Tell me all about paying for braces

[mommyoffive]

Ahh here we go down a long and expensive road.  So tell me all the best advice on it please.  

Tell me all about paying for braces.   

How much did you pay? 

Is Invisalign cheaper?   How about the smile direct club? 

Does dental insurance not cover braces? 

How about extra ortho work?  Impacted teeth, wisdom teeth, expanders, horizontal teeth, and so on.    Does dental insurance cover it?  What is the best advice on that? 

 

 

[umsami]

I've had two kids in braces.

First one is a straight shot.  It was $4500.  He will have them for 3-4 years.  Covers everything.  They wanted a down payment of $700? and then I pay $120/month.  Most orthos have financing themselves.  Our dental insurance covered $1500, but when our plan changed, we lost that, so I had to pony up some more.  (Plan only pays a certain amount per month.)

Second child was a two phase process.  Our dental insurance at the time covered $1500 (one shot deal)?  I paid $500.  

[solascriptura]

Every set of teeth, insurance, and costs varies.  You'll need to do some research on your own for your own case. 

[AK_Mom4]

Our dental insurance paid some - maybe the first $1000.  It really varies depending on your coverage.  Our dentist offered a budget-billing plan that let us pay off the remainder over a period of time.  I opted to pay half the remainder up front and pay the rest over the next six months.  I put it on autopay and budgeted to cover it.  Total was about $5000, but that was four years ago.

[scbusf]

Some dental insurance will pay a set amount, like $1000.

Invisalign is typically not cheaper - it ends up being about the same price. And not everyone is a candidate.

Most orthodontists will do free evaluations, so go visit a few and see what the options are.

[PeterPan]

My tip of the day is shop around. Prices can vary WIDELY. 

[mommyoffive]

Just now, scbusf said:

Some dental insurance will pay a set amount, like $1000.

Invisalign is typically not cheaper - it ends up being about the same price. And not everyone is a candidate.

Most orthodontists will do free evaluations, so go visit a few and see what the options are.

 

Oh good to know.  Thanks.   Have you guys experienced different plans of actions and prices?

[catz]

Both my kids are in braces.  One has them coming off finally later this month.  Originally scheduled 18-20 months.  We're now at 27 months.  🙄

Both were about $5000.  We ended up paying about $4500 each between a little help from insurance and discount for paying the entire balance up front.  The got them on 2 years apart.  

They told us invisalign would not work as well for bite issues and were slightly more expensive.  And compliance can be more challenging.  My kid had a friend that was always leaving his invisalign places in the cases, I'm sure it made it take longer for him.  

ETA - we live urban in a fairly large metro.  We didn't see huge price breaks unless we were willing to go to the local dental school (scheduling was challenging for us/parking is expensive and difficult there) or driving out an hour or more which some people do.  Our ortho office is definitely over the top fancy IMO but has fantastic reviews.

Edited April 3, 2019 by FuzzyCatz

[Nemom]

We had my daughter's braces done through the local dental college. We saved a ton of money and had no issues. I believe it was less than $3,000. We had the same student throughout and really liked her. My daughter has a couple of issues unrelated to the braces that have needed monitoring. We followed the student to her Ortho job. She has never charged us for any of the follow up visits. Great experience for us.

My son just had his wisdom teeth pulled two weeks ago. Between our dental and health insurance, it sounds like we will owe less than $50. 

[mommyoffive]

Just now, Nemom said:

We had my daughter's braces done through the local dental college. We saved a ton of money and had no issues. I believe it was less than $3,000. We had the same student throughout and really liked her. My daughter has a couple of issues unrelated to the braces that have needed monitoring. We followed the student to her Ortho job. She has never charged us for any of the follow up visits. Great experience for us.

My son just had his wisdom teeth pulled two weeks ago. Between our dental and health insurance, it sounds like we will owe less than $50. 

 

Oh I didn't know that health insurance covered wisdom teeth.  Does it cover pulling other teeth too? 

How did you find out that dental colleges do braces? 

[alisoncooks]

Idk but I've read bad reviews about  those Smile Direct-type companies. Mostly that the teeth are straightened but bite/alignment issues aren't resolved, causing further problems.

Edited April 3, 2019 by alisoncooks

[Guest]

Our insurance paid some, and DD’s orthodontist automatically puts everyone on no-interest monthly payments for the rest-the reason being that if you move and need to change orthodontists, you don’t want to have paid up front. 

