About how much did y'all pay for your kids' full set of braces (with insurance)? Is this something to shop around for?
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Cost of Braces?
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Last: 2 mo ago by P.H. Dexippus
Best to find a good ortho who will do the job right and whose office is available to do adjustments and fix crap on short notice. Believe me stuff will break and you will want to schedule appts on a Saturday or same day. Accept the fact its going to cost a lot (4-5k with "insurance"...not sure and every kid different), trying to go ultra cheap probably won't be worth it.
Thank you, my thoughts too!!
Is Invisalign an option in lieu of braces? We have done that with ours. Takes longer, but cheaper. I was worried the kids would lose/break them and then the cost goes up significantly, but they've surprised me and been very responsible with them
megs03 said:
About how much did y'all pay for your kids' full set of braces (with insurance)? Is this something to shop around for?
Ever gone broke?
Near there between private school tuition & unemployment.
I think we averaged between $5-$6k per kid.
It's been a few years, but I think my son's were around $5-$6k. As others have said, find an ortho that's convenient - you will be making a lot of visits. Also find one where the price is all-inclusive. We were never charged another penny above the two payments I made. This even included the retainers they made for him when the braces came off.
Regarding insurance, I am on an HDHP, and I found that an LPFSA worked out to be about the same as "upgrading" my dental coverage for an ortho benefit. The upgraded dental coverage had a benefits cap, so I was going to be paying most of it OOP anyway. Basically, an LPFSA is a "limited purpose" FSA for those specifically on high deductible plans.
The LPFSA is tax-free (which is where you get the savings), and the ortho office worked with me to get the funds contributed and make the two payments. It worked out to be two separate payments because there is a yearly cap on how much you put into the LPSA (and that cap was less than the cost of the braces).
You want to make sure you have an accurate quote for the cost because LPFSAs are "use it or lose it", and what you can use LPFSA funds for is even more restrictive than traditional FSAs.
Basically, the tax savings on my LPFSA contribution was roughly equal to the premiums I would have had to pay to upgrade my dental plan plus the very small ortho benefit it would have provided.
Regarding insurance, I am on an HDHP, and I found that an LPFSA worked out to be about the same as "upgrading" my dental coverage for an ortho benefit. The upgraded dental coverage had a benefits cap, so I was going to be paying most of it OOP anyway. Basically, an LPFSA is a "limited purpose" FSA for those specifically on high deductible plans.
The LPFSA is tax-free (which is where you get the savings), and the ortho office worked with me to get the funds contributed and make the two payments. It worked out to be two separate payments because there is a yearly cap on how much you put into the LPSA (and that cap was less than the cost of the braces).
You want to make sure you have an accurate quote for the cost because LPFSAs are "use it or lose it", and what you can use LPFSA funds for is even more restrictive than traditional FSAs.
Basically, the tax savings on my LPFSA contribution was roughly equal to the premiums I would have had to pay to upgrade my dental plan plus the very small ortho benefit it would have provided.
If you have dental insurance it will cover 50% up to a certain amount, depending on plan ot could be upwards to $2500, most plans will be $2000 or under, you're responsible for the remaining balance, generally in monthly installments…I want to say it was around $4500 total, or so when my kids went through braces, we were responsible for $3000.
This is where white culture needs a massive overhaul...white men will lament paying a few thousand to make sure their child isn't made fun of for the rest of their life and that they are able to land a steady job...while they buy $90k 3/4 ton pickup trucks they don't need, book guided hunts, buy monogrammed John Hart hunting gear, $150 Peter millar golf shirts, $150 meals at the Tex Mex restaurant...you get the idea.
We have got to start doing better as a people. I am 1/16th Cherokee, so I feel like I am pretty keen on spotting the flaws of the white man, while still maintaining a sense of optimism. We've got this!
We have got to start doing better as a people. I am 1/16th Cherokee, so I feel like I am pretty keen on spotting the flaws of the white man, while still maintaining a sense of optimism. We've got this!
MelvinUdall said:
If you have dental insurance it will cover 50% up to a certain amount, depending on plan ot could be upwards to $2500, most plans will be $2000 or under, you're responsible for the remaining balance, generally in monthly installments…I want to say it was around $4500 total, or so when my kids went through braces, we were responsible for $3000.
