How do you find an inexpensive orthodontist?

[Tyrantblade]

I fully admit the $300 price difference i said might just be in my case, but it's also possible that my nearby dental school may quote higher prices than others

I just know they (dental schools in general) can't all quote such close prices to private practice orthodontist offices, otherwise there wouldn't really be a reason to check them out and possibly allow the students the experience to work on you

The only part i really hated was that they said they use Care Credit, which would not approve me, for even part of my quoted treatment cost (i had around close to half, so i was only asking for part of the money to be covered)

Its basically indirect financing, where if you get approved you may have to pay interest, depending on how much you are "borrowing" (it goes straight to where you are getting treatment, then you pay money to Care Credit instead of the office you are getting treated at)

But in the end i think im probably better off with the orthodontist and staff i got, especially with no interest, direct financing, better hours of availability and closer locations, all for a $300 difference, well worth it

So i guess im glad i didn't get approved by Care Credit

I would say its possible to get a full length treatment of braces for $4000 or maybe less at cheapest, this would probably be in a setting like a dental school with a student doing the work and an experienced orthodontist/teacher watching over them

If you want a better experience it will probably come at a higher cost, but as ive explained, it may not even be that high

The important things are to get a good result and experience in general and also financing (for most people anyways), i know if it were just asking for the full amount with no financing available $6000 would be tough, but broken down to 4800 after a downpayment and stretched over 24 months is easy (for me)

[newbite]

There's not much point asking on here, you really have to go to some consultations. I could tell you $1800 is the lowest I've seen (and it is) but that says nothing about your case. I payed more than $6000 and mine wasn't very complicated. Most I've seen are around $5-6,000, assuming surgery isn't needed. But, again, that doesn't really tell you anything.

Make some appointments. Many places will see you for free and can give you an estimate.

[Tyrantblade]

You really will likely have no idea as to what the cost will be before you go to some consultations, unless you know people who had a case similar to yours that you can ask about cost and where they went

So just go to some consultations since cost will probably be free and find out what you need to know, its better than just asking us about what the cheapest cost might be

There also seem to be websites that quote what cost you should expect, but i don't know if any of them are fairly accurate as i tried one and it said i could expect to be quoted around $8000+, im so glad it ended up being $6000

[que2]

Tyrantblade – thanks for sharing. You make a good point that most dental schools need to make the price difference enticing enough that people would be willing to consider dental schools as an option. Would you say most dental schools make you pay interest? I wish I could get braces for $4,000 (even though it's a risky game to trade quality for the cheapest option possible - I'd only consider it because I don't think my teeth are that bad functionally). The thought of paying over $6,000 freaks me out a little.

Newbite – out of curiosity, do you know anything else about the $1,800 story? (What type of office did this person go to, what state did they live in, why were they getting braces, etc.). You said your case wasn't very complicated but cost $6,000 - what did you get done?

[Tyrantblade]

Tyrantblade – thanks for sharing. You make a good point that most dental schools need to make the price difference enticing enough that people would be willing to consider dental schools as an option. Would you say most dental schools make you pay interest? I wish I could get braces for $4,000 (even though it's a risky game to trade quality for the cheapest option possible - I'd only consider it because I don't think my teeth are that bad functionally). The thought of paying over $6,000 freaks me out a little.

Newbite – out of curiosity, do you know anything else about the $1,800 story? (What type of office did this person go to, what state did they live in, why were they getting braces, etc.). You said your case wasn't very complicated but cost $6,000 - what did you get done?

Its not the dental school asking for interest, its the 3rd party financing this particular one uses, which as i said is called Care Credit, you can look them up, they offer financing for a lot of different things, not just orthodontics

I was alright with letting the dental school have a student work on me, its an interesting concept that should theoretically stop anything from going wrong since they have experienced orthodontists as teachers, i was alright with the possibility of having to pay interest, because i had planned on paying off my braces early anyways, which could eliminate the interest

The only thing that stopped me from going ahead was that they (the financing program, which has no affiliation with the dental school) would not approve me, even for a fraction of the cost

And if you have a relatively easy/short case, $4000 might not necessarily mean you don't get a quality office, orthodontist, and staff