 

DD’s is one phase with a pretty severe overbite,  but not really all that much correction needed otherwise, and is supposed to be about 18 months with braces, a bite plate, and elastics. Hers is about $3000 total, part of which is paid by insurance. 

There was a BIG range in prices for a similar treatment plan. It definitely felt that at some practices you were paying for a fancy office and lots of giveaways that have cute smiling characters with braces on them. 

Edited April 3, 2019 by dmmetler

[sassenach]

8 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Ahh here we go down a long and expensive road.  So tell me all the best advice on it please.  

Tell me all about paying for braces.   

How much did you pay? 

3500 for one, 4200 for the other

Is Invisalign cheaper?   How about the smile direct club? 

I would be weary of doing direct smile with a child  there’s more to this than moving teeth  

Does dental insurance not cover braces? 

Ours didn’t

How about extra ortho work? 

Impacted teeth,  wisdom teeth- dentist or oral surgeon, not part included in the orthodontist fee

expanders- included

the retainers to wear after treatment we’re also included in the cost

Does dental insurance cover it? Depends on your insurance. Ours didn’t.

  What is the best advice on that? 

Get multiple quotes. Our ortho (and I think most) did an interest free payment plan.

One of our kids was completely corrected just with retainers , so that was nice!

 

 

 

[Tap]

Some people have ortho insurance, some don't. Check your plan for the benefits and the ages it covers. Almost all plans have a max they pay, and it is paid out over the years in treatment. This is important because if you change insurance during treatment, they may have not paid the max amount and you will owe more. There is also the in-network vs out, that you have to consider before you pick a doctor.  I usually see $1000-1500, but we had one plan years ago that covered $2000.  The rest is on the patients family. Treatment runs as low as $3500 for simple cosmetic cases to $7000+ if there are appliances and surgery needed. A common price is about $5500 for uncomplicated cases that last 2-3 years. Some offices will give you a small discount if you pay upfront off of the patients portion. 

I would call your plan and talk to them about what doctors are covered in your area and then see if one has a free consult. They will give you a break down of prices and what you will owe.

[umsami]

9 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

My tip of the day is shop around. Prices can vary WIDELY. 

Yes to this.

The cheap/budget orthodontist was about $1000 more per kid versus the normal orthodontist who I thought would have cost a lot more. 

[shawthorne44]

I have an 8-year-old that had had an extra baby tooth between her front teeth.   it was about the same size and shape as her canine.  It was removed, but her front-teeth gap is HUGE.   So, she is doing the child version of the braces and expanders.     Work pays for all of Employee Dental but none of dependents.   So, it costs around $500 to cover DD for a year.   We only have the one child.  The lifetime braces amount from our Dental is $1000.   I added DD to my dental.   I sort of regret that because they would have given us a $500 discount for people without insurance.  So, it was a wash.   But, it might have been nice to save that Braces allowance for later.   

Another thing we did was to get the pre-pay discount.  It was hefty, I think 5%.   Our initial consultation was late last year.  So, we signed up for Max Amount on FSA and used it to pay upfront for the braces.   But, with the FSA, I am basically paying for it a little bit each paycheck.   

 

[madteaparty]

27 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

I have an 8-year-old that had had an extra baby tooth between her front teeth.   it was about the same size and shape as her canine.  It was removed, but her front-teeth gap is HUGE.   So, she is doing the child version of the braces and expanders.     Work pays for all of Employee Dental but none of dependents.   So, it costs around $500 to cover DD for a year.   We only have the one child.  The lifetime braces amount from our Dental is $1000.   I added DD to my dental.   I sort of regret that because they would have given us a $500 discount for people without insurance.  So, it was a wash.   But, it might have been nice to save that Braces allowance for later.   

Another thing we did was to get the pre-pay discount.  It was hefty, I think 5%.   Our initial consultation was late last year.  So, we signed up for Max Amount on FSA and used it to pay upfront for the braces.   But, with the FSA, I am basically paying for it a little bit each paycheck.   

 

Sorry to butt-in—can either FSA or HSA be used for braces? I have the HSA I think, the one which doesn’t expire at end of the year and goes with a high deductible plan. I wonder if that can be used for braces.