This is how ours worked too.
Also depending on how old your kids are just be prepared that they're likely going to need 2 rounds of braces. Both my kids had them at 8-9 to fix their bite and expand the upper jaw and will need them again once their adult teeth come in at 12 or whatever
Having just done Invisalign myself, probably about 5-7K.
Just finished my son's less than a year ago. I can't recommend these guys enough. They have the visits down to an art form. And with insurance, I paid around $3,300 out of pocket. Paid it all up front and was never charged anything else from the time we started until finished and left with the one retainer. About as good of an experience as I could have imagined. We usually went to the Fallbrook location, but once went to the Voss/Woodway location.
Home - Texas Orthodontic Specialists
Home - Texas Orthodontic Specialists
I was in the room here one day... watchin' the Mexican channel on TV. I don't know nothin' about Pele. I'm watchin' what this guy can do with a ball and his feet. Next thing I know, he jumps in the air and flips into a somersault and kicks the ball in - upside down and backwards... the dang (sc) goalie never knew what the hell hit him. Pele gets excited and he rips off his jersey and starts running around the stadium waving it around his head. Everybody's screaming in Spanish. I'
William Foster said:
This is where white culture needs a massive overhaul...white men will lament paying a few thousand to make sure their child isn't made fun of for the rest of their life and that they are able to land a steady job...while they buy $90k 3/4 ton pickup trucks they don't need, book guided hunts, buy monogrammed John Hart hunting gear, $150 Peter millar golf shirts, $150 meals at the Tex Mex restaurant...you get the idea.
We have got to start doing better as a people. I am 1/16th Cherokee, so I feel like I am pretty keen on spotting the flaws of the white man, while still maintaining a sense of optimism. We've got this!
this gets my vote for strangest reply!
evestor1 said:William Foster said:
This is where white culture needs a massive overhaul...white men will lament paying a few thousand to make sure their child isn't made fun of for the rest of their life and that they are able to land a steady job...while they buy $90k 3/4 ton pickup trucks they don't need, book guided hunts, buy monogrammed John Hart hunting gear, $150 Peter millar golf shirts, $150 meals at the Tex Mex restaurant...you get the idea.
We have got to start doing better as a people. I am 1/16th Cherokee, so I feel like I am pretty keen on spotting the flaws of the white man, while still maintaining a sense of optimism. We've got this!
this gets my vote for strangest reply!
evestor1 said:William Foster said:
This is where white culture needs a massive overhaul...white men will lament paying a few thousand to make sure their child isn't made fun of for the rest of their life and that they are able to land a steady job...while they buy $90k 3/4 ton pickup trucks they don't need, book guided hunts, buy monogrammed John Hart hunting gear, $150 Peter millar golf shirts, $150 meals at the Tex Mex restaurant...you get the idea.
We have got to start doing better as a people. I am 1/16th Cherokee, so I feel like I am pretty keen on spotting the flaws of the white man, while still maintaining a sense of optimism. We've got this!
this gets my vote for strangest reply!
Just another weekly Boo Weekley sock.
Username checks out.
William Foster said:
This is where white culture needs a massive overhaul...white men will lament paying a few thousand to make sure their child isn't made fun of for the rest of their life and that they are able to land a steady job...while they buy $90k 3/4 ton pickup trucks they don't need, book guided hunts, buy monogrammed John Hart hunting gear, $150 Peter millar golf shirts, $150 meals at the Tex Mex restaurant...you get the idea.
We have got to start doing better as a people. I am 1/16th Cherokee, so I feel like I am pretty keen on spotting the flaws of the white man, while still maintaining a sense of optimism. We've got this!
How old did you wait for the kids to get before braces? I figure you want to wait for a couple bicycle, high dive, or skateboarding accidents before you go all in.
William Foster said:
This is where white culture needs a massive overhaul...white men will lament paying a few thousand to make sure their child isn't made fun of for the rest of their life and that they are able to land a steady job...while they buy $90k 3/4 ton pickup trucks they don't need, book guided hunts, buy monogrammed John Hart hunting gear, $150 Peter millar golf shirts, $150 meals at the Tex Mex restaurant...you get the idea.
We have got to start doing better as a people. I am 1/16th Cherokee, so I feel like I am pretty keen on spotting the flaws of the white man, while still maintaining a sense of optimism. We've got this!
