Advices on dental brace?

• 

  voiletmay on 09/04/2015 - 18:08

  +3

  My daughter had braces a few years ago. Expect to pay $6,000-9,000. Extremely unlikely that you would pay less. My daughter had "damon" braces which were a type that didn't require extractions.

  Ask around to get the idea of which is the best orthodontist in your local area, mothers of teenagers are the ones who know most about orthondontists LOL!! Also you want their clinic within easy access of home or work as you will have to go regularly for checkup/adjustments or if there is anything wrong (eg. wire comes off and it is stabbing the inside of your mouth).

  Our orthodontist had a great payment plan - I think it was $1000 upfront and then paid it off ($200 at a time) over quite a few years (maybe 3). My daughter got braces in year 10 and is still seeing the othodontist now (third year uni) - she has a clear plate (upper and lower) that she needs to wear a few nights a week, and it will might still be 1-2 years of wearing it before she can stop wearing it. So it is a long process. The braces part is probably the quickest.

  • 

    agito1993 on 09/04/2015 - 20:25

    $6k - $9k …Noooo… T_T…
    Wait… By clear plate did you mean invisalign? If so then that's alright, as I am getting the metal brace which hopefully should be cheaper. Otherwise I might reconsider getting the brace or not…
    Thank you so much for your info!!!

    • 

      swiggity swag on 09/04/2015 - 23:57

      +2

      The clear plate is a retainer you get after the braces come off to stop the teeth shifting back.

• 

  bhm133 on 09/04/2015 - 20:15

  +1

  Exactly what violetmay said. Especially the wire stabbing into your mouth. I have braces now (I'm older) and the wire at the ends where it inserts into the last bracket on back teeth can be pointy.

  My 2 cents is to shop around. I'd also look at an orthodontist as opposed to a dentist doing the work. A dentist will be cheaper but they won't be as skilled or knowledgeable, especially if you have a cross bite or difficult alignment. The cost for me was 7k minus 1k from insurance. So 6k all up. My teeth are pretty straight forward. Had the braces on for a year now and starting to work on my cross bite with elastics. Overall, I'm happy with the work done so far. Shop around as prices vary a lot as do repayment plans!

  Good luck! Braces are a good investment, especially if you are worried about your crooked teeth. Bugged me for years and years.

  • 

    agito1993 on 09/04/2015 - 20:32

    Thanks heaps for your info!
    $6k… OMG…
    May I ask what kind of braces did you get? The complete metal one or ceramic one?…

    • 

      bhm133 on 10/04/2015 - 22:00

      Ceramic. That is why the cost was higher.

• 

  colbus123 on 09/04/2015 - 21:00

  +3

  Mate, just face the music. Braces are very expensive but they are worth every cent if done properly. Don't try to skimp and save or else you won't get the outcome with your teeth that you want.

  • 

    Banana on 09/04/2015 - 21:07

    +2

    +1 that.
    You cannot buy that confidence else where!
    Mine cost 5.8K + 400 for extractions. But the smile I have right now is worth every cent I paid. Just wear your retainers (for the rest of your life as your teeth continue to move as you age) and you know that the money was well spent.

    • 

      altomic on 09/04/2015 - 21:51

      +4

      You cannot buy that confidence else where!

      cocaine

• 

  jennkei on 09/04/2015 - 21:03

  +1

  My brother is getting them done, metal braces, 6.3k package (retainers, consultations, x-rays etc included) at an orthodontist. Interest-free payment plan with deposit. The brackets don't look that big even though it's the normal system, not Damon (which is supposed to be smaller) — I've heard ceramic isn't good for teeth.

  If you're after Invisalign, and have a mild case or one of those that can be moved by the system (side rather than up-down, or something..), there're plenty of places that offer free first consultations if you wanna see how it'll be.

  If you've been on Medibank for a while, depending on your level of cover, you'll be able to claim some back. i.e. ours was lifetime limit $2,400 and yearly limit $750.

  • 

    Banana on 09/04/2015 - 21:11

    +1

    I had half ceramic half metal, my teeth are perfectly fine. Ceramic is less noticeable but I didn't mind the braces look at all. My youngest sister has Damon ATM and she is trying to delay her treatment. She just loves them so much!

    My cousin has Invisalign and she doesn't like them. However on the plus side she lost 10KG because it is so inconvenient to eat ( You have to take them off during meal time, brush teeth after meal, put them back on)

• 

  Davo1111 on 09/04/2015 - 21:29

  +1

  but does the cost of extraction/removal of teeth counted in orthordontics or major dental?

  no, orthos dont remove teeth

  But is that the case for every orthodontist?

  only way is to ask, afaik it was around 20% for me

• 

  minniethemoocher on 09/04/2015 - 22:52

  You shouldn't assume you need braces for bucked teeth, because of my bite it looked like I had bucked teeth but I didn't. You could need an operation to correct your bite or something similar. $4 K sounds too cheap to be honest, but what ever you pay if they do a good job it will be worth every penny.