[itsheresomewhere]

One child was 5990 and the other was 4500 ( discount for repeat customer). DS had to have something redone (  nothing he did) and we are getting the treatment free of charge as he was compliant.   Including having to have a new retainer made.  Prices will widely vary in your area so get quotes and recommendations.

Do not use any mail order companies.  I can’t tell you how many I am seeing at the orthodontist who are having to have things fixed thanks to those companies.  Moving the teeth is a process that needs to be monitored or else you risk root/tooth/gum damage.  

[shawthorne44]

45 minutes ago, madteaparty said:

Sorry to butt-in—can either FSA or HSA be used for braces? I have the HSA I think, the one which doesn’t expire at end of the year and goes with a high deductible plan. I wonder if that can be used for braces.

HSA can be used for both medical and dental.    Before we signed up for the FSA, we used our HSA account for dental and vision expenses.  
If you have both. then the FSA can't be used for medical expenses.   
If you aren't signed up with an FSA and you have the option of doing so at the yearly enrollment, you might want to look into it.  There is a certain amount that is carried over (I think $500).    You could sign up for the carry-over amount in FSA without risk of losing it.   Nice thing about it, is that your entire yearly amount is available Jan 1st.  

DD is on expensive medicine which meets her part of the high deductible early in the year.   There have been a few times that we came close to having to use our taxed bank account dollars.  So, we really like having as much as we can in HSA and as much as we can use in FSA.  

 

[historically accurate]

2 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Ahh here we go down a long and expensive road.  So tell me all the best advice on it please.  

Tell me all about paying for braces.   

How much did you pay? 

Is Invisalign cheaper?   How about the smile direct club? 

Does dental insurance not cover braces? 

How about extra ortho work?  Impacted teeth, wisdom teeth, expanders, horizontal teeth, and so on.    Does dental insurance cover it?  What is the best advice on that? 

 

 

 

I'm currently paying for kids' 3rd set of braces (for 2 kids, one kid ended up with 2 phases). 

Oldest child was $5900 (overbite and crossbite). Insurance paid $1500 over the time she had the braces - paid ortho directly every quarter. Ortho gave us a 10% break since she had the second set of braces for our family. She had 4 teeth pulled which was covered under regular dental insurance. 

Middle had phase 1 which was smaller and we had better insurance. It was $3500, of which insurance paid $2000. She had headgear for this phase. It was mainly to save a tooth she damaged (it stuck straight out sideways, so ortho pulled it back inline) and expansion. She is currently in phase 2, which consisted of a palette expander and braces (overbite, crossbite, something else I'm not thinking of). It's $6800, of which our insurance pays $1000. For phase 2, she had 2 teeth pulled, of which the insurance company put it against our $1000 braces limit.

Child #3 will get braces next year when middle child's come off - we have to spread out the payments; we can't afford two in braces at one time.

We've had 3 different insurances since DH has switched jobs. Oldest had to wait a year in order for the ortho insurance to kick in, so hers were on from age 14-16 even though she was ready well before that. 

We paid a 25% downpayment when the braces went on, and spread the payments over the time the braces are on - no interest loan from the ortho. We use the FSA to pay for them monthly. 

We found invisalign to be more expensive than braces. I never looked at smile direct; I'm not sure I trust an ortho who doesn't see my kids in person.

Edited April 3, 2019 by beckyjo

[mommyoffive]

Oh Beckyjo.  I had no clue that people could do 2 phases of braces.  Oh my gosh.  I am scared now.  

[OH_Homeschooler]

We were at two different orthodontists because of a move. Our dental insurance did not cover braces. Both offices had payment plans where you put down a certain amount, and pay the rest monthly with no interest. They try to spread the payments out for as long as they think treatment will take. 

One kid had to have an impacted tooth removed before braces. That was covered by dental insurance. 

 

[madteaparty]

17 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Oh Beckyjo.  I had no clue that people could do 2 phases of braces.  Oh my gosh.  I am scared now.  

We were recommended braces, palate expanders and all manner of nonsense when DS still had baby teeth (his teeth were late). I declined all (after a second opinion). There seem to be two schools, the dentists that start on braces very young, and those who wait. We waited. It’s not a $$ thing, it’s just that I hate unnecessary procedures. 

[ScoutTN]

Dd is almost done. 2 rounds of about 18 months with a year in between. 

