Spinoff: Braces -Cost?

[BlsdMama]

An

Anyone care to break down their costs? We’ve been told to make a consulatation for DD. All of her adult teeth are in. This will be our first kiddo with braces. 

We don’t want to finance it and have decent dental insurance. Is there just an initial outlay and then each “tune-up” is an expense? Or is it one big ticket price at the beginning and then the rest is wrapped in?

[Peaceseeker]

Ours was one big price- around 5000.  We had to put down a deposit and pay for the initial mouth molds if I remember correctly.  I think it cost us around $1100 up front and then we paid about $160 a month for two years on a no interest payment plan.  We didn't have insurance.  We had no additional costs, other than a recommended water flosser.  All appointments and follow ups were included in the price, even the ones now, almost a year post braces.

[bethben]

I think the cost for dds braces was around $5k.  Insurance paid a lifetime $1k toward them.  She had a cleft lip so her teeth were a huge mess.  The original thought was 18 months of braces.  We’re going on two years now—same cost.  She did have a mouth surgery in there, but that only delayed things a month or so.  The sad thing is that with dd, we may have to go another round.  

[Just Kate]

For us, ds went to two orthodontists for consultations. Each one suggested the exact same treatment and they were each within $100 or so in cost, so we let ds choose which one he liked better. Our dental insurance pays $2,000, which I hear is rare, so they split the remaining amount into 20 payments and that amount is automatically drafted from our checking account each month. The total Includes everything, along with one retainer at the end of treatment. 

[Barb_]

We are doing Daemon braces this time around because the teeth move faster and the smile is more natural (no chicklet teeth). We’re paying $5300 in AZ, but this seems low to me. I had a quote for $6500 for this same child to do regular braces. Daemon or Invisalign tend to be on the higher end, so I feel very fortunate to have found this place.

ETA: Our insurance offers $2000 toward ortho care and we have an FSA of $2500 so we chose to use the FSA for payments on the rest and save the taxes. They did offer a 5% discount for paying upfront though. 

Everything is included in that price: initial X-rays, all appointments, repairs, and retainer no matter how long it takes. Ours did say that if we don’t make the appointments pretty regularly they reserve the right to charge extra because the braces will stay on longer due to negligence 

[LuvToRead]

We spent just under $6000. They gave us a 3% discount for paying upfront, so I think it was right around $5800.  Her first retainer is included, but additional retainers will cost more.  Otherwise, we don't owe anything else. She did have to get teeth pulled with costs a few hundred, and she will have more dental work to follow,  but the actual cost just for the braces was just under $6K.  

[AngieC]

Ours was pretty similar to everyone else's - about $5500, a small discount for paying in full.  We had a lifetime $1k insurance max and paid the rest from an HSA.

[itsheresomewhere]

One cost total but our ortho has it into monthly payments no interest. Our place includes the retainers ( including permanent ones) and not all places do.  Ask each ortho on what it includes in the cost and if they charge for repairs.  One place had an allowance of three repairs in the treatment and they would charge after.  Ours includes repairs. Our cost is 5900.  But we get a good discount for the second child.   We had quotes from 5900-8000.  He had majors crowding issues along with jaw issues. 

DS has three years of braces but for his off this year.  

DD has jaw issues and we chose this route over most invasive methods.  She will be in them for 2 years.  

[historically accurate]

We have insurance that gives $1000 per child per lifetime. Orthodontist gives a 3% discount if you pay up front or it is 25% down with monthly payments at 0% interest for the length of treatment. There is a discount of 5% for second set of braces or sibling. 

Our cost for a "basic" set of traditional braces for oldest - brackets, rubber bands, etc, not invisalign or other - was $5800. It includes repairs, monthly adjustments, and the first clear retainer.

Middle DD's first set, which was upper brackets only, was $3300. Second set, which included an expander and a full set of braces, is $6200. Both include repairs and retainers. 

[Pawz4me]

I think for each of our boys the braces were around $6,000. We have excellent dental insurance for normal stuff (cleanings, fillings, root canals, etc.) but it only paid something like $1,000 (max) toward braces. The orthodontist gave a very small discount for paying in full up front, or the cost could be divided into 24 equal payments with no interest. The stated cost included the braces, all the treatment/adjustments and a retainer.

[Caclcoca]

We paid one cost for our dd (just under $6K) that included everything including first set of retainers. We were able to set up a payment plan. My middle ds will probably have braces before this calendar year is over. We had hoped to have enough saved in our HSA to pay for his, but we had other medical expenses come up. So his will be a payment plan too.

[KrissiK]

56 minutes ago, BlsdMama said:

An

Anyone care to break down their costs? We’ve been told to make a consulatation for DD. All of her adult teeth are in. This will be our first kiddo with braces. 

We don’t want to finance it and have decent dental insurance. Is there just an initial outlay and then each “tune-up” is an expense? Or is it one big ticket price at the beginning and then the rest is wrapped in?

For us, we paid all up front and all the “tune-ups”are included.

[Crimson Wife]

One thing to find out from your dental insurance if it offers ortho coverage is how that gets paid. We had 50% coverage but it got billed monthly even though we paid our 50% upfront. DH got laid off before treatment was complete so we had to pay for COBRA dental until the braces were off because it was cheaper than paying the balance out-of-pocket.

[StephanieZ]

IME, it's one bundled fee for everything, but payment plans are usually offered.

IME, private DRs cost about $6000 for routine braces (whole process). The dental school in our town (yay!) is about $4000, and offers a significant further discount for full payment up front in cash/check, so down to maybe $3500, although the last time we paid was several years ago, so you better round up all those figures by 500-1000. 

We are in an average to slightly above average cost of living town (based on national norms).

[SquirrellyMama]

Total for my son's braces was around $5000. Our insurance paid for $1000-$1200. We did flex spending for the rest. He had them for a little over a year. So, we had two big payments from our flex and the insurance covered the rest. Each tune up appointment didn't have a fee.

Kelly

[BarbecueMom]

I think DS9's phase one set was about $3100.  Insurance paid half, and we paid the second half up front with a 5% discount.  Our insurance ortho maximum is $2500, so we still have ~$1000 left if he needs a second set. 

[Ali in OR]

Ours were also between $5k and $6k. We got a family discount and also a discount for paying up front, which we didn't actually quite do. Our doctor gave us the same discount for paying half the first January when braces were put on and half the second January so that we could us two years on the flexible spending account. Our insurance had a one time $1500 allowance which lowered the total cost to us a bit.

[Mom23Boys]

We currently have 2 in braces. Each of the was $6500. Our insurance paid $1500 each. 

The worst part was that we had orthodontists on our insurance who if we had used would have cost us $6000 *total*, but I wasn't comfortable with them. 

My middle one had trigonocephaly though and it affected his growth of his skull and face. Of the 3 that we had consults with, she was the only one to catch the condition on her own. The other 2 blew it off after I told them. He and his older brother had the same issue visually, but not skeletally.

The three quotes were $6100. $6300, and $6500.  Both of them had severe overbites though. 

[PeachyDoodle]

DD's braces were about $6000. That's after the family discount (same orthodontist did my braces back in the day). Dental insurance paid $1500. We originally set up to pay the balance over two years using dh's HSA. The first year, his company fronted the money and took the payments out of his check. We were set to do the same the second year, but dh got laid off at Thanksgiving, so we had to pay the balance in cash using his severance. We tried to switch to a payment plan but the practice was not at all flexible and demanded the lump sum. I wasn't too thrilled about that. Not sure what they would have done if we just didn't have the cash? Repossess her teeth?

DD did have to have a herbst appliance, but the quote we'd gotten from another practice didn't include the appliance and was still comparable in price. I'm crossing my fingers that ds won't need any extras, though. DH didn't need braces at all so maybe he'll get lucky. DD gets hers off July 31 and she can't wait!

[FairProspects]

Ugh, we live in such a high cost area. Oldest ds's braces were $8500 and insurance covered $2000, so out of pocket it was $6500. I even shopped around and multiple orthodontists quoted me that price for comprehensive braces. It does cover everything, but I'm not thrilled his brother will need similar treatment in a year.

[Bambam]

We live in TX. The one that needed braces - cost was about $2000, but we did have to pay for an expander earlier (about $800).  There was a small discount offered for paying it all upfront.

Wisdom teeth removal is pricey too. $2200 for all four at one time. 

[laundrycrisis]

$5K, no insurance. I put it on a points card and then did a no fee balance transfer to a low interest card.  Got a lot of points, lol !

[JennyD]

DS's braces are pretty reasonable.  Our dentist charged $1134 for the braces up front and then it will be $96 per adjustment -- estimated 12-15 adjustments.  The retainers -- clear removable top and permanent bottom -- will be $444 total.  Insurance is supposed to cover $1000 but I will believe it when I get the check in my hand.

DS's problems are pretty minor, though, mostly crowding on the bottom and a slight overbite on top.

 

[BlsdMama]

4 hours ago, StephanieZ said:

IME, it's one bundled fee for everything, but payment plans are usually offered.

IME, private DRs cost about $6000 for routine braces (whole process). The dental school in our town (yay!) is about $4000, and offers a significant further discount for full payment up front in cash/check, so down to maybe $3500, although the last time we paid was several years ago, so you better round up all those figures by 500-1000. 

We are in an average to slightly above average cost of living town (based on national norms).

I actually was thinking about this - thanks for saying something.  We have a dental school quite close and I had one DDs two root canals done there.  They take our insurance and it was reasonable.

Took a peek at our insurance and they'll cover $1500.  Her issues aren't terrible - two eye teeth are overcrowded and pushing out.  She has a nice wide palate but these two seem to not like where they're supposed to be.  :P  

I'll update when I get a quote. I had DD(16) scheduled for an appointment next week but she has detassling so maybe I'll substitute DD(15) so we can get a referral to the ortho there.  Hm.  

[Ann.without.an.e]

We pulled several quotes and the range here seems to be around $5500-5900.  I believe we paid 1,000 down and the rest was monthly.