Sorry my kids aren't British.
We used Orthotex for both our kids and they did a great job and were always available on short notice. With our insurance it was $2500 flat for each kid.
Ours does a "first round" and a "second round." Not sure why this is the case these days, back then we'd just go years with braces all at once. In Katy ours is around $3k which included expander beforehand. Ortho is $$$$.
Be leery of any that do it TOO fast.
This can lead to very expensive and painful gum grafting surgeries when your kids are adults.
This can lead to very expensive and painful gum grafting surgeries when your kids are adults.
JobSecurity said:MelvinUdall said:
If you have dental insurance it will cover 50% up to a certain amount, depending on plan ot could be upwards to $2500, most plans will be $2000 or under, you're responsible for the remaining balance, generally in monthly installments…I want to say it was around $4500 total, or so when my kids went through braces, we were responsible for $3000.
This is how ours worked too.
Also depending on how old your kids are just be prepared that they're likely going to need 2 rounds of braces. Both my kids had them at 8-9 to fix their bite and expand the upper jaw and will need them again once their adult teeth come in at 12 or whatever
I'm so confused by this respones. The VAST majority of kids have already lost their baby teeth by 8-9. You'r didn't? But you put braces on their baby teeth just a few months before they lost them anyway? Is there a reason you don't just wait until their adult teeth come in a fix that?
Sincerly, "bracing myself for response"
Principal Uncertainty said:JobSecurity said:MelvinUdall said:
If you have dental insurance it will cover 50% up to a certain amount, depending on plan ot could be upwards to $2500, most plans will be $2000 or under, you're responsible for the remaining balance, generally in monthly installments…I want to say it was around $4500 total, or so when my kids went through braces, we were responsible for $3000.
This is how ours worked too.
Also depending on how old your kids are just be prepared that they're likely going to need 2 rounds of braces. Both my kids had them at 8-9 to fix their bite and expand the upper jaw and will need them again once their adult teeth come in at 12 or whatever
I'm so confused by this respones. The VAST majority of kids have already lost their baby teeth by 8-9. You'r didn't? But you put braces on their baby teeth just a few months before they lost them anyway? Is there a reason you don't just wait until their adult teeth come in a fix that?
Sincerly, "bracing myself for response"
It's using the existing adult teeth to help adjust the growth of the bite and existing teeth coming in…my kids did not go through this, but it is common as they do X-rays and can see the growth of the new teeth and the bite…we can debate if it is worth it or not, but it basically taking what may take 3+ years to fix to maybe 2 fully.
Not sure if I "braced" it enough for you.
I used to own a car repair shop back when my oldest needed her braces. The ortho and I agreed he'd do the braces no charge and I'd fix anything that any of his family's cars needed during the the duration of her treatment. Cost me one 4 wheel brake job and an alternator.
I feel so much better since about 11 a.m. CT on 20 Jan. 2025
nm
Most kids lose their last baby teeth around 12. Not 8/9
Invisalign can very easily be more expensive depending on how many trays the dr has to use to achieve desired movement
Like lots of things in life, you get what you pay for (with some diminishing returns). I'd talk to as many friends as I could and get a referral to someone they were very pleased with
On a more macabre note, my orthodontist growing up would advertise (and fully support) a lifetime guarantee on his work. If your retaining wire broke 10 years later, he'd fix it for free.
Well sadly he passed away suddenly. I believe it was a skiing accident of all things. The business got sold and the new ortho said he wouldn't honor the free part of the lifetime guarantee.
So it was a lifetime guarantee, but just his life not mine.
It made me stop and think that is how most lifetime guarantees actually work.
Well sadly he passed away suddenly. I believe it was a skiing accident of all things. The business got sold and the new ortho said he wouldn't honor the free part of the lifetime guarantee.
So it was a lifetime guarantee, but just his life not mine.
It made me stop and think that is how most lifetime guarantees actually work.
Wearer of the Ring said:
I used to own a car repair shop back when my oldest needed her braces. The ortho and I agreed he'd do the braces no charge and I'd fix anything that any of his family's cars needed during the the duration of her treatment. Cost me one 4 wheel brake job and an alternator.
Sounds like the orthodontist missed a real opportunity to own a classic European sports car.
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