Ds is just beginning, 3-4 yrs straight. 

Our insurance pays $1500 per kid. Once it has paid, we drop the dental on that kid. We use our HSA to pay. Our orthodontist gives a sibling discount, 5%, and a teacher discount of 10%. Their practice is clear, organized, and reasonably flexible about the money and sets up payment plans with no interest. We had to put about $800 down for each kid at the very beginning. 

 

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, ScoutTN said:

Dd is almost done. 2 rounds of about 18 months with a year in between. 

Ds is just beginning, 3-4 yrs straight. 

Our insurance pays $1500 per kid. Once it has paid, we drop the dental on that kid. We use our HSA to pay. Our orthodontist gives a sibling discount, 5%, and a teacher discount of 10%. Their practice is clear, organized, and reasonably flexible about the money and sets up payment plans with no interest. We had to put about $800 down for each kid at the very beginning. 

 

 

Why do you drop dental on that kid after the 1500? 

[J-rap]

4 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

 

Oh I didn't know that health insurance covered wisdom teeth.  Does it cover pulling other teeth too? 

How did you find out that dental colleges do braces? 

We've always had really good health insurance but it never covered any kind of teeth work/oral surgery, ever.   I have heard of some insurance that does though.

We had three kids in braces, each around $4,000.  (That was 8-10 years ago.)  We got three consultations for the first child, since consultations are usually free.  Prices did vary, sometimes by $1,000.  Once we chose one, we used that one for our other children too.  I believe we got a small discount for having more than one child using their services.  We didn't base our choice totally on price though.  We listened to our friends and who they recommended.  We always paid it with monthly payments.  I can't remember the exact monthly payment price but it felt affordable for us.  I'm thinking it was around $150.

[AmandaVT]

Let's see, DS is in braces. His will be around 2 1/2 years, top and bottom. Right now it's just the top and the bottoms will go on later this year. $6500 inclusive, we paid 1/3 up front and the rest was split out into interest-free monthly payments for the remainder of treatment, $150/month. 

I had DS covered by two dental plans, Delta Dental and BCBS pediatric dental. Both of which stated they cover "medically necessary orthodontics". He has teeth that are blocked from coming in due to his other teeth not being in the right spot. I figured that would be considered "medically necessary". It isn't. The Orthodontist said he's only had 1 case that the insurance approved in his 30 years of practice and that involved a cleft palate. I was pretty annoyed that I pay $200/month for dental with Delta and our health plan automatically covers kids under 18, but neither would pay a dime towards braces, but it is what it is. 

Some advice I received from my friend and aunt (both dental hygienists/assistants) was to go to an Orthodontist rather than a dental office that also does orthodontics. They both said that the places that specialize are generally better. My friend also said to stay away from the mail order places because they can cause more issues than they solve. 

DS had been going to our orthodontist for free consultations - sent by our dentist - for 4 years, I think, before actually needing braces. It was helpful for everyone to have that. DS was able to get comfortable with the office before needing treatment, the orthodontist was able to watch his teeth grow and move and I got to know the orthodontist and staff and felt comfortable with them. 

[ScoutTN]

49 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

 

Why do you drop dental on that kid after the 1500? 

Because it is too expensive. Not worth the money. Costs way more than we would pay for two check-ups a year. My kids have good teeth and we normally do one dental visit/cleaning a year. We save the money dental insurance would cost into our HSA, in case we need a filling or other dental work. 

Dh has bad teeth, so we keep the dental on him. 

[shawthorne44]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

Oh Beckyjo.  I had no clue that people could do 2 phases of braces.  Oh my gosh.  I am scared now.  

In our case, it makes sense.  DD is heading toward being a snaggle-tooth.   The idea is that the teeth will wear where they shouldn't and be damaged if they are way out of whack.   So, she will spend ~10 months getting ortho. treatment at age 8-9.  Then at the normal age for braces, her teeth will be pretty close and she won't need as much work then.  
 

[ScoutTN]

32 minutes ago, shawthorne44 said:

In our case, it makes sense.  DD is heading toward being a snaggle-tooth.   The idea is that the teeth will wear where they shouldn't and be damaged if they are way out of whack.   So, she will spend ~10 months getting ortho. treatment at age 8-9.  Then at the normal age for braces, her teeth will be pretty close and she won't need as much work then.  
 

