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I had a consultation Friday and am almost starting the braces process and have some questions.
- Do people negotiate price with their orthodontists?
- I mentioned I may be getting married during my treatment time and he said that they can remove my braces, polish my teeth, and put them back on after the wedding. They didn't add a cost to my quote for doing this. Is that normal? Would most places charge extra? (Wondering if I should ask for more discount if I pay it all up front, or if this gesture is worth a lot of money already)
- Anyone struggle between whether or not to get ceramic or clear (inspire!) and then decided to get metal due to cost?
There was no negotiating when I got my estimate. I recieved a final cost, and I could choose to pay upfront or to pay in installments. However, I go to a larger "chain" sort of office and not a small private office so it would be worth asking if there was a discount for pre-payment.
Dont feel shy about asking questions, it is a lot of money. I think that many of us feel out of our element and intimidated so we dont ask - but if we were ordering a $10 burger and had a question we wouldnt hesitate to ask would we?
As far as the ceramic or metal- it is a personal choice. I choose metal b/c my husband encouraged me to feel confident about them and not to worry about whether ppl can see them or not. But, I do see why some ppl choose the ceramic ( business professionals, public speaking, etc) and some ppl feel very selfconcious about having them so the ceramic is a great choice for them.
good luck with your decision and dont worry, either choice is a good choice!
No negotiating whatsoever. There was however a 5% discount if I paid everything upfront. In the grand scheme of things, that little 5% was under $300 so......
My twin sister chose ceramic braces, and kept telling me that I should chose the ceramic as well. When I went for my consultation, I found that the Damon 3s, are a lot smaller than normal ceramic brackets, I only have to get adjusted about every 2 months, vs every 4-6 wks, and there was less pain experienced. All of this was enough to convince me not to get the ceramics.
It was hard for me to get adjusted to, and I am still not all the way adjusted, but I believe that it is all about self confidence.
I have a girlfriend who is getting married next year with her braces on. Her fiancee also got them, so they could have them together.
There was no negotiating here either. My sister and I got a discount since we got ours at the same time and she referred me.
As for marriage, I got married 3 months after I got braces. My ortho told me they could take them off, but I decided that is too much of a pain in the butt to go through. The process of getting them on was long so I didn't want to that again. It was fine though. All my pictures came out great! They looked better than they would have if I had no braces! Plus, just as getting married was an important event in my life, so was getting braces, so I decided I wanted them on to remind me of the special time in my life.
Hi - Yeah, I was told of the cost and the payment plan with a discount offered if I paid up front (yeah right). As far as the ceramic/metal my ortho preferred metal as he said they were smaller, less painful to remove and generally just a better product for the job. At the beginning I was a little worried about getting metal for appearance reasons but now that I have them they don't really bother me - it's all about the end result for me
Good luck with whatever you decide - Keep us posted!
"Welcome to wherever you are - this is your life, you've made it this far..."
In Braces for 15 months - Debanded Feb 07
Am I Enjoying It? "Hell Yes!"
Thanks for everyone's replies. I'm so glad I found this site. The clear vs metal is a big price different at the office I am going to. I guess I'll just get metal since everyone I know, knows I'm going to get braces - family, friends, AND work people! (Some found out sort of by accident). Getting the clear braces could cost me a laptop! About the same price. I guess I won't negotitate....seems too greedy. But the dr seems really good and said that by the time I get married (possibly next fall/winter), my teeth will be perfectly straight. He just wants to keep them on for detail work, etc....whatever that means! I plan to get my braces sometime in January. Just have some work to do before hand like getting my teeth cleaned, and then 4 teeth pulled out!
noppi wrote:I had a consultation Friday and am almost starting the braces process and have some questions.
- Do people negotiate price with their orthodontists?
- I mentioned I may be getting married during my treatment time and he said that they can remove my braces, polish my teeth, and put them back on after the wedding. They didn't add a cost to my quote for doing this. Is that normal? Would most places charge extra? (Wondering if I should ask for more discount if I pay it all up front, or if this gesture is worth a lot of money already)
- Anyone struggle between whether or not to get ceramic or clear (inspire!) and then decided to get metal due to cost?
Thanks.
I went to one ortho initally who told me I needed braces on for 22 months, and it would cost $6,000. My teeth are straight, but my front teeth were shifting and I wanted to correct it before it went any further (I'm 26). I wasn't happy with the ortho, OR the cost, so I went to another ortho who my friend recommended. He put braces on last month...I will have them on for 6 months, AND they cost me $2900....HALF of what the first ortho told me. I am much more at ease with my ortho, he's been in practice for 26 years, and answered all my questions that I had.
Maybe you should get a second opinion?
