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That's awesome that you've found a way to afford it ! I was very fortunate. The first Ortho office I went into was very affordable even without insurance or a dental plan. It was $129 down and then $129 a month for two and a half years plus $516 for the retainers, which is definitly something I can afford. I work full time and live with my parents (not leaving until I absolutly have to ) so it wasn't too much of a financial debt.
Growing up, my parents had the money to get braces for me if I really needed it (I'm doing it right now in my late 20's mostly for aesthetic reasons). My sister, who's two years younger, was the one who got braces, because her teeth were bad enough that she couldn't even chew properly. Long story short, she was supposed to wear retainers for the rest of her life, but she only did it for one year after braces. She can still chew properly, but her teeth are not perfect anymore, and I do think she wasted our parents' money a little bit. If my parents had made me get braces when I was 11 like they did with my sister, I'm not sure if I would've been responsible enough to wear the retainers afterwards. But right now, with what I know and doing it mostly with my own money, I'm definitely going to wear retainers exactly as told by my ortho after debracing.
About Cigna, I was going to get that dental insurance before I got braces, but the nearest ortho on their list is 35 miles from me, and it's a chain clinic. I opted to use a local, private ortho.
May 3, 2006 - Upper and lower ceramics
March 2007 - Elastics for overbite (changed 3 times a day)
For me I could have got gotten them as a kid, but I didn't trust my parents to be making the right choices for me. So, now that I'm 20 its me getting them and paying myself. I'll be paying $1050 down, $195/month for I think 22 months. I work a full time job and find lots of overtime--usually end up with 60 hours a week there. I also have every kind of health benifit now except orthodontics and I make sure to take advantage of everything im entitled.
Congratulations on the weight loss. That is an achievement you should be proud of.
Like everyone has said... get a couple of consults and see what your options are for payment. For me... I had two consults and didn't pay for either one. I didn't even have to put a down payment (I did though) and the balance was spread over two years.
I may be the lone person on this one...... yes I needed braces as a child, so did two of my three older sisters. However, I could never have been mad at my parents, disappointed with them etc. With 4 children, a house and only my dad working, I consider myself to have been fortunate to have had regular dental checkups and meals on the table. I almost got braces at 28, but chickened out because of the price. Now at 48, I am more upset with myself for not going through with it when I had the chance.
Good luck and remember.... there are many on here in their 30's, 40's and 50's. It is never too late.
Elizabeth
Braces on March 15, 2005
Estimated treatment time: 18-24 months. Official debanding date - June 14, 2007 - Total of 27 months!
For me, braces weren't all that common when I was young, and my family definitely could not afford it.
However, being a parent of a child who should have had braces but did not, helps me to understand how bad my parents felt about not being able to afford it. I'm sure all parents wish we could go back and change something about the way we handled raising our kids, but as for me, I have to remind myself that I did the best I could with the resources I had. We put our first through braces and then some things happened and we could not afford to do the same with the second. Her teeth were not very bad either.
Fast forward about 15 years, and now that daughter is going through braces at 27. My husband and I offered to pay for them but she has refused our offer because we are paying for college. (She has a few units to go for her Masters). I still feel bad that we couldn't afford it when she was little and it would have been easier. Even though she says she forgets she even has them most of the time.
The main reason I finally went for the braces at 53 was because Mom always felt so bad that she couldn't afford them for me, that when she died and left me a little money, I decided to use that money on my teeth. I think she would have liked that.
Dimples, I suggest you at least go for a consult (they are usually free) and see what kind of financing they can swing for you. You might be surprised.
Wired on Sep 16, 2005, left canine exposed on Oct 5, 2005, at 52 years old.
i have good dental coverage go to www.compbenefits.com there very well priced an the plan covers more than cigna an pays higher amounts, cigna is still very good as i shopped for months ,( headgearjoe)
braces off 1/31/08 wearing bonded retainers with a nightsplint, will get removable hawleys 2/21/08
Just to throw in another viewpoint. This might be a generational/age/timing thing. My parents and grandparents (those that I remember) didn't have very good teeth. My father had false teeth (upper) and my mother had a fixed permanent bridge. My grandparents also had false teeth. I think it was more accepted back then that you lost your teeth as you got older, so perhaps it wasn't as important to have perfect teeth - because you were just going to replace them eventually. But expectations have certainly changed and are continuing to change.
When I began thinking about braces seriously, I started setting aside 15% of every paycheck into my savings. After I had several hundred saved, I went in for a consultation with my orthodontist. I was told then and there how much treatment would cost and how much my down payment would be. After my consult, I had 2 months before I had to make my down payment. I began to save about 1/2 of every paycheck then.
Honestly, I can barely afford my braces. I'm a college student working a part-time job. I'm doing what I can to make ends meet. I'm giving up several indulgences so I can have the smile I want.
Good luck to you!