This is similar to my Dd. The first round made room for permanent teeth to come in relatively straight. Then the second round is fine-tuning and adjusting her bite.

[BakersDozen]

We began setting aside $100/month when our oldest was just 8. I knew our first 3 would need braces and my goal was to pay cash up front, which we did. For that we received a nice discount plus a family discount as well (saved about $500). Our insurance pays $1500, we pay about $2500 before discounts. I waited until our kids were 13, 14 and 15 so no early treatment.

Our insurance also covers $1500 for wisdom teeth extraction so we pay about $800 or so.

 

[itsheresomewhere]

Make sure it includes the retainer in the price.   When we checked around, some places the retainer was extra.  Ours is included in the price.

[Terabith]

My oldest definitely needed braces.  It was severe enough that it could have led to health problems.  When she was seven or eight, the dentist said it was time.  We went to six different orthodontists, all of whom quoted different prices.  Five out of the six wanted to do a two part process with braces then for about two years and then again around twelve.  One said, "We could definitely justify the two part process, but it's not going to affect her outcome, and if you wait to put her in them until she's 12, it will be less time in braces total (but more time at 12) and it will be cheaper."  We went with the latter option.  It's been fine.  She was in braces for just under two years.  

[LarlaB]

We only went to two orthodontists, although we could have gone to more as consults are free.  We chose the ortho within walking distance of our home (who had stellar reviews) simply because he is is within walking distance of our home, even though he was $800 more.   As kids get older, and as treatment will be more than a casual 2 years, we thought it would be important for them to be able to self-serve at times given that both DH & I work a lot.  This orthodontist was not a fan of pulling teeth or surgical interventions (other than wisdom teeth extractions). whereas the previous ortho who cam highly recommended was talking about surgical intervention and aggressive treatments).  Maybe a third option would have had another opinion? 

My kiddos are dentally delayed- meaning their molars are sooooooo slow.  DD15 STILL doesn't have 12 years molars, but they are coming in and not obstructed- just slow.  

Both of my kiddos need palate expansion due to severe overcrowding.  Plus, cross bite and overbite. They are beatiful and have very strong teeth but its a hot mess- and we've known for years that they will need more than standard treatment.  It will be 2.5 years and $4900 for DD who is 6 months into treatment already and looks fantastic- HUGE change in 6 months.  For Ds, its more extensive and will be $7200 for DS11- including 2 rounds (12 months with just a little top work, then a 1 year break, then 2+ years for DS.

It was in office payment plans- we paid $1000 down and then the remainder over 24 months..  DS is another story. 

Edited April 4, 2019 by LarlaB

[mommyoffive]

Thank you for all the advice.  

One kid I want to go to the ortho and get some preventive treatment, but so far the dentist said not yet. 

One kid I think is going to be $$$$$ as of all the issues we found out yesterday. 

Another kid I hope is a bit cheaper as the dentist said there were not a lot of issues.  

I wish I would have started saving for this a few years ago.  Argh 

That is so frustrating to hear that different orthos say different things.  How do you know which one is right? 

[Nemom]

11 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

 

Oh I didn't know that health insurance covered wisdom teeth.  Does it cover pulling other teeth too? 

How did you find out that dental colleges do braces? 

 

I think our health insurance covered the anesthesia portion of the procedure. 

ortho students have to learn somewhere. 😀 a friend was taking her son there.

[Storygirl]

Sigh. Four kids, seven rounds of braces. The three youngest all had two-phase braces, with the first set on when they were around age 8, and the second set now, around ages 12-14.

The oldest only needed one set of braces and had them put on around 8th grade. We had moved after the younger three had their initial braces, so we did free consults. The ortho we chose was $1,000 cheaper than the other, though offering the same treatment plan.

Our insurance does cover some orthodontic care for each child.

DH arranges payment and pays the rest through either HSA or a flexible spending account. I'm not sure which it is. But we get a small discount for paying in full up front, so we do that. We staggered the kids so that they got their braces in three different calendar years (Dec '17, June '18, Jan 19'), though they all still have them on, so that we could fund the flex (or HSA) and use it for each.

Some things we've learned.

DD17 had to have her wisdom teeth out in the middle of her orthodontic treatment. Our insurance surprisingly paid for a good chunk of the oral surgeon bill.

