Fendigirl, I would go to a few other orthodontists and see how much they quote you. Consultations with orthodontists are usually free and they will always give you at least a ballpark figure of what you can expect to pay.
A lot of offices also offer interest free financing... that is what I am doing.
But $10k for braces seems like too much to me.. I have a very complicated case and I am paying no where near that...
No Insurance - Which Insurance Company would cover?
Moderator: bbsadmin
I plan to get additional quotes. I just thought I would start with some recommendations as not all orthodontists can handle orthagnathic cases or are at least not extremely experienced with it. This will be my 3rd time around with braces and they each cost me about 1/3 of this. I am being quoted $10,000 by an orthodontist who deals almost exclusively with orthagnathic cases and often works in collabo w/ my Kaiser surgeon.evelinany wrote:Fendigirl, I would go to a few other orthodontists and see how much they quote you. Consultations with orthodontists are usually free and they will always give you at least a ballpark figure of what you can expect to pay.
A lot of offices also offer interest free financing... that is what I am doing.
But $10k for braces seems like too much to me.. I have a very complicated case and I am paying no where near that...
If anyone here has a ortho who has more reasonable prices....I would love to hear from you.
Thank you!
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consumetake
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:43 am
$10,000 for orthodontic treatment seems really excessive. My ortho told me he was charging me an extra $400 because I was a surgical case, and would result in some more time in planning, etc.
I know the price of braces varies, but the $4000 to $6000 range seems to be commonplace. I can't recall ever hearing anything above the $7000 range.
If I were you I'd shop around unless you REALLY like this specific doctor. Let's be honest, somebody that you have a great rapport with and you know you will trust is definitely worth some extra money.
Also, a previous poster mentioned financing plans. All Orthodontists will offer this, and my advice is take advantage of them. Don't get suckered into the "pay all up front" discount, because if you have disagreements or fall out during treatment, you have absolutely no recourse if they already have all your money. A very common financing plan is 10% down with the rest of the payments spread out over 12 to 18 months, and few if any will charge you interest.
Good Luck to you.
-Chicago29
I know the price of braces varies, but the $4000 to $6000 range seems to be commonplace. I can't recall ever hearing anything above the $7000 range.
If I were you I'd shop around unless you REALLY like this specific doctor. Let's be honest, somebody that you have a great rapport with and you know you will trust is definitely worth some extra money.
Also, a previous poster mentioned financing plans. All Orthodontists will offer this, and my advice is take advantage of them. Don't get suckered into the "pay all up front" discount, because if you have disagreements or fall out during treatment, you have absolutely no recourse if they already have all your money. A very common financing plan is 10% down with the rest of the payments spread out over 12 to 18 months, and few if any will charge you interest.
Good Luck to you.
-Chicago29
Kaiser and insurance question
Hey all, I'm new to the board =).
I was reading through this thread that people are not recommending to see an OS until one has insurance. It makes sense to me as it may lead to "pre-existing condition". So I'm curious to get your opinions if I may have dug myself in the hole for a pre-existing condition....
I'm currently 24. 7 years ago I went to see an orthodontist, who referred me to an OS. The OS said I was a candidate for orthognathics surgery. At that time the insurance approved me. However, he didn't feel confident to proceed because I was young and my jaw may continue to grow. So, I gave up with the idea of going through surgery/braces. After college and getting a job I have new health insurance plans to choose from; I chose Healthnet HMO plan. I revisited the Ortho and OS I had seen previously. So we went through the same process and basically the office manager tells me that a HMO plan will likely not cover this insurance; she states a PPO plan would give me a better chance. (Reasoning is a HMO capitates its fund to the medical group; medical group will disperse sparsely, whereas PPO plans funds are not dispersed until procedures are done). That means when I switch over to a Healthnet PPO plan we can get started and eventually start the pre-authorization process somewhere down he road. The thing is from what I've read there is a lot of stress: denials, appeals involved. I am too assuming that the surgeon I selected, who is well known in the bay area (Dr. Calvin Lee/Fujimoto), is likely private, not part of a network. SO, reading many threads, I have discovered Kaiser to be a better route - I think? So if I were to switch to Kaiser in December, would they know that I have gone to see an OS and consider me to having a pre-existing condition?
I'm stuck in an ordeal as my job only allows me to switch health insurance once a year. Damn open enrollment! So if Kaiser doesn't work, I'd have to wait another year to switch to Healthnet PPO and try another route. That's a very long time... and so I'm not planning to start braces until I switch insurance and get an idea if it will be approved? Is this a smart idea? AHh I'm so confused. But this forum has been really helpful.
I have a cross bite, upper jaw is narrow and my lower is wide. My lower jaw grew to the left, giving my face visual asymmetry. I have clicking on my right side w/ pain sometimes associated with it. Jaw does lock up once in a while, which is always SCARY.
Thanks for any response/feedback/suggestions...
I was reading through this thread that people are not recommending to see an OS until one has insurance. It makes sense to me as it may lead to "pre-existing condition". So I'm curious to get your opinions if I may have dug myself in the hole for a pre-existing condition....
I'm currently 24. 7 years ago I went to see an orthodontist, who referred me to an OS. The OS said I was a candidate for orthognathics surgery. At that time the insurance approved me. However, he didn't feel confident to proceed because I was young and my jaw may continue to grow. So, I gave up with the idea of going through surgery/braces. After college and getting a job I have new health insurance plans to choose from; I chose Healthnet HMO plan. I revisited the Ortho and OS I had seen previously. So we went through the same process and basically the office manager tells me that a HMO plan will likely not cover this insurance; she states a PPO plan would give me a better chance. (Reasoning is a HMO capitates its fund to the medical group; medical group will disperse sparsely, whereas PPO plans funds are not dispersed until procedures are done). That means when I switch over to a Healthnet PPO plan we can get started and eventually start the pre-authorization process somewhere down he road. The thing is from what I've read there is a lot of stress: denials, appeals involved. I am too assuming that the surgeon I selected, who is well known in the bay area (Dr. Calvin Lee/Fujimoto), is likely private, not part of a network. SO, reading many threads, I have discovered Kaiser to be a better route - I think? So if I were to switch to Kaiser in December, would they know that I have gone to see an OS and consider me to having a pre-existing condition?
I'm stuck in an ordeal as my job only allows me to switch health insurance once a year. Damn open enrollment! So if Kaiser doesn't work, I'd have to wait another year to switch to Healthnet PPO and try another route. That's a very long time... and so I'm not planning to start braces until I switch insurance and get an idea if it will be approved? Is this a smart idea? AHh I'm so confused. But this forum has been really helpful.
I have a cross bite, upper jaw is narrow and my lower is wide. My lower jaw grew to the left, giving my face visual asymmetry. I have clicking on my right side w/ pain sometimes associated with it. Jaw does lock up once in a while, which is always SCARY.
Thanks for any response/feedback/suggestions...