financial assistants for our highly prized braces treatment?

[Ilovetosmile232]

is there any sort of financial assistants for brace/ibrace within Toronto/Ontario/Canada??
I been doing some researches and here what I found:

1. Look for orthodontists school
There is only one orthodontists school within my area and that is University of Toronto http://www.utoronto.ca/dentistry/ which have a waiting list of 1-2 years !!!for any orthodontist works! so the whole treatment will going to take me about min 4 years,, so this option is out of the question

2. Company insurance
sadly my company benefits (manulife) will not cover orthodontist, it only covers the following , but I'm not sure if I can use any of those for my orthodontist treatment (ie. extraction, Anaesthesia ):
treatment coverage
diagnostic-100%
prevention-100%
basic restorative-100%
endordontics-100%
Periodontics-100%
Basic surgery-100%
Anaesthetics-100%
Major surgery-100%
Basic prosthetic-100%
Major restorative-100%
Major prostheic-100%

3. Finding another insurance coverage/dental plans
Now This is where need more infos, what kind of insurance coverage or dental plans I can purchase within Ontario/Canada which can financially assistant with orthodontist works ???

4. Or any other financial assistant??? please provide anyway where we can save on orthodontist works???



5. for my (stats)Instead of having brace, since my insurance dose cover major surgery, can I just have surgery done?
my current stats:
Class I
overjet -4mm
overbite-20%
upper alig- mod spacing
lower -mod crowding
midline-ok
special problem: Bi-Maxillary protrusion

Thank you everyone, I hope this post will also help out other people seeking finical assistants within Canada.

[Ilovetosmile232]

I hope people in Canada can help you Ilovetosmile! I've got to ask ... why aren't you prepared to pay for your treatment yourself?

Im not prepared coz the cost is just overwhelming~.. i asked and they said I need to pay $10,000! for an Ibrace , so thats out of the question.
maybe I should look at some other option?? speed braces, which I heard is much cheaper???[/quote]

[Lisa65]

Regular braces are even cheaper than that I believe.

My feeling is that if you want something that badly, then you have to resign yourself to paying for it! I'm paying the full cost of mine as I have no health insurance, but because it's something I really want I'm prepared to work hard to meet the cost of it. I guess it depends on the priorities in your life.

[hippyhippo]

1. Look for orthodontists school

I have no idea on this one. As a slight aside, I have heard that you may experience longer treatment times with dental schools, because you have to ensure that your schedule fits in with both the student and instructors schedule. But if it's cost that's holding you back, this may be the way to go.

2. Company insurance

Sorry to hear that your insurance doesn't cover it. Mine only covers %50 up to $2K, and that apparantly is pretty good. It barely touches the final cost though ($7K CDN).

3. Finding another insurance coverage/dental plans

When I briefly looked into this, it appeared that you would have to be on any insurance plan for 2 or 3 years first before they would cover ortho treatments. And even then, the coverage wasn't all that stellar. Insurance companies are out there to make money, so it's unlikely you're going to find one that will drop a lot of money for your ortho treatment immediately. Otherwise, why wouldn't everyone just sign up before starting treatment and cancel when they're done?

4. Or any other financial assistant??? please provide anyway where we can save on orthodontist works???

Most orthos offer a payment plan over the course of treatment, so what seems like a lot ($6K) may work out only to a $1K initial fee, and $210 each month for 24 months. Much less painful.

Only other suggestion I can think if is trying to barter a service with your ortho. Do you have any skills that your ortho may have use for i.e. web design? I'm not sure if all orthos would be open to this, but it's worth a shot.

5. for my (stats)Instead of having brace, since my insurance dose cover major surgery, can I just have surgery done?

If you're getting surgery, you'll need braces to ensure you have a correct bite. And with surgery, your insurance may not cover the costs either because they may determine it's for cosmetic reasons. I'm expecting to pay around $4-5K for my surgery, and I'm crossing my fingers my insurance will cover some of it (I have 8mm overjet btw).

[jcdamon3]

You have excellent dental coverage! I wish mine were that good.

Braces are around $4500 - $6500 here in the US. Almost ALL orthos here have financial plans in the way of free interest payments while you are being treated. I put around $1000.00 down and I am paying $157.00 per month.

When you went for your consult did you talk to the ortho about money at all? If so what did they say? Are they willing to work with you? If they aren't are you willing to go for some more consults to see if someone else can help you with the financing? You may be able to get them to come down in price slightly if you tell them you have no insurance and you need help financially.

[Ilovetosmile232]

When you went for your consult did you talk to the ortho about money at all? If so what did they say? Are they willing to work with you? If they aren't are you willing to go for some more consults to see if someone else can help you with the financing? You may be able to get them to come down in price slightly if you tell them you have no insurance and you need help financially.

I just got off the phone with one of my orth, and they said he dont know any financial assistant, the only way thing he can do is to extend the payment option which dosen't effect the total amount... sigh.. but I'll keep on trying and I'll let u know if I find any ways