Braced: Jan. 17, 2006
Removed: Oct. 26, 2006
Fixed bottom retainer
Clear Essix Retainer on top
Well I'm 25 and I have just got braced earlier this week. I didnt grow up thinking I needed braces. My teeth have only become a concern in the past few years. How do I afford my braces? I have an insurance through my job, which can be combined with bf's insurance, so I only pay a fraction of the cost.
for me i work 2 jobs.. one full time and one part time... alongside that i live at home.. i had braces on my top when i was a kid but i think either way i would need them rite now anyways to not only correct corwded teeth but also my bite. payment plans are your best friends.. most orthos offer them with no interest. thats the only way i could afford them.. unless i put it all on a credit card and slowly pay taht off.. but of course theres interest in that...
cant really blame parents.. maybe yours couldnt afford it? like you said it is expensive.. along with other responsibilites and bills your parents had, its tough. neways.. good luck.. hope you fine the income. it is a good investment.. and i agree.. teeth is what i notice first on someone.
for me im paying 7400 cdn for the ortho treatment.. and another 5 or so gs cdn for surgery... so for me its not cheap.. i didnt put any money down since i couldnt.. so for the first 4 months i pay 500 cdn to cover the down payment then for the remainder 19 months i pay around 300 something cdn. for me its still affordable since i make about 2000cdn a month. and like i said i live at home. its hard rite now cuz im saving up for a trip to cancun in aug hehehe.. but yea... the surgery will be about 1.5 years down the road and we will see how i will pay for that then.... .. but 2 years from today ill be posting about debanding and the kodak smile i always wanted
One day I was feeling overly fed up and depressed with the way my teeth were (crowded, overbite, etc.) so I decided to call up an orthodontist to book a consult even though I couldn't really afford braces. I thought that my benefits from work would cover a portion of the cost... but they didn't. Anyways, long story short: I went for it anyhow! I really don't remember how much I paid for my initial consult and downpayment but I think it was around $300. After that my payments were $200 per month. Unfortunately about 3 months after I got my braces I had to have shoulder surgery and was off work for 4 1/2 months so my Mastercard had to make the payments . I've made a LOT of sacrifices to have braces but I can tell you that I have no regrets. I've had my braces for almost 2 years now and I'm getting them off in less than 2 weeks. The way I see it I probably would never be able to "afford" braces, at least not anytime soon. I don't think you can put a price tag on the confidence you'll get out of having a smile you're proud of instead of one you have to cover up. I may be broke because of orthodontics but my confidence has improved soooo much!!!!
Braced on: June 28, 2004
Debanding : June 16th 2006
To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.
Bono
My parents could not afford to get braces for me or my siblings, either. If they had been able to afford them for one, my brother would have been the lucky one. I was very resentful of that for a very long time, even though I knew that money was tight.
However, when I graduated college, my second job offered orthodontic coverage, and my dad offered to pay half of what wasn't covered. Since I was still rather poor, I decided that I still couldn't afford my part, and didn't bother pursuing it myself. So now I could no longer reasonably resent my parents (but I did, anyway).
One day, about 3 years ago, my husband asked if I was serious about wanting braces. He offered to use the overtime money he would earn in the coming year to cover the costs. We then had a few consultations, realized that braces were more expenisve than we thought, but decided that it was worth the sacrifice. Our insurance at the time would not cover adult orthodontics. So we saved his OT, and we cut back on a lot of extras. We were able to pay cash, but had we not been able to, my ortho had a very reasonable payment plan, with no interest.
I can honestly say that this was one of the absolute best decisions we've ever made (along with purchasing a home and starting a family). And it took until this February to finally let go of the resentment toward my parents. It was at this point that I realized that most of the people my age who had braces as kids need them again. Either they didn't wear their retainers as directed, they had their braces removed too soon, or their jaws developed differently than expected. I feel that I have had complete control over my treatment as an adult. Yes, it may take longer than I would ideally like, but at least it'll be done.
Anyway, we now have CIGNA Dental, which would cover my treatment if I started now. They've been great about covering the miscellaneous X-rays and what-not required by my OS. I agree with a pp, to check out their provider list, and go from there.
I had braces when I was a kid, when my wisdom teeth came in they crowded all the other teeth and moved them around. My bottom teeth were in all sorts of directions, top teeth decied to slant inward.......so.....fast forward to November 2005 when I was at the orthodontist with my son getting an estimate for his 2nd phase (he had his 1st phase at 7 years old to correct a crossbite), so while I was there I had his orthodontist give me an estimate for my treatment. $8500 for both of us (granted his office is a shrine of Marvel Comics complete with giant statues, video game room, computer cave, giant waiting room with spam spam screen tvs) My sister in law and her family use a orthodontist that is a family friend so I decided to have an estimate for us there. Same treatment plan...$5000 for both of us!!! He's a great doctor and his staff is wonderful. We are buddies in this and all of our appointments are together. It's cool.
! I was very fortunate. The first Ortho office I went into was very affordable even without insurance or a dental plan. It was $129 down and then $129 a month for two and a half years plus $516 for the retainers, which is definitly something I can afford. I work full time and live with my parents (not leaving until I absolutly have to 
) so it wasn't too much of a financial debt.
.. but 2 years from today ill be posting about debanding and the kodak smile i always wanted
. I've made a LOT of sacrifices to have braces but I can tell you that I have no regrets. I've had my braces for almost 2 years now and I'm getting them off in less than 2 weeks. The way I see it I probably would never be able to "afford" braces, at least not anytime soon. I don't think you can put a price tag on the confidence you'll get out of having a smile you're proud of instead of one you have to cover up. I may be broke because of orthodontics but my confidence has improved soooo much!!!!
