Paying for braces..

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#1 Post by **rockexrolloh** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:11 pm

Hey guys. I know I've made like 3 post since last night but I have so many questions.

When did you guys pay for your braces? My parents are divorced and are making monthly payments but my dad has offered to pay the down payment.

Do you usually pay the down payment when you actually get your braces on or before?

I know I can just call my ortho tomorrow but I am SO impatient. I figured I'd see what you all had to say.
I made an appointment for April 19th to get the molds of my teeth so they can send them to the Ormco company. It takes around 5 weeks just to get everything back. Then my dad told me he wouldn't have the down payment until the beginning of May. I'm hoping they won't need it when I get my molds.

Thanks everyone!

#2 Post by **altinure** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:24 pm

My orthodontist sends my parents a bill for $145 every month.

#3 Post by **Flora2006** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:25 pm

Hey, congrats on getting braces soon!! Let us know how this new kind works!!

To answer your questions, I am paying for my braces monthly. My total cost is 5500$ CAN. I made a 1400 down payment and have to pay over 200$ a month. I am 99% sure that you need to make the down payment the day you get your braces...OR you could talk to your ortho about it.

#4 Post by **rockexrolloh** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:27 pm

Thanks for all your help guys! I will definitely be calling my orthodontist but I just wanted to see how all of you did it.
We have to pay $860 as a down payment and $245 every month. Just wasn't sure when the down payment was needed.

#5 Post by **adollface** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:21 pm

For me I decided how much I could afford to put down and than my monthly payments were based on that. I put down $300 when I had my records appointment (molds, x-rays, and pics) and I pay $155 a month. For my daughter we are putting down $280 and her payments are only $92 a month but she is only getting partial braces and a herbst appl. and only has to wear it all for a year! Wish I was so lucky!! Anyway, I'm almost done with treatment but not payments (one to two months of treatment and five more months of payments). My ortho's office is really flexible on the payment thing and works with you (they have all either had treatment or have kids who have had treatment so they understand).

Amy
Damon 2's top and bottom
braced 12-16-04

#6 Post by **OneTime** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 10:16 pm

My agreement didn't have to do a down payment. I pay 120 for 24 months.

#7 Post by **rockexrolloh** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:06 pm

KK, I actually have 2 more months until I turn 18, haha. Both my parents are middle class. We're not wealthy or anything, haha. I offered to pay but they wouldn't let me. I do have to pay help my mom out with other bills and such. I've needed braces all my life but my parents could only afford braces for one person and that ended up being my mom. Oh well. Things are coming together now.

I'm getting my hopes up that I won't need the down payment until I actually get my braces. I'd hate to have to move back the appointment for my molds. I'm just too dang excited. I want them NOW! Guess I'll find out tomorrow.

#8 Post by **paw655** » Tue Mar 14, 2006 11:51 pm

Technically, in the US, the ortho should not charge the full downpayment until the services is provided (i.e. you get braced). At your impressions appoinment you will certainly be asked to pay the full cost of the records fee, which is generally 300-500 depending on the ortho and what they do.

You've probably seen the sign at dentist's offices saying "Payment due when services rendered." Meaning you need to pay for whatever is done that day. The inverse is generally true, if the office is cooperative, meaning they will NOT ask you to pay for something (even a downpayment) until the "service" (bracing) is rendered.

So what types of braces are you hoping to get?

#9 Post by **rockexrolloh** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:03 am

Thank you Paw655. That all seems to make sense.

I am getting Insignia braces. I guess they are fairly new and not too many ortho's use them yet. They are suppose to speed up the treatment time and are specially designed only for my teeth. That is why I have to have molds sent to Ormco and wait 5 weeks to get the brackets and wires back. I wish I could find some people who have had these types of braces before. It makes me so nervous. Hopefully, they'll work well.

#10 Post by **Sillygirl** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:27 am

My husband has really good insurance, they will pay for most of the ortho bill.
But when we discussed it originally, they wanted the records fee the day I had the impressions done (350.00). After that, when the treatment started (with me, when the expander went on) they wanted a monthly payment of around 200.00 until paid off.

#11 Post by **jennandtonic** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:20 am

I paid for everything in full the day I got my braces on. I'd saved for a long time to get them, so paying in full felt GOOOOD.

Plus they said I'd have to go through a finance company if I wanted to make payments, and I'd rather not do that.

#12 Post by **Dark_angel** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:10 pm

rockexrolloh wrote:KK, I actually have 2 more months until I turn 18, haha

Same here, cant wait to be 18. When in May are you 18?

#13 Post by **leeg** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:21 pm

I am one of the very very fortunate few who is getting all his treatment 100% free!

The reason is I have a severe overbite and without braces and an operation within three or five years I would be unable to even bite down together. I was meant to have braces when I was 16 but I was lazy and irressponisble then so i didn't get them done.

I am 25 years old and from London, England. And as I come from an excessively poor background, I appreciate just how unbelivably fortunate I am to be getting this treatment.

#14 Post by **kirst1583** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:27 am

For me it was a down payment of just over $1000. I think about $1200 and that was on the day they were put on.
Then every 3mths I paid $550 - so all up the payments were spread over 1 and 1/2 years (i think cos that's the absolute minimum time I would've had them). I'm pretty sure with my ortho that debanding doesn't happen till he has all his money.. but my year and 1/2 was up a long time ago so there's no dramas there!

#15 Post by **August1** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:18 pm

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

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