics that each kid needed (3 down and 3 more to go).

Edited August 9, 2016 by cjzimmer1

[Spryte]

12 years ago: $6,500.

 

DS hasn't been evaluated yet, but we've been advised it will be about the same as VT, which was $8K before the cash discount which got it down to the $6,500 range. We don't have cash for braces, so I'm hoping they meant the $6,500 range again and not $8K.

 

Does anyone have ins that covers any of it? Or is that a pipe dream?

[jrn]

5500 includes all visits, all X-rays, one mouth guard, retainer (and one more if first one is accidentally broken/lost) tooth paste, tooth brush, floss, chap stick, all follow up visits for a year or two after the braces are off

[zoobie]

Mine were almost $4,000 in 1989. My oldest's first phase was $3500. I think phase 2 is going to be $5500. (And yes, she needed 2 phases. DS did not.)

[J-rap]

In the Midwest between 5 and 10 years ago, it was around $4,000.  Plus a few extras like the panoramic X-ray.

[Nemom]

Quoted around $6,000 at two local Ortho's. Ended up paying less than $3,000 at the Dental College which is down the street. Braces were just removed last month after 18 months and we are very happy with the results. They wanted dd to have jaw surgery at first but we refused due to other health issues and fear of complications. We ended up achieving very good results just using rubber bands to move her lower teeth forward. Results were so good that the student is using her case for her board reviews.

[dirty ethel rackham]

We have had 3 in braces.  The older two were between $4000 and $5000 between 6-10 years ago.  Dd got hers on a year ago and hers are around $5500 with the family discount.  It will depend on the complexity of the case among other things.  I think there are orthodontists who would have done dd's case for less, but they use older techniques that may not have had as good results (slight kant, plus overbite and lower teeth tipping.) 

[Laura Corin]

Nothing. Both boys had a medical need for braces, so under the NHS they were free at the point of delivery.

[Jan in SC]

DS 1-$4000

DS 2-$4000 ETA- $1500 for Phase 1 expander

DS- 3 - I'm waiting on the official number, but I think it will be the same.

 

Our orthodontist does $1000 and then monthly payments with no interest to him, or a 5% discount for cash. (I'm assuming he does a similar plan for everyone.) He is a great orthodontist!

Edited August 10, 2016 by Jan in SC

[abacus2]

My oldest is currently in braces. We got three quotes which ranged from $4300 to $5800. We went with the $4300 option and our insurance will pay up to $2000.

[rdj2027]

About 6000, insurance paid 1500.  That was for 2 years of palate expanders and 1 1/2 years of Invisaligns.

[sassenach]

Current kid is $4200.

 

This ortho also did miraculous things using just a retainer, which saved us from having to do phase 1 braces. My youngest is now in a retainer and she may get to avoid braces all together.

[Amber in SJ]

Child #1  Two phases + surgery to remove stubborn baby teeth, 4 years total to correct severe problems, ages 11-15 = $5800 (insurance paid $0)

 

Child #2  Invisalign for 2 years (14-16) = $6000 (insurance paid $0)

 

Child #3  Damon Braces (not clear) almost 2 years now = $5500 (insurance paid $1000)

 

This all seems to be the standard around here.  Our Ortho is the office with all the bells & whistles but more important than that he is excellent with my sensory child.  The always have the appointment times we need.  When Child #1 was bouncing on the trampoline and fell and scraped the brackets off her bottom teeth with her top teeth they saw her right away with no charge because "accidents happen."  He was our second consult with child #1.  Our first consult spent the entire time telling us that our daughter's teeth were the worst he had ever seen and we were looking at multiple expensive surgeries to correct her jaw, etc, etc.  The one we went with told us it was no big deal and it would be fine; and it was :)  

 

Child #4 is on deck for braces soon.

 

Amber in SJ

[TranquilMind]

Just curious what's "normal".

 

I just got a quote and was surprised (not, of course, in a good way). I guess it's more important than a new car...bah.

 

We ended up paying about $10,000 for one in three stages.  Less for subsequent patients. 

[City Mouse]

In Santa Fe, New Mexico (generally On the expensive side for most things), I was just quoted $4800 for my DS and $4200 for myself. That is before insurance and after the family discount. Also, he gives a 5% discount for paying all upfront, or he does payment plans at no extra cost.

[PinkTulip]

About $5,000-ish in our area. I had multiple quotes and they were all within a few hundred dollars of each other.

 

I have had at least one child in various stages of orthodontia for the last 8 years.

[Dawn in Ohio]

Around $5500.  After insurance our out-of-pocket cost was around $3000-$3500. 

[OhioMomof3]

$6000. Unfortunately, we've done this 3 times now.

[goldberry]

$6500 for everything, no additional charges.  I liked that, at least I knew up front what we were paying.