My dental insurance doesn't cover adult orthodontics, so I paid in full at my first appointment. My employer has what's called a Flexible Spending Account (FSA). I believe there are similar programs under different names, like Health Savings Accounts. Basically back in November during the open-season, I alotted $5000 (the maximum) for the 2006 calendar year for medical expenses not covered by insurance (in this case, braces). I then pay for the treatment with my own money, file a claim, and am reimbursed for the amount up to $5000. Then every 2 weeks throughout the year about $192 is deducted from my paycheck. The benefit to this is that I'm using pre-tax dollars to pay for my treatment, and the tax savings over the course of the year is about 35-40%.
In addition, my parents are paying for 50%. When I first needed braces as a kid, I had to stop treatment early because my parents couldn't afford it. Now they're better off financially and offered to pay for half since they felt like they "should have paid for it before."
So in the end after what my parents are paying and the tax savings through my FSA, I'll be paying less than $1000 out of pocket. Of course I'm the one who has to have these things on my teeth