DD13 has invisalign. it was an option for her but the the others. The cost was the same. I was surprised by that, as well. I think it used to be more expensive.

What the dentist has to say is not always exactly what the orthodontist thinks about treatment, so don't rely on the dentist's opinion. When the kids were ready for first round braces around age 8, the dentist thought that the older DS was ready and that the younger just needed a consult but could wait. The ortho said the opposite -- to start the younger boy first and wait six months for the older son. I mentioned that to the dentist, and she said, "That's why we send you to get the consult; they see things we don't." I would not have a dentist do braces on my children, instead of an orthodontist, though some do offer the service. There is a reason that orthodontist go to school for so long, and dentists don't have the same training.

If you have more than one kid who needs braces, take them both for a consult at the same time, and the ortho can tell you which one needs to start first. They can also tell you if it's okay to wait six months or a year, or if there is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. If palate expansion is needed (it was for three of my kids), I think that is easier or less painful to do younger.

Do ask about retainers. Each ortho will have their own system. Sometimes they offer a "free replacement if you lose them" extra cost plan. We did not buy that for DD17, but we will for DS14, who loses everything. They said the retainers cost $400 every time they have to be replaced.

Sometimes orthodontists run specials. You can ask what kind of special deals they have offered in the past and whether they have upcoming deals planned. When DS13 got his on in Dec, we saved some money in a "get your braces before the end of the year" special. DD17 got a free whitening system. We also get a sibling discount.

I think each round of braces has cost $4000- $5000 dollars (the lower cost was for first-phase braces on the younger kids). Definitely ask whether you can wait until early teens instead of doing the two-round option. It would have saved us a lot to only do braces once for each, but I do believe my younger three needed the first round (DD13 had a large overjet and needed to break a finger sucking habit that was affecting her bite; DS14 had an underbite, and his teeth clashed; and DS13 I don't know, but he was the first to need them during both rounds and will have them on for the longest total time.)

So ask each ortho what is essential to do now and what you could wait on. If your kids are younger and two-round braces are suggested, ask specific questions about what the early round will do that should not be put off until later. I'm sure there are orthos who routinely recommend the two-phase plan, even if it is not really needed for the individual patient. You could ask what percentage of their patients have braces twice. Tell them you are concerned about cost and don't want to do two rounds unless completely necessary.

When I had braces in the 80s, so many kids had teeth pulled. Now I think they do the palate expansion when kids are younger, so that they don't have to pull teeth unless absolutely necessary. Where it used to be routine, now I think it's only done sometimes. DD17 did not have that palate expansion, and she is the one who had to have early wisdom tooth extraction, because the wisdom teeth were impeding her 12 year molars.

Once you visit a few orthos, you will get a sense of the cost for your area and whether they all say the same treatment is needed, or whether there are differences.

Be aware that not only will the braces take 18-24 months, but they will want to monitor retainer use afterwards. We moved just as my younger kids were towards the end of their first braces, and we had to do a two-hour one-way drive every few months for awhile, which was a big pain. Switching orthos mid-treatment can be tricky and/or expensive. Regular appointments are six weeks apart for our current ortho. Our old ortho varied from six to ten weeks, depending on what was happening during each visit.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Storygirl

[mommyoffive]

Storygirl , thank you so much.    That was so much good info.

One question, when you go to different orthos for consults, do you just call your dentist and have them send over the x-rays to each one you are going to?   I don't want the kids to have x-rays at everyone that they go to.

My 8 year old is going to need braces for sure.  But the dentist keeps wanting her to wait until we do a consult.  I wonder if I should have them do it just to see if it would be good now or later. 

[Storygirl]

Age 7 or 8 is often the age that orthos say they want to see kids for a first consult, so it's not too soon. You can do that now, even if you think you want to wait for the actual braces. It will give you some prices and help you see which doctor you like the most. In addition to seeing what they say about your child's teeth, ask them what the experience will be like as far as frequency of office visits, etc.

Yes, if they have had x-rays at the dentist recently, the dentist should be able to send them over to all of the orthodontists that you are considering.

Our dental insurance pays for two sets of x-rays per year per child. But since the orthodontists sometimes do x-rays, as well, we have told the dentist that for now, the dentist is only to do x-rays annually. Even though you can send the initial x-rays over from the dentist, the reality is that the orthodontist will run some themselves at times throughout treatment. So you can avoid the ortho's initial x-rays, but not all subsequent films while having braces. They will consider any x-rays that are older than six months or so out of date.