$4000 would be 2/3rd of $6000, aproximately 18/24 months, my case is quite a bad starting place, not just in my opinion, but also those of both orthodontists i had consultations with, basically they both had been suprised my bite was so bad, one went on to say they were surprised i could eat, my bottom row of teeth wasn't too bad to start with, but my top row had a crossbite and a (really bad) open bite

My $6000 cost is for a full set of braces and follow up appointment for 2 years while i have braces, also my orthodontist office includes not only the retainer, but also 2 years of checking up on your retention

Since i not only dont dread my appointments, but actually like going to them (not just because its more time that im done with, but also because the staff is just so great) i think $6000 is more than fair with $4800 spread over the course of 2 years

[que2]

And if you have a relatively easy/short case, $4000 might not necessarily mean you don't get a quality office, orthodontist, and staff

$4000 would be 2/3rd of $6000, aproximately 18/24 months, my case is quite a bad starting place, not just in my opinion, but also those of both orthodontists i had consultations with, basically they both had been suprised my bite was so bad, one went on to say they were surprised i could eat, my bottom row of teeth wasn't too bad to start with, but my top row had a crossbite and a (really bad) open bite

What would you classify as an easy case? (That could potentially be done at a lower price). What are some common problems/issues with people's teeth that tend to cost more than other corrections? Did your orthodontist use any additional appliances that contributed to your cost?

[Tyrantblade]

Well an easy/quick case would be one with less/lesser problems, like having fewer teeth that are far off from where they should be, bites that aren't far off from where they should be, less total problems present, that sort of thing

Whats primarily very bad with my case is how bad my open bite was, and still is (first they had me wear elastics to correct my crossbite), combined with both my midlines being off, missing teeth, etc

If i had one or two smaller issues, my treatment might be estimated at less than 18 months and of course would be quite a bit cheaper

So far there have been no appliances, just the braces and a few little extras (hooks, bite turbos, springs), but for the future, who knows (they have not lead me to believe anything specific is next, im just hoping the next adjustment will also include my two bottom 2nd molars being wired up, tops were added on the last adjustment which was my firsr)

Also your area might just cost more or less than mine, so without any actual difference, you may be quoted more than a little difference higher or lower cost

Like several of us have said, best thing you can do is start going to consultations, they are usually free, and then you will know an exact price quote and everything you would need to know about your treatment

And if you are worried about if they will itemize everything, typically the price you get quoted will be for anything needed during your treatment that they do at your orthodontist office

[metalliKa]

Your best bet and it's which something you think it isn't very efficient is to get consults. True that most orthos charge a fixed fee whether the case is mild or severe (needing surgery). However, you may think your case is mild when it really is severe that will only add to your cost. Also, your statement about commuting to an ortho that is outside your area just to save a few is kind of silly. Travel costs money, not to mention time. So it really defeats the purpose.

If your overall concern is finance, then look into short term braces treatment. Something I wouldn't recommend, but given how you're adamant about not paying more than you'd like, that's probably the best route for you because skilled hands do come at a cost.

[que2]

Thanks for sharing your experiences Tyrantblade. I guess consultations are a trial and error sort of thing. I'd consider maybe posting pictures on here just to get some additional opinions, but I'm kind of wary about how private that is (with users not being able to remove links or edit posts and such). Anyways, thanks for all the help.

[Tyrantblade]

You can post pictures of your smile (edit out the top part if you need to) and nobody is gonna be able to use it in a creepy/bad way and of course its not against the rules

And yes it seems consultations can be a trial and error thing, depending on what you are looking for and if you have a certain budget in mind

I only ended up going to 2 because the 2nd one (which was the first willing to do financing since my local dental school stupidly uses care credit, which sucks if they dont approve you) i felt would be a great office and staff and they didnt say anything i didn't want in my treatment, but i also made sure i had plenty for resources so budget wouldn't stop me

And i was right, i have no regrets with choosing them (its great to look forward to future appointments instead of dread it) and its been amazing so far

If you need to, i would suggest maybe waiting and saving some more to stretch your budget, you don't want to have regrets with choosing the wrong office since you may possibly have to keep going back periodically for more than a year (thats a likely short end if you don't have a particularly bad case)