Braces

[Lizzy]

My 13 y/o is most likely needing braces. He also needs oral surgery to remove an extra tooth that is growing in the middle of the roof of his mouth.

Thankfully my ex husband has to pay for half of these things, but I am a huge planner of finances and we don't have the orthodontic consult until the end of the month, and haven't been able to make an appointment with an oral surgeon yet.

I am just trying to get an average, if your kids have braces, about how much did they cost you? Are they hundreds? thousands? I have no clue what these things cost, and if this has to happen this summer, I have to start making sure I put the money aside now.

If anyone is willing to share an approximate cost of your kids' braces I would greatly appreciate it!

[Kenny1113]

While we are not in that predicament yet. My friend paid $3,000 for her son's braces including 2 years (I believe) of office vists.

[Kenny1113]

Oh and BTW many of the orthodontist groups down here offer payment plans.

[Lizzy]

I really hope so. When I had my Wisdom teeth out, the oral surgeon wanted to do a credit check to be able to get on a payment plan. My credit is horrible thanks to my ex husband, so I didn't qualify and had to come up with it all up front.

If the orthodontist does payment plans then maybe I will be able to swing the oral surgeon first.

$3000 just seems like so much! At least my ex will have to pay half :(

[TiggeRia]

Not sure if there is a difference in price for children vs. adults, but my fiancé got braces in August with a projected two years of wearing. The cost, including near monthly visits and all the aftercare is just over $6000. Granted, he did get the clear/white brackets, so there is an extra few hundred there. I think it really depends on the part of the country you live in and the price definitely varies from orthodontist to orthodontist. Way back when I had braces about 18 years ago, it cost $3000 for four years as per my mom.

[buzznwoodysmom]

My nephew just got his braces off and they paid around $4000 for about 2 1/2 years of treatment.

I'm in the same boat, my 12 year old has his initial consult scheduled for the first week of his summer break and I'm anticipating starting the process sometime in June/July. I've talked to several people who have recently had braces on their children, and $4000 seems to be the norm around here. Another thing to note is around here most orthodontists require either full payment upfront, or you can do a payment plan through them, sort of a loan, with interest. Our plan is to pay it upfront, so I'm hoping it's not more than the $4000 we are expecting. Here's hoping our insurance will cover at lease a portion of it!

[wickedgin]

$2,400 for one child.
$1,750? for my second child. (Could have been $2,250.)
$6,885 for me.
My boys were able to get by with expanders and only a few braces on the top. I have a full set.

[MNNHFLTX]

Total cost for my son's orthodontia (started when he was 13 and had his last retainer check at 18--he's 19 now) was just under $5000. This did not include the replacement retainer when he lost the original. :rolleyes:

We were fortunate because my husband's insurance covered all costs up to $5000.

[Disneymom4ever]

When my son was 13 (now 19), we paid just over $5000 for his, which included follow up visits and retainer. Thankfully they offered a payment plan with no interest through their office.

[Mickey'sGirl]

$6,500. Our orthodontist spread the payments out monthly over 2 years.

You should be prepared for orthodontic limits on any group benefit plans. Usually group plans will pay %50 up to a certain amount. In our case, each of our group plans only paid out a maximum benefit of $2,500 each (total $5,000), I still had to pay $1,500 out of pocket.

[Kenny1113]

Oh yeah, my friend's son only has top. Maybe that explains the difference in price?

[Disney4us2]

My DD just got hers in January. She is 12 now. I am financing the cost of the braces through the Ortho office. They had a promotional going at the time. It was about
$2500, but she needs a palate expander and that raised the cost to just over $3000.

Good luck with this venture.

[Tinker Fan]

My son's braces cost $6500, he had a bad overbite and took 2 years. My daughter hasn't got hers but I was told her front teeth are very crooked and while the cost will be a bit less it will also take 2 years. Hope this helps!!

[Aurora]

Daughter had palate expander at age 11 for $2,400, including impressions, office visits, etc. At age 13 she got braces for 18 months for another $3,200.

We live in Chicago, where everything costs an arm, leg, and your first born.

[Lizzy]

Wow, I really hope the orthodontist is willing to work with me. I hate the oral surgery is not covered under dental or medical either. If his braces will cost 5-6 K and another 2k for his oral surgery, I will have to still come up with 3-4K for my half.

Thanks for sharing! I was expecting a couple thousand but not that much! :(

[princessgirls]

$5,100 for my daughter's braces. On my last $500 left to pay.

The orthodontist has payment plans. They will work with you. Our insurance paid $1,100. The $4,000 balance we paid by using my husband's Flexible Spending Account. We set it up in anticipation of the braces, which is an Allowable expense. We flexed the maximum $3,000 the first year, and did $1,500 this year. We also use the flexible spending for Dr.'s co-pays and prescriptions when needed. For us, it was a win/win. The money comes out of your pay pre-taxed and it did not create too much of a pinch in our bottom line.
Amen!!! A beautiful smile is worth it!!!
Julie:mickey:

[Lizzy]

I am so stupid for not setting that up last year at open enrollment. I can't enroll in it again until next year

[disney obsessed]

I'm on to the third child. Each has been between 6000-6500. This last one will run more due to the complexity of the case.

[Katzateer]

$5,000 and our insurance didn't cover any of it. It did cover the 4 teeth that had to be pulled and the cleaning every 6 months. I paid at the beginning about $800 and now $150 a month

[Melanie]

Just wanted to share my experience Lizzy, since we're somewhat local to you. Josh got them almost 3 years ago when we first arrived in Florida and will get them off in just a few weeks. Yay! Anyway, his total was around $5K, with $1500 paid by insurance. He had a few teeth pulled beforehand which luckily our insurance paid.

I antipate Ryan getting them this fall after we settle in Virginia, and I'm interested in seeing the difference in price since we'll be in a different location and his case isn't nearly as severe as Josh's. I'm not sure if severity means a difference in cost or not.

I'd be surprised if your orthodontist doesn't have a payment plan. Good luck and just think of how beautiful his mouth will be when he's all done! :D

[azdisneymom]

DD had braces nearly 10 years ago that cost $5600. DD had braces at the same time. She was scheduled for a 2 phase set of braces. Phase one when she was in elementary school and phase two in high school when she finished growing. Phase one cost $2400.

Then her oral surgeon recommended we go to an orthodotic school. The students there are already practicing dentists who wish to become orthodontists. Everyone is followed by an intern and orthodontist working together. Total cost was $1100. Pallet expander and all.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Second go-round for me. Getting them off soon! $4000. :mickey: