Metal Mouth Message Board

My mom and I are having a disagreement. She's telling me to pay him up front most of it this month while I'm telling her to pay him little by little since that's what this site says. How did you do it? Pay it up front or pay little by little?

Does the ortho offer a discount for paying up front in full?

UGHBRACES wrote:Does the ortho offer a discount for paying up front in full?

Yes

I paid up front given that the ortho discounted by $800 for doing so.

Another reason I paid up front was for tax purposes. Had I paid out monthly over two years I would not have reached the amount allowed for medical deductions in any one year.

I paid the entire amount up front and got a 10% discount.

I pay monthly. My employer gives a yearly allowance for anything medical. The allowance won't cover the full cost so with a 2 year estimate on braces I can use 2 years worth of that to help pay. I also put pre-tax money in that allowance. At least for me - I pay less out of my own pocket by doing monthly. Just wanted to say keep stuff like that in mind when deciding.

I have been paying monthly payments after taking out a loan. If you have the money already then paying it off and getting a discount seems to be the most logical. A lot of people just do monthly because that's what they can afford.

I pay monthly for many reasons:

1) I don't have the total amount I owe (over $5,000) just lying around to pay it all up front
2.) My ortho doesn't charge interest so no need for me to take out a loan and pay interest.
3.) My insurance company pays me and not the ortho so I know my 3rd and 6th payments are coming from the insurance company.
4.) I would rather not give away all my money in case something happens down the line..
5.) I would prefer to pay as I go, what if I am not happy with the service and care I am getting?

In the end, it depends on how much money you want to part with, how stable your income is...you need to know you have to make a payment every month.

I paid as much as I could up front. It's nice to walk in and out of the ortho office with just a slip with my next appointment on it. I'll need to make another payment in February since that's how far I had paid in advance. It worked for us.

GiverSSJ wrote:My mom and I are having a disagreement. She's telling me to pay him up front most of it this month while I'm telling her to pay him little by little since that's what this site says. How did you do it? Pay it up front or pay little by little?

I paid a large chunk up front and am now paying in installations. I suggest paying as much as you can up front so you don't have to worry about it!

I paid a large amount at the beginning and now I am paying monthly. I don't think my ortho gives a discount if you pay it all up front, but if he did I might have paid it all up front.

The risk of paying it all upfront is this: there have been a few cases of unscrupulous orthodontists closing their practices without notice and disappearing. Most dentists and orthodontists are honest and would not do this. However, you should know that it HAS happened, and the patients were left holding the bag with no recourse.

bbsadmin wrote:The risk of paying it all upfront is this: there have been a few cases of unscrupulous orthodontists closing their practices without notice and disappearing. Most dentists and orthodontists are honest and would not do this. However, you should know that it HAS happened, and the patients were left holding the bag with no recourse.

Well said here I was already done with treatment and such and called to have my 1 year retainer check done well the office is no more they closed there office unexpectedly

I pay monthly cuz that's how I can afford it. But getting a discount would be nice!

SDFD TSchott wrote:

bbsadmin wrote:The risk of paying it all upfront is this: there have been a few cases of unscrupulous orthodontists closing their practices without notice and disappearing. Most dentists and orthodontists are honest and would not do this. However, you should know that it HAS happened, and the patients were left holding the bag with no recourse.

Well said here I was already done with treatment and such and called to have my 1 year retainer check done well the office is no more they closed there office unexpectedly

Wow. What happened?