braces

[houseelf]

My oldest needs braces. We have known this for a long time as he has already had quite a bit of work done: six extractions to make room and some type of permanent retainer on his bottom teeth. He has a fairly significant overbite.

I'm getting ready to call around to various orthodontists. Neither DH nor I had braces. What sort of questions should I ask and what sort of price range should I be prepared to hear?

(These kind of expenses are why we have nicknamed the kids Porsche, Ferrari, and BMW).

[Momo]

I'm watching this thread because my oldest needs some extractions as well as some sort to straightening / alignment. LOL on their nick names...so true!

[peggyfromwastate]

It's really hard to predict the expenses -- I think it has to do with how much work he needs done. My oldest had braces but she only needed 6 "brackets* on the top and bottom. Overall cost was around $4000- we paid half (insurance other half). My nephew needs brackets on every single tooth. He lives in a MUCH lower COL area than we do, and his were around 5K.

[Thirteen]

If it's particularly spendy, see if they will let you pay on a monthly installment basis (a lifesaver!).
Even if they give an estimate, there's also all the in-office visits needed to monitor/adjust the teeth, so those can get expensive too. My teeth meet in the front, so I had braces in 6th/7th grade on top 6 teeth to move them forward. I remember that even with just 6 brackets, it added up quickly.
Also, check with recommendations by other parents that you trust: word of mouth helps when looking for someone who's affordable as well as NICE. If that doesn't work, I would check out Yelp.com -- once you find a few that are highly recommended, you can then determine if they take your insurance/cost of braces/etc. are right for you. Good luck!

[oceanchild]

I recently got evaluated for braces (this is AFTER 2 years of them in middle school). It would have cost us a little over $3000, after insurance coverage. I couldn't justify the cost right now so I'm not going through with it, but that might give you at least a little bit of an idea.

[poky]

I recently got evaluated for braces (this is AFTER 2 years of them in middle school). It would have cost us a little over $3000, after insurance coverage. I couldn't justify the cost right now so I'm not going through with it, but that might give you at least a little bit of an idea.

Ditto. Had braces and headgear for 2 years from about 10-12, and a few years ago went back to the orthodontist because my front lower teeth were way out of whack again. I think it took about 6 months and 2-3K (some of which was picked up by insurance)? They're now all straight and I have a permanent retainer attached to the back of the front lowers so my tongue doesn't push them out of alignment again.

[DCJenn]

I had some sort of equipment from 3-11th grade and all of the orthodontia has permenantly messed up my teeth. (lesson 9 years is a bit of overkill) My teeth are crooked and now there's nothing that they can do about it.

Jenn

[scarlett09]

I don't know much about the current cost of orthodontia, but I agree with word-of-mouth and finding someone nice. Definitely make sure they have flexible hours, you never know when you will need to run over there because a wire has popped out or bracket has fallen off.

I sense a common theme here: we had orthodontia as children/teenagers and now we either need it again or have already had a second round of it. I really thought I was the only one! I had a lot of dental work (including baby teeth pulled, molar straightening, gum surgery, etc.) and orthdontic work (pallet expander, permanent bracket, braces, retainers) from about 7 until 14. In my early 20s, my bottom teeth shifted back and I have a slight overbite again. Definitely can't afford to take care of it now, despite good dental coverage. Maybe in a few years...