Braces!!!

[mummytothree]

So my oldest DD has been seeing the orthodontist for 2 years and FINALLY all her adult teeth have grown in and he is ready to put braces on her!! But I must say.....I literally about vomited right in his office in the middle of our "treatment conference" when he told me the total!!! Are you ready for this......................

$4500 dollars :blink:

That's more then my OB charged for my last 3 babies...and well you know the liberties he took!!! :D

I'm just flabbergasted.....I mean that's soooooo much money to me!! I know in the long run it will be worth it cause honestly her teeth are HORRIBLE and they really make her self conscience but, GAAAH $4500 bucks!!! I have four more kids coming up.........wonder if they give a sibling discount like day cares!!! :p :D :D

[julifish]

My dd is going in Jan for her orthodontic consult. We were expecting it to be about $6k so $4500 would be great in my book. Guess I should have been and orthodontist!

[CA Dreamer]

We are in the same ballpark for my son's braces too. They charge us monthly, about $180 after an initial deposit.

I know, I was in shock when they went over the contract with us too!

[KristinCB]

I really think I should be putting money aside for this.. no doubt in my mind lily will need them. She is 7 (8 in january) and has already lost 13 (maybe 14) of her baby teeth.. and she has NO room in her mouth for some of the ones that haven't come in (the incisors) its going to be a mess in her mouth me thinks..

[Libby Pritchett]

As a former orthodontic assistant, I can tell you that that's TOTALLY normal and actually on the low end for full braces. That price should include all appointments as well as a retainer and follow-up visits after everything is off.

When I had full braces back in 2004ish, I paid somewhere around $5800. That wasn't for anything fancy or any major problems. Just plain old braces. Of course, that was before I was an ortho asst. LOL If I'd known what my future career options were, I would've waited because I could've gotten them for free!

Good luck! I know it's quite a sticker shock, but I just wanted to assure you that your ortho wasn't crazy. As long as you are paying that at an actual orthodontist and not a regular dentist who claims he "does braces," then you're in good hands. :)

[Aimeemomof2+]

Braces are killer.

My 9 year old started 6 months ago with a palette expander and braces. She will need another round of braces once all of her permanent teeth come in.

My 12 year old is supposed to start in 3 months, with braces.

2 kids at once!! It is killing us, plus the bajillion appointments that go along with braces. Oy.

[jaylensmom]

Yeah my son will need them too...I have heard how much they cost so I won't be in too much shock..

Does your dental insurance cover anything?

[maryinaz]

I've gone to a couple of different orthodontists to get pricing and around here they are all around $5000-$5500. We'll be doing the down payment and monthly payment plan starting next summer. And I am praising and thanking God that out of 4 boys, only ONE needs them. We are blessed.

Oh, and our insurance covers $1000.

[MamaBee]

youch! I wonder how much it was when I had them in the 6th grade... I'll have to ask Mom, would be interesting to compare prices from "yesterday" to today. I love my braces and actually cried when they came off! :huh:

Ugh... will have to save up... with hubby and I have braces as kids, I'm sure kiddo will need them... and we don't have dental insurance...

[MissKim]

I think ours were around there. Insurance paid half, and we paid half in monthly payments (plus a down payment). However, my daughter needed them badly, and she's so much more confident as a teen because she looks good.

And yes, thankfully only one of our 3 need them.

[Julie Billingsley]

ugh! I went through that with my oldest son. I honestly cried when they told me the price. We ended up making a plan with them that every May we'd pay $1000 (income tax refund) and we also had a monthly payment too. I seriously was just sick over it. Now that braces are off, Jacob is suppose to wear the retainer every other night to keep the teeth in place. So I have to hound him to do that. :( Oh the joy.

[d2vasquez]

My dd's was the same amount too and I remember the first consultation we went to - I was in shock and said nothing but "I will get back to you" and then burst into tears when we got in the car.

The 2nd one we saw was the same price but our insurance paid some of the costs - but it was still up there. My dd was going into high school and was mortified that she had to wear braces right up front and convinced us to get her the clear ones.....something I would not recommend. The extra care you have to take so as not to stain them is a major pain. I can't tell you how many times we have had to rush to the ortho to have them change out the bands because she had a competition or a school dance and didn't want stained braces!

I anticipate my little one will need some this year so have a medical spending plan at work set up for 2011 to help offset the costs. Thank goodness for pre-planning!

[Keely~B]

DD's are in the $5500 range. Our insurance paid about $1500 and we utilize an FSA account. It is expensive but she really needed them. We were honest about the expense with her and our expectation that she follow through with her part of care etc. She's doing great so far, she got hers in May and already the difference is huge.

[Julie Billingsley]

oh and I hope your child isn't allergic to nickel alloy like my kids are. We had to have titanium braces put on Jacob because of all his metal allergies. And they cost a pretty penny more. :( In several years I will have another kid in braces. Logan needs them more than Jacob did, because Logan was a thumbsucker and completely messed up his mouth. boo.

[maryinaz]

oh and I hope your child isn't allergic to nickel alloy like my kids are. We had to have titanium braces put on Jacob because of all his metal allergies. And they cost a pretty penny more. :( Oh no Julie!! Kent was allergic to nickel when he was a baby - not sure how it is now. Neither orthodontist said a word to me about this. Ugh. I hadn't even thought of this! Grant is still allergic to it - I remember when he was a baby and I took off his sleeper and he had little circle marks all down his belly from the snaps - Kent was the same way. Grant still has a problem with belt buckles if they are against his skin (shirt not tucked in). Thank goodness he didn't have to have braces.

[mummytothree]

Thank you for the reassuarnce Libby, yes they are "real" orthos and I do love them and trust them explicity....like I said we have been going there for 2 years and I know of many kids in DD's class that had braces put on 2 to 3 years ago only to have them back on this year *shudder*. And you are right when you break it down to 5 years worth of treatment (the 2 we have had already and the 2 she will be in braces and probably a year after the braces come off), plus they provide her with tons of extras (nice electric toothbrush with free head replacement, free flossers and free wax whenever she needs it) it's not such a bad price...it's just hearing it out loud and then seeing it on paper....oy...it was a shocker!!! :D :D

Rachelle, yes our insurance does cover $2000 dollars and from what they told us that's a pretty decent amount!!! So our monthy payments are fairly reasonable!!!

Well I'm sad that so many of us are faced with this "bill", but I'm glad to hear that I'm not getting ripped off and that braces really are *THAT* expensive!!! :thumbdown:

[Julie Billingsley]

Oh no Julie!! Kent was allergic to nickel when he was a baby - not sure how it is now. Neither orthodontist said a word to me about this. Ugh. I hadn't even thought of this! Grant is still allergic to it - I remember when he was a baby and I took off his sleeper and he had little circle marks all down his belly from the snaps - Kent was the same way. Grant still has a problem with belt buckles if they are against his skin (shirt not tucked in). Thank goodness he didn't have to have braces.

Jacob is so allergic to nickel that he can't go to Wonderland (the nickel arcade game place). He walks in and seriously 10 minutes later he is covered in hives! The snaps on jeans, belt buckles like you said, and such give him a ton of problems. We weren't sure if Jacob would do okay with the standard metal in braces, but I couldn't take a chance that the braces would hurt him (over and above their typical pain anyway LOL) because paying for braces twice would have killed me. :p