Ds needs braces. I've never had them and have no idea about what kind of questions I should be asking or what to expect.

If insurance covers all the prep work and then $1000 towards the actual braces can someone give me a ballpark as to what they will cost. Are they $2000, $5000, $10,000? I have no clue.

By Yjja123 on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 11:45 am:

I do not know but mine were $2000 back in the 80's. I would *guess* that they are closer to $5000 now.

By Yjja123 on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 11:49 am:

Here is an article that has a lot of info:
http://www.webmd.com/content/article/66/79610.htm
Part of the info:
"How Much Co Braces Cost?
The cost of braces varies, but you can expect the cost to be between $1,800 and $5,500. Some insurance carriers provide partial coverage for orthodontic treatment while others provide none at all. Check with your insurance provider for the specifics of what your policy covers."

By Reds9298 on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 02:43 pm:

Mine were around $2000 in the 80's as well. The parent of one of my students was complaining about 3 years ago about the price of her dd's, around $4K, because they had ZERO insurance.

Good luck! Teeth are expensive.

By Kaye on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 03:20 pm:

My dd's were just put on in august. She had no bite issues, just crowding. So straight braces, no paletal expanders, etc. Our cost is 4400 dollars. Our insurance pays 1000 of that cost.

Now for the orthodontia lecture There are several places that will give anyone braces. After getting several opinions (2 ped dentist, a reg dentist and 4 orthos), there are two schools of thought. One start them young, they will get expanders straighten their front few teeth and then phase 2. Or wait till they they are older, all teeth in, and see what their mouth does.

We knew my daughter would need braces early on. We came very close to getting them in 3rd grade. We got transferred so had to wait. BOY am I glad we did! If we had done them at age 9, then we would have been out another couple of grand. They would of had to do the expanders (quote, her mouth is just too small). Those things hurt. She wasn't having issues, just very crowded teeth and food would get stuck. So we waited until she grew, right before 7th grade, she now has all her teeth, her face has really grown, now we are just doing a quick straightening and she will only be in braces for about 18 months. It saved us bucks and her a lot of discomfort. I would not of known that would happen on its own if I hadn't moved.

One mom just told me, braces are just a precursor for things to come, braces, car, insurance, homecoming, prom...LOL.

By Mommyof5 on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 03:27 pm:

My dd just got partial braces in May. She has brackets on just 5 of her top teeth. The cost was $1760. This includes ALL of the visits to the orthodontist and adjustments etc. This is just the beginning of her adventures with braces. She was a thumb sucker so this go round is trying to un-do some of that damage. Later on she will have another set along with night appliances (not sure what that will be and was a little frightened to ask) that will help correct her bite. Bad news for us is that both she and her older sister have the same bite issues so the older one will have braces in the next year or two (she doesn't have the issues that the thumb sucking caused so we are waiting on her)

By Colette on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 03:45 pm:

Thanks everyone!

By Crystal915 on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 06:02 pm:

I don't know the cost, because everyone's insurance is different, and my parents paid for mine, but I have one suggestion. Go with the Invisaline if you can afford it. I had metal braces for 2 years, and when they were taken off my teeth had decayed under the braces. All of my enamel had been stripped off, and I had nearly 20 cavities. I had more than a dozen at my next visit, a year later, and have had tons since then. I would NEVER get metal braces for my kids after all of the trauma I've been through, including losing quite a few teeth. I know my experience is rare, but it's also extremely traumatizing and expensive (fillings, crowns, and teeth pulled, I've spent thousands and have HORRIBLE teeth still).

By Kay on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 07:41 pm:

We don't have orthodontia insurance, so our total cost was about $3200 (that was with our discount with Amy being the third of our children to get braces).

By Kaye on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 09:07 pm:

Interesting Crystal. They warn us about good teeth brushing, but I don't recall hearing about decay under the metal..scary! We priced invisalign and it isn't terribly more, but ultimatly they don't recommend it for children. I think maybe because they can lose them easily? Also I heard something about bite issues not being able to be corrected.

By Yjja123 on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 09:30 pm:

When I had braces (80's) I had clear braces. They looked better BUT they broke often. I dreaded going in to have the broken piece removed, my tooth sanded down, and a new one glued on. I do not know if the invisalign is like that? If my kids need braces, I will make sure they are a kind that will hold up better than mine did. I had braces on for almost 4 years though and I did not have any enamel or cavity issues.

By Marcia on Monday, October 16, 2006 - 11:55 pm:

I have 2 with braces right now. They both have very different issues, with one being much worse. They are both costing roughly $5000. I'm in Ontario, and that seems to be what everyone I know has paid recently.
I had braces in the 70's, and my parents paid $1000.

You also asked about questions to ask. When you first go in, they will do x-rays and talk to you about what the treatment plan will PROBABLY be. They will show you the different appliances, and tell you what will work best. Our orthodontist was great about explaining every detail each step of the way. My only real question was about payment plans. What he said regarding the procedures made sense to me, so I had nothing really to ask.

By Crystal915 on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 - 01:44 am:

Yvonne, Invisalign is a removable cover that shifts the teeth. There are different ones, like retainers, for each stage in the process, but it's never permanatly attached.
Kaye, "soft" teeth run in my family, and I have a very small mouth (LOL, I sure know how to use it though!), so the combination of the two made it nearly impossible to properly clean between the braces, and the glue ruined the enamel so much that it eventually wore off. I actually still have an overbite because my parents and I finally demanded the orthodontist take the braces off early, because we could already tell the decay was severe. My dentist's office was right across the street, and when I went to see her after they were taken off she was floored at how bad they were.