Be sure that you tell them as soon as you arrive that they should have x-rays on file. One ortho assistant grabbed my teen and took her for x-rays while I was still talking to the people at the front desk, and I was not pleased about that. 

 

[historically accurate]

20 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Oh Beckyjo.  I had no clue that people could do 2 phases of braces.  Oh my gosh.  I am scared now.  

In DD's case, she had knocked out her front baby tooth when she was 3. When she smacked it, it shifted the adult tooth. It grew in so that it stuck out of her mouth. It rested on the front of the bottom lip, which was causing it to shift outwards even more. We were afraid the tooth was going to get hit (dd has some balance issues) and break off. Also, ortho was hoping to make enough room in the mouth for her adult teeth. He used headgear for this. Unfortunately, she still needed an expander (he didn't use that due to speech delays during her first round). So, her first round saved her front tooth (which she preceded to chip off 3 months after her braces came off anyway!) and expanded her mouth a little. 

[Storygirl]

One other new thing to ask orthos about is whether they still take impressions of teeth to make a mold. Our orthodontist does not do this any more. They take a digital image of the teeth instead and print the mold with a 3D printer. But they have only been doing it for perhaps three years, so I am sure there are places where they don't use the new technology yet.

The digital thing is so so much better. The plaster for the molds was so unpleasant, and I think some kids have a hard time with it. It's very nice not to have to do it now.

[shawthorne44]

1 hour ago, Storygirl said:

One other new thing to ask orthos about is whether they still take impressions of teeth to make a mold. Our orthodontist does not do this any more. They take a digital image of the teeth instead and print the mold with a 3D printer. But they have only been doing it for perhaps three years, so I am sure there are places where they don't use the new technology yet.

The digital thing is so so much better. The plaster for the molds was so unpleasant, and I think some kids have a hard time with it. It's very nice not to have to do it now.

 

Yes, that digital thing was totally awesome.  It was even cool to watch.  

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Storygirl said:

One other new thing to ask orthos about is whether they still take impressions of teeth to make a mold. Our orthodontist does not do this any more. They take a digital image of the teeth instead and print the mold with a 3D printer. But they have only been doing it for perhaps three years, so I am sure there are places where they don't use the new technology yet.

The digital thing is so so much better. The plaster for the molds was so unpleasant, and I think some kids have a hard time with it. It's very nice not to have to do it now.

This was one of the major criteria I looked for-DD is hypersensory and gags really, really easily. DD’s ortho was able to not only do the digital image, but use the 3D printed scan to fit her bite plate, even though that lab wanted a traditional impression, via using the 3D printed version to make an impression. I also really liked that she presented a couple of different choices to DD and let DD be the driving force in the treatment plan-many offices just told us what they wanted to do, without presenting options, or talked to me only, not to DD. 

[mommyoffive]

2 hours ago, Storygirl said:

One other new thing to ask orthos about is whether they still take impressions of teeth to make a mold. Our orthodontist does not do this any more. They take a digital image of the teeth instead and print the mold with a 3D printer. But they have only been doing it for perhaps three years, so I am sure there are places where they don't use the new technology yet.

The digital thing is so so much better. The plaster for the molds was so unpleasant, and I think some kids have a hard time with it. It's very nice not to have to do it now.

 

I remember that from my time in braces.   Thanks for the info.  I am going to write this all down for when I go.   

[mommyoffive]

Ok one consult done.  The younger 2 they said they are not ready, because they don't have enough adult teeth in.

Oldest who doesn't have that many issues.  Cosmetic.  18 months.   And it was 6000.   Seems like that is really high compared to what people here have paid.   ARGH.  For that 6k she could do regular or Invisa.  

I guess I will keep going to other ones to hopefully find one that is lower. 

 

[vonfirmath]

On 4/3/2019 at 1:30 PM, madteaparty said:

We were recommended braces, palate expanders and all manner of nonsense when DS still had baby teeth (his teeth were late). I declined all (after a second opinion). There seem to be two schools, the dentists that start on braces very young, and those who wait. We waited. It’s not a $$ thing, it’s just that I hate unnecessary procedures. 

