Braces

[bettey13]

My youngest daughter needs braces, yikes! It's more cosmetic, since she's not having any problems eating speaking...slight over/under bite, I forget which, and a gap in her front teeth. We have insurance, but...WOW! The price tag is a new car! I want her to have this but...reality is a--------
What do people do? Looking for any and every suggestion.

[tzs]

Go through your insurance and see if it covers braces I guess. I have been lucky so far with my kiddo! Good luck with that!

[yikes77]

Maybe you can talk to the dentist to see if there is anyway he can help you label it as non cosmetic?

[Nancy5]

I'm lucky, neither one of my kids needed braces.  Ask the dentist not to label it cosmetic, as I'm not sure if the insurance company will pay then.  An example, many years ago colored contacts came out.  I have dark brown eyes and wanted blue and green eyes.  Where I worked the insurance paid totally for contacts once a year.  I went to the doctor, had the exam and choose blue contacts.  Loved them, had black hair with beautiful blue eyes.  Could not wait for another year so I could get green eyes.  A few weeks later I got a bill and a notice from the insurance company, yes they will cover the cost of contacts, but not colored.  They said you may need contacts, but you don't need to have blue eyes, so I had to pay over $400.00 for the colored because it was marked cosmetic!  So be careful how the dentist has it listed.  Goid luck!

[workmama]

I had braces with I was 13 years old and that was in 1993. My dad told me my braces were $5,000, so from your post, times have changed...........BIG TIME!!! Braces are a killer. I remember wearing them for 3 years. My food choices were very limited and it sucked! 

[patti4me]

We put braces on all 3 of our daughters and never had insurance that would cover any of it.  Luckily enough the dentist had a pay-out plan with no interest.  Think we had to put $500 down and seems like $50 a month.  Thankfully, our girls were 7-10 years apart so we did get one set paid for before we had to put braces on the next one.

[aflyingmonkey]

I had what people considered great dental insurance which paid $1600 max for the braces.  I paid the remaining $1600 by $100 a month directly financed by the dentist/ortho.   I paid the initial x-rays/ etc which were not paid by the insurance up front before the braces, over $500 dollars.   The braces weren't anything spectacular, just the white ones (non-metal).   The problem was a tight bite, nothing major.   

[champak97]

Braces are costly, and I wish insurance would cover at least a portion of the expenses.

[nickylanena]

My youngest daughter needs braces, yikes! It's more cosmetic, since she's not having any problems eating speaking...slight over/under bite, I forget which, and a gap in her front teeth. We have insurance, but...WOW! The price tag is a new car! I want her to have this but...reality is a--------
What do people do? Looking for any and every suggestion.

I just got mine off!

[rpse1927]

my daughter had braces and it did wonders for her.

[dreamyxo]

I waited until I was an adult to get mine and I got mine when I lived overseas becuase it was so much cheaper than in the US. 

[ljrjess69]

had to get my boy braces,,it was rough,,,,,,,,

[loulizlee]

My daughter had braces that worked wonders for her, also.  We had insurance, and the dentist submitted to the insurance company that they were non-cosmetic.  I think the price is ridiculous, however.  I guess they are paying off their college loans.

[linderlizzie]

If it's just cosmetic, I'm not sure why you would want to put her through having braces. Does she think she needs them or do you? Are there any problems that have presented because of the overbite/underbite?

If not, why do it? That would save the entire cost. I don't mean to be simplistic, but doctors/dentists don't always know what's best for everyone involved.

I had two of three children that had braces. My daughter had two permanent teeth in the roof of her mouth that had to be cut in order to drop down where they should be. She was in high school at the time. My oldest son didn't appear to need braces. Then my youngest son had braces and he broke them continuously by biting pencils, etc.

My daughter was never instructed to wear retainers.  My youngest son was instructed to wear a retainer many years later following minor surgery on two front teeth. I paid a huge price for the retainer and he never wore them.

I had braces in grade school and, in my opinion, they did absolutely nothing good for me. They only aggravated me. My teeth are still really crooked.  I too was never instructed to wear any sort of retainer.

It's a tough call, but I think if I were in your shoes and the cost is staggering, I would price them at other dental practices. They can sometimes be quite competitive in their pricing.

[pookie22]

Hopefully your insurance will cover some or most of it, have you tried asking the orthodontist if you could work out a payment plan.
I never had to wear braces, but I had other dental problems, so I can sympathize on how expensive it is.
Good luck!