Lets Talk Dollar Signs

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#16 Post by **lilblackdress** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:01 pm

Karan's Mum wrote: Its scary how much you guys paid for your braces. You must be really rich or something. How come extractions cost a thousand dollar?? Here it cost 18 euro per teeth, if its a difficult one then it'll be like 50 euro. The dentists there must be really rich.

Hi Karan's Mum,

Nope, we're not rich (well, I'm not rich anyway).

That's why many orthodontic practices offer financing options. They wouldn't have nearly enough business if they didn't.

In the US, most people do not have a government sponsored health/dental insurance. Usually, people who have insurance get it through their employers. What this means is, if you're not employed, not married or a dependent to someone who is employed, or if your employer doesn't offer health care insurance, you often go without.

After I graduated from college, I was no longer eligible for health insurance on my mother's plan. The cheapest plan was $600 for 6 months of coverage. That didn't even include dental coverage, much less braces.

Your question as to why things cost so much is something that many Americans ask on a daily basis. In general, we don't know why any individual procedure costs so much. Health care is not like a restaurant where prices are posted. Since this topic can become very heated, very quickly, I'll just stop here. : o )

The cost of health care is a HUGE issue right now, and it's one of the main topics in the upcoming presidential election.

#17 Post by **Karan's Mum** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 2:17 pm

Lisa65 wrote:It must be to do with the way the Dutch healthcare system works. 500 euro sounds amazingly cheap, and is all that covered by insurance or is 500 euro the amount you will have to pay yourself?

In the UK you can get orthodontic treatment free if your case is considered bad enough and you don't mind waiting 2 years or so, but if you pay privately the average cost is about Â£3000.

it's 700 euro for braces, but still we have to pay like 20-50 euro for the check ups. My insurance used to cover 100% for braces, I paid like 130 euro per month for my health insurance. But since many people abused it, lol they changed the policy. Now as an adult we don't get max benefit for our ortho treatment (only for kids until 22 years of age). I have now other health insurance. They only cover until 1000 euro for braces, which is good enough for me cus I only pay them 95 euro per month.

I watched sicko the documentary though, but that is off topic. I just hope that it'll be cheaper in the US someday. Here the insurance also getting more expensive every year

#18 Post by **KatieBug** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:47 pm

I will be paying about $4,200 out of pocket by the end of my treatment. My insurance covers $1,500, and the rest is up to me. This includes everything except regular dental work. I just put down my down paymenet of $1,516.00 and it will be $181 after that. I have worked it out with my flex spending account so that it will deduct $131 a paycheck to cover my expenses for the year.

#19 Post by **Nervous** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 2:23 pm

My treatment cost 5,400 $. Good thing my father payed for it !

#20 Post by **FITeach** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:09 pm

I paid $157.00 for x-rays and pics.
The cost for my clear braces are $5,800.
ALL out of my empty little pockets!

#21 Post by **LaLa1234** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:22 pm

Records fee = $225
Down payment = $475
Monthly payments @ $175 for 24 months = $4,200
Retainers including free adjustments for one year = $400
TOTAL = $5,300 out of pocket. No insurance help.

Have ceramic on top 6 teeth, metal on the rest.

#22 Post by **nicnic1987** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:45 pm

well altogether it cost me $5,000 (that is including everything) and my insurance paid approximately $1250...so I am making payments of $174 per month...

wow, I thought my mouth was expensive, guess not anymore after seeing some of your posts!!!

#23 Post by **amysouth1016** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:56 pm

Cost of my braces with insurance is $3,901. Insurance pays $2,000 leaving me with $1,901. I'm having traditional metal braces and a treatment period of about 2 years. I don't have to have anything special that I know of...no surgeries, extractions, etc.

Sat Jan 26, 2008 12:15 am

mine cost $6,500 Canadian:
- arch expander dealie
- reverse headgear
- braces
top: ceramic
bottom: metal

INSURANCE covered none of it!

I'm dreading the cost of retainers!
Does anyone know the usual range for them (in canadian dollars)
I'm kind of leaning more towards the permanant bonded behind the teeth kind
But I think my dentist is pushing for the usual type of retainer that you can take in and out of your mouth

#25 Post by **starryeyedfairy** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:11 pm

thanks for your input Meryaten
I didn't really think of it that way before
But I'm still leaning more towards the bonded type of retainer, it just seems like far less of a hassle for me and also I like the aesthetic aspect.

Unfortunately the cost of retainers were not included in my treatment, so I'll have to pay for those suckers when I get them.

Also I dont know how much anyone knows about this, or if its been mentioned in an earlier topic... But I appear to have minor gaps behind each of my top canine teeth (the left side isn't as bad as the right)

My dentist said my treatment was done and she was just leaving the braces on for a few more months for retention purposes. The next time I see her will be the end of Feburary so I suppose I'll bring up my concerns then.

Does anyone have any idea as to why she would leave the gaps there?

I don't know what bonding is, and she hasn't mentioned it, but I feel like thats going to be her solution... and personally I don't like the sound of it too much, I prefer something a tad more permanent... i.e. having them fixed up with braces.

#26 Post by **ZaraNataly** » Fri Feb 01, 2008 11:03 pm

Mine were 3,700dlls plus 500 extra to send me to a surgeon and work with the surgeon..or i dont know!! but total would be 4,200dls. I wonder how much it wil cost for my lower jaw surgery

oh and the down payment of 750dlls!!!

Ouch!!! ouch!! ouch!!! but I have a veyr ugly jaw and my face looks bad..whaever it takes!!!

#27 Post by **nomadic myth** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:12 am

Mine are 6.2 million Korean won, or about $7000 Canadian. That's for ceramic braces for 18 months plus 6 months post surgery. Jaw surgery is going to cost $9000. Ouch.

#28 Post by **LadyTr0uble** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 11:01 am

14.5 months in ceramic braces for $4,000 USD.
My dental insurance covered $3,000 USD, so I paid $1,000 out-of-pocket.

I am uber lucky in my dental insurance--one of the reasons why I got braces: get it all taken care of while I have great coverage!

#29 Post by **LadyTr0uble** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 11:07 am

I love my ortho!! I just realized what a great deal I got.

For my $4,000 I got:
-consultation (free)
-14.5 months of ortho treatment (includes many lost turning screws and such, as I am not the most obedient of patients!)
-2 sets of Essix-type retainers (I had him make me an extra set so I can leave it at work; I don't trust myself)
-bonded retainers (top & bottom)
-Hawleys
-take home bleaching kit (he was running a promo when I got braced in 2006)

Oh yeah, I referred my sister to him. She's getting Invisalign for $4,500.

#30 Post by **TsuKata** » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:58 pm

Initial impressions: $120
Braces, retainer, all appointments for braces: $4200
Extractions with local anesthesia: $550
Prescriptions for post-extraction: $85
Total: $4955

My insurance pays a lifetime max of $2300 for ortho work. They did cover the extractions under normal dental coverage, so I only paid a small amount of that. For all of my "out-of-pocket", I used money from my HSA (we have a high-deductible health care plan and my employer also puts money into our HSA, along with us maxing it out each year).

Anyways, after insurance:

Initial impressions: $120
Braces: $1900
Extractions & anesthesia: $130
Prescriptions: $85
Total OOP: $2235

(All amounts in US dollars.)