Anyone got braces done at various dental schools?

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#1 Post by **dfac001** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 8:04 pm

Hi, nice to meet all of you! This is my first post

Did anyone get braces done at various dental schools? How do you feel? How much do you pay? Are you satisfied with the whole procedure?

I went to UCLA dental school for the first basic consultation. The resident says that I have class II with deep bite, severe crowding. I should have all 4 2nd premolars extracted from each quadrant. She says that my case is too severe for invisalign. With traditional braces my treatment time will still be 2-3 yrs. That's is quite long and I'm not sure if I can endure 3 yrs. She will likely to do ceramic on upper and metal on lower. Rubber bands are likely to be needed. The faculty advises that I may need canines extracted too.

The price for just braces done by resident is $3400. With x-ray, records everything combined is around $4000.

I just felt like there wasn't enough options and variation of treatment offered in the dental sch clinic. Nice that ceramics are avaliable with no extra cost. But they can't come up with anything that can speed up the time needed.

Is $4000 about the same i will pay for if i see a private orthodontist? If it's about the same I would go for private one who can speed things up faster.

Nice to meet all of you and hope I can join the braces journey really soon!

My brief into---22yrs old, should have gotten braces long long long time ago. My teeth r crooked ever since i have permanant teeth replacing old ones.

But never thought about going thro the hassle of braces. My teeth r severely crowded, both upper and lower, and 100% deep bite. Lower r all crooked. Upper looks a bit better with one incisor falls back. All molars r rotated. All 4 2nd premolars r off the arches.

But I could still put that off from a distance...with all molars hidden...and deep bite covers my lower teeth. So I never wanna go thro the hassle...

But until recently I start to realize the importance of straight teeth. With that much rotation and crowding there is no way I can clean them effectively and I realize a lot of my friends had that done when they were much younger. They r not even severe like me. They had very very minor slight imperfection. Their be4 and after pics dun make differences on their cases. They still got braces for 1.5 yrs...

But mine is severe and I just give excuse not committing to fix it. Out of all of my friends I would be the one getting maximum benefit from getting braces. Now i decide to get it.

#2 Post by **Keith** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 8:54 pm

You definitely should get an opinion from an ortho. Depending on where you are, 4k may be low or high for braces. Im paying almost 4k at an ortho, but I only need braces for a little over one year. However, it's nice to know that my appointments at the ortho are so quick; they get me in an out and are so professional and nice. I'm sure students are nice and work hard, but I think you have to wait a lot, which is ok if you have time, but 2-3 years of it might get on your nerves. If you are on a payment plan, I'm sure an ortho could be somewhat flexible. It seems to me the average cost of braces is $5000. An ortho might be able to reduce your treatment time, but I'm not sure how much. It's worth a visit!

#3 Post by **summergirl** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 7:48 am

yea ,I know I would go to an ortho and not a school.You pay for what you get ....I would rather pay an exrta 1000 to have it done right.After all this is how the world is going to see you every day.Just my opinion though...GOOD LUCK!!!!!

#4 Post by **dfac001** » Thu Nov 17, 2005 10:50 pm

Time is my main concern. 2 yrs I can force myself to accept that. 3 yrs sounds too much.

I don't think dental school is a bad option. At least they are not interested in making money. They will spend time fixing complications coz there is no rush.

I want different options. I do have a cheap dental plan. The co-payment for metal braces 2 yrs treatment is 2800 done by the specific orthodontist i added to my contractl. If the treatment goes over 2 yrs, I have to pay extra. And I dunno how those dental plan coverage work...But I assumed I can't get ceramics or damon. Nothing fancy just regular metal braces.

I figure if my teeth r in really bad shape and need 2+ yrs. I'll have to pay extra anyways. Then I'll not limit myself constricted in the coverage. I would rather spend more and get the freedom of choosing and faster. If i can be done in 2 yrs. I will consider regular metal braces to save money.

#5 Post by **hopkins** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 4:07 am

I was under the impression that you could get your treatment done for a lot cheaper by being a patient by individuals at a dental school.

Is the individual who did your consultation an actual practicing orthodonist or a student who would be practicing on you?

I've getting treatment done at an orthodontist office in Westwood and my total costs came out to be about $4300($3300 after insurance co-payment).

My treatment includes ceramic tops ($750 extra) and also interpromixal shaping to improve my bite ($1500 extra)

So in actuality I could be getting metal braces without all the extras for about $1000. If you're gonna take the plunge, why not go all in right?

Anyhow I would definitely go to a few orthodontists in your area to see if their opinions differ. I went to three different ones before finally deciding. The first said I had to get extractions done. The second wanted me to do jaw surgery. The third told me that the first was crazy for even suggesting that I needed any teeth pulled and was straight up in letting me know that my bite/midline would not be perfect without jaw surgery and the costs probably would not be worth it for me.

#6 Post by **gracie381** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 3:30 pm

I go to a University and I have to say I have no complaints. I paid $2800 in all and that includes everything. I was given the options of ceramics or metal, but I chose all metal considering I love to eat and didn't want to have to worry about the staining. The professor at the school I go to is very professional. His students are just as professional also. Most of the students that actually get to work on the patients have already pretty much graduated. They are just earning time and experience in order to get a job on there own. There is never more than 1 student who walks around and watches over everyone. I see the same person everytime I go there and he is great. They take there time and the professor/ortho always checks on everything before I leave.
Also my appointments are never very long. I've never waited in the waiting room for more than 10 minutes. On my first adjustment when I got back there the professor checked my chart and then took a look at me. Then, he left me with the student assistant who took my wire out, then let me brush. After that he made whatever adjustments that were needed and then the Professor came back and checked on me one last time. It took all about 30 minutes.
I guess it just varies from place to place, but in my opinion, so far that is, it's been great. No Complaints!

#7 Post by **TinnGrinn** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 8:13 am

I go to the University of Tennessee Dental School. So far so good. The ortho student who has my case will be in the program for the entire time I will be needing to go so he should be working me the whole time. He was a dentist for a long time before this so he knows what he is doing. After every thing he does, a professor comes and checks and makes any changes.
The cost was $3,000. I checked other places and it was going to be about $5,000 so it is a cost savings. So far, I am happy with the outcome and I have good expectations for the next 23 months and 1 week.

#8 Post by **Keith** » Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:44 am

It's nice to see so many positive experiences using a dental school!

#9 Post by **dfac001** » Sun Nov 27, 2005 5:10 am

Exactly, that's what i thought too. I haven't seen a private orthodontist so I dunno how much. But I assumed it would be around 5000-6000 in LA area.

If that's the case UCLA dental sch is a cheaper bargain. If let say henhowc can get it done in westwood paying $4300, it's just close to the UCLA price of $4000.

It's done by resident. Resident has the DDS degree but pursuing to be a speicalized orthodontist. 2 Faculties r on the floor to supervise. Based on what I saw I assumed each faculty supervises about 25 residents.

My main concern is the 2-3 yrs treatment time. That's too much. Seriously I'm 22 and I haven't got it done for so many years. Reason is I can't tell if I can endure. My boyfriend had braces. He's supportive and telling me it's not such a big deal. I'm just freaking out.

Probably 2-3 yrs time is to make my teeth look perfect and with perfect bite. In fact my first priority was just to fix my rotated upper front incisor and the incisor next to it was hidden behind due to lack of space.If that can be done with shortest amonth time, I would settle for it. No treatment for deep bite and lower arch. And I'll live with that.

My second priority is to fix everything, but if and only if the treatment time is reasonable ideally within 1.5 to 2 years.

3 yrs treatment time I'll consider not to get braces at all.