how can you afford braces?

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#31 Post by **JayC** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 6:38 pm

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

#32 Post by **naomi** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 11:03 am

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!!!!

#33 Post by **KathleenH** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 2:35 pm

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.

#34 Post by **chickwithtracks** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 2:20 pm

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.

#35 Post by **missing_tooth** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 2:24 pm

8500? As long as you have confidence in him I would definately go for it.

- Missing Tooth -

#36 Post by **chickwithtracks** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 2:30 pm

Yeah, he's a great doc. Love his personality. Makes you feel like your his only patient when he talks to you.

I know, $5000 comared to $8500, I can do without the frills. Our new orthodontist office is a tropical theme with a giant auqarium.

#37 Post by **MsTiaLia** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 8:32 pm

Hi Dimples,
I live in NC and CIGNA is a pretty reputable insurance company here. You should be pretty safe with their plan. The only thing I would tell you to check on is how they pay out. Do they pay you or do they make payments to your ortho's office directly? Do they pay out monthly or quarterly? My insurance at my last job paid out quarterly based on the projected length of treatment. So if you had 2 years in braces, the insurance company would pay you every 6 months. The problem was if you left your job before the 2 years was up, you were screwed. The company I am with now pays my ortho directly every month. So I had to find an orthodontist who was in my network. If I didn't, they would have paid me directly, which would've been fine, but with them paying directly, that's just a few more dollars that I don't have to be responsible for. But now that I think about it, I really don't pay that much. I pay $77/mo. and my ins. pays the same. So even if I didn't have ins, my payments would be about $154/mo. Not too bad. Anyhow, good luck with taking charge of your situation!

MsTiaLia

#38 Post by **tokidoki** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 9:04 am

First, congratulations on the weight loss. Maybe consider saving up for caps if your case isn't super bad. The only way you'll know for sure is to get a consultation. In retrospect, I wish that's what I had done. They would have been less emotionally stressful since the results are immediate. Braces are more stressful than you'd think, especially when you're already worried about how you look.

And my mom's insurance pays for half of my monthly payment ($150 total, so I pay $75). If you don't have dental insurance, it's probably not worth getting it just to get the discount.

#39 Post by **nicholeuf** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 9:54 am

Wow. Your story sounds so familiar. So many people have said what I would say. So, all I can offer you is the sentiment that you are definitely not alone.

I was reading the prices the people in this forum were quoted. I am startled. Mine is SO much more expensive. My ortho charges $6000 and from the orthos I've looked into and the patients I've talked to that seems to be the going rate in the area.

I did a lot of research before I went ahead with the ortho I chose. I am really happy with the work that he does, which was more important than the price to me.

My insurance doesn't cover a dime. I used my company's HCRA (Health Care Reimbursement Account) since it allows me to use money tax free which can be considered a discount. I payed $1200 upfront and pay 191.25 a month. I could have gotten a discount from the ortho if I had payed everything upfront (yeah right!) but couldn't do it for obvious financial reasons and the HCRA wouldn't allow me to do this.

Good luck with your treatment!

#40 Post by **bbsadmin** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 10:14 am

For people in the USA, the reimbursement account is a great thing if your company offers it. You can at least save a little bit of money on your treatment that way.

#41 Post by **MsTiaLia** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:52 pm

Someone made a comment that it would not be worth it to get insurance just for the discount on your braces, but I would encourage you to really do the math. Dental insurance, unlike health insurance, is not very expensive. And if you find a good policy that will cover half of your treatment, that is often times like $2,000-3,000 and well worth it. For instance, if you have a plan that costs you $25/month...that is $600 over 2 years and they are gonna pay about $3000 of your ortho, then it is worth it. Even if ins costs you $1000 over 2 years and you save $3000 it is worth it. So check it out!

#42 Post by **bbsadmin** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 3:52 pm

Just remember, most plans (whether they be insurance or discount) only pay for NEW treatment, not for treatment that is already in progress.

#43 Post by **Joual** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 10:40 am

For my treatment, I paid $250 the day I got records, another $250 five weeks later (the day the put on the molar bands) and then I pay $80/month for 20 months. My insurance pays $2000 and I pay $2000.

#44 Post by **mostro** » Sat Jun 17, 2006 10:58 am

I have had crocked teeth since I was about 12. One otrho daid I needed to grow first and then some procedure could be done. Then I went to the ortho some years later but I was still too inmature to realize how important braces were so I didn`t want them. Then I went to study in Canada (I am peruvian) for four years and I knew I couldnÂ´t get ortho done from a long distance (the treatment is way less expensive in peru) so I just waited. I recently came back from Canada and was lucky enough to have the motivation and dough to finally get it done. I got Damon 3's a few days ago and feel comfortable with them. The otrho says 12 months should be good enough for me.

Braces are soooo expensive in the U.S and most of the first world countries. And the problem is that most people do not have a medical insurance that covers this kind of treatment. I am very lucky to be able to afford them here in Peru.

regards to all.

#45 Post by **ohmyjaw** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:03 am

Hi Dimples,
I hope everything works out for you - I am sure you will find a way!

I decided I had to get braces no matter what the cost was. I just couldn't live with my teeth anymore. I don't have any insurance at all, so I am just working as hard as I can. I saved for a year for my down-payment, and now I am on an installment plan. I have a full-time job plus two little part-time jobs.

I just decided I was going to do whatever it took!