 

The orthodontist monitoring my almost-8 year old says he used to do braces young. But over time found that the kids still needed braces when older so now he prefers to monitor and wait in most circumstances. So we're monitoring.

Edited June 14, 2019 by vonfirmath

[AmandaVT]

24 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

Ok one consult done.  The younger 2 they said they are not ready, because they don't have enough adult teeth in.

Oldest who doesn't have that many issues.  Cosmetic.  18 months.   And it was 6000.   Seems like that is really high compared to what people here have paid.   ARGH.  For that 6k she could do regular or Invisa.  

I guess I will keep going to other ones to hopefully find one that is lower. 

 

 

That sounds about right, price-wise. DS is a few more months into treatment than when I posted before on this thread. The office has amazing customer/client service. Appointments are approximately once a month and during his appointment, both the orthodontist and the hygienist work on him. If they need to do additional x-rays, those are included in the price. We had to call once because a wire had come loose and they had us come in immediately to have it fixed and no extra fee.  We're getting excellent service and responsiveness for $150 a month, which is more than I can say our cable/internet provider gives us. 😂

DS's issues are mostly cosmetic as well - his teeth are a bit crooked on the bottom and will need braces and they had to close a gap on top to make room for his eye teeth to come in. 

So my verdict is pricey, but worth it so far.

[prairiewindmomma]

On 4/3/2019 at 6:50 PM, mommyoffive said:

 

That is so frustrating to hear that different orthos say different things.  How do you know which one is right? 

So, we’ve had three orthodontists in three states (for three family members).  Each time we did at least 3 consults. We’ve met 9 orthodontists, and none of them entirely aligned on treatment plan options.

For us, we look at how they are classifying the mouth problems. They *should* agree here. Then we listen to their rationale on how they would treat each mouth. We look at how efficiently their office is run (you want a well oiled machine with several techs in office). We look at the personality of the orthodontist. We look at what they can do in-house. Do they do physical molds, or scans? How many retainers are included in the package? What’s the lost retainer policy? Do they offer additional benefits, like incentive rewards (for some teens, this is huge!) 

Pricing does matter, but I want someone who does it right. I go around looking at older teens and ask who their orthodontist is. In the first city we had ortho work done, 80% of the town used one guy, and he did all of the “repairs” from orthodontists who messed up kids’ mouths.

We paid the same amount for ds’s Traditional braces as dh’s Invisalign. Thought it was a COL change. Dh’s teeth are not what they should be. He chose to go to a dentist who also did Invisalign and it did not end well for him. (They were both about $5k.) Younger Ds is going to run us about $6800, but a year into treatment, his mouth looks fantastic and his jaw is coming into alignment in his deep bite. I think it’s going to be awesome when he is done!

[prairiewindmomma]

Fwiw, I am generally against 2 phase braces unless you need a palate expander or serious jaw work. As most kids grow, a lot of issues sort themselves out. We do a screen at age 6-7–but most kids that age have train wreck mouths. If we can wait, we wait until the 12 year molars are in and we do the wisdom teeth extractions ASAP. 

Younger Ds needed 6 baby teeth pulled because they wouldn’t release and his permanent teeth were coming in cheekside. That was $$$$, but we avoided two phase braces.

[catz]

I have one that just got out of braces and one that is fairly new in braces.  We paid cash up front and saved more money that way.  We have dental coverage that threw in a little.  We got a small discount with 2nd kid.  We are at an ortho office that is a little fancy and over the top with customer service and amenities.  However, it is a very easy drive from our house.  Keep in mind you will be going there a bunch.  If you have a busy schedule (which we do), it's nice not having to waste half a day or worry about traffic every visit.  If you homeschool, being able to take daytime appointments is an advantage!  Our ortho was great about offering options, presenting to the teens, etc.  Invisalign was a little more expensive and our ortho said it didn't do as much for overbites as traditional braces(both my kids have those).

Someone suggested 2 stage for younger kid,. I got a 2nd opinion because I was very skeptical about that need unless there is something odd going on.  Nope.  Her mouth is actually very similar to older kid's mouth.  I intentionally waited until my kids were a little older.  They are sensory quirky and I want them to be 100% on top of hygiene, rubber bands, remembering stuff, etc.  My oldest was told 18-20 months and it was 27 months.  So I guess take any estimates with a grain of salt.  They said 18-20 for younger too.  Doubt it!  LOL.