• 

  bargainfan on 10/04/2015 - 00:13

  +1

  I've got braces now. $6000 for the metal braces and retainers etc. from the orthodontist. Probably about $1000 on extractions at the dentist and some extra hygienist stuff I probably wouldn't of needed without the braces. Some x-rays at my local x-ray place, probably under $100.

  The x-rays I claimed on medicare, the dentist and hygienist had to be paid up front at my usual dentist office and the orthodontist was paid over time at about $250 a month, I think I paid a deposit but it wasn't huge. From memory I could of paid upfront and saved $300-$400.

  All worth it in my opinion, I shouldn't of waited so long.

• 

  altomic on 10/04/2015 - 08:57

  So long dental plan.

• 

  paulinspace on 10/04/2015 - 09:24

  +1

  Best money you will ever spend. Its so nice to finally have straight teeth. 3 years later I still can't get over the feeling of those nice straight lines.

  Teeth extraction is not done much these days. They tend to find that the extractions cause more problems than they solve. I don't think invisalign do it at all.

  But you will be committing to a lifetime of wearing retainers at night. And they will need replacing every few years as they lose their strength and also get very dirty.

  Invisalign is invisible and can be removed to eat or for those social nights out where you want to be "normal". But they cost more, they get smelly (espc overnight) because they enclose the teeth in plastic and do tend to take longer, mainly because people aren't disciplined in putting them back in.

• 

  agito1993 on 10/04/2015 - 09:45

  My problem is I have buck teeth (the 2 at the front), or overbite. It was not so obvious before but I notice that in the recent years, they sort of move forward (a bit overcrowded?) and therefore create a big gap between the upper and lower arch. Hence, it is possible that some extraction is needed.
  I am with Medibank for the top 85% extra. So, in the 1st year I could get $1000 and 2nd year $1500. Would cost me around $1800 something to get $2500 back, plus $500 optical for 2 years. That means an extra of at least $1000.
  Thanks for all your help! Just to have a general idea of the cost for braces. Will go to consultations for the details.

• 

  Geekomatic on 10/04/2015 - 13:15

  My daughter had severely twisted & misaligned teeth. She had hers started in 2010 & off in 2013. It was $4400 total. My gosh- the difference! Totally amazing when you see your "before/after" photos!

  The orthodontist is meticulous— highly recommended if you (or others here lurking) are in the Mandurah area of WA> Dr. Carl Sim.

  We followed his recommendation to go with metal, also. Yes, the ends can be sharpish- but he softened the edges when required & she just used the wax they give you to help with the mouth irritation. Honestly, it only bothered her for the first couple of weeks & then she was used to it.

  One thing I would say- & I wish I'd thought of it at the start: when they set you up for your final retainers (worn for the rest of your life at bedtime or your teeth will revert!)- ask to buy two pairs. They are easily lost (or broken) & to replace after-the-fact would require a whole new set-up procedure which would be $$$$.

  HTH

  Edit: Dr. Sim is very anti-extraction. I'm sure there are many like this. If it's a concern, ask.

• 

  babylon on 10/04/2015 - 17:07

  Mine were around ~$3000 with 4 extractions done overseas. Chose the expensive package with the clear "no show" brackets, asked for and got a discount because I wasn't going to have the maintenance and check-up work done there. Came back to Australia and had a local orthodontist do the check ups and monthly wire changes, x-rays and retainer fitting for around $1200.

  It would have cost $8-9k had I had everything done in Australia.

  • 

    Geekomatic on 10/04/2015 - 20:48

    My ortho, Dr. Sim- his fees included all after-checks + a year-after-braces-off check/adjustment, as well. I'm happy to pay $80 yr to have him check everything. You should have seen his reaction at the appt. after my daughter travelled back to the US at Xmas & didn't wear them (ex-h never checked). He was so hurt & disappointed & let her know! All that hard work…my daughter never did that again! Today, she takes them camping- lol.

    Anyway, I wouldn't consider overseas unless there was a significant fee extra, such as multiple extraction, root canals, wisdom teeth, etc. At that point, you book a trip & do the work on holiday.

    Cheers

• 

  iridiumstem on 10/04/2015 - 21:20

  +1

  I've done mine overseas, with the clear bracket with regular check ups for 1+ years and some maintenance works after that. (I had to stay there for 2 years because of conscription and the ortho gave me special rates because the ortho was my relative's business partner.)

  What I remember from my talks with the ortho was, people often overestimate what braces can do. My mum for example, wanted me to get the braces to fix the problem with my jaw (nothing major, more cosmetic in my opinion). The ortho said that sort of things can only be done with operations which I was not willing to go through. So yeah, don't go in thinking that they can solve every single problems.

  Also, the ortho did say, if you get your teeth extracted, it allows more movement (since there is more space to move things around). I chose not to, since I don't like the idea of removing something that is not malfunctioning. So think about that as well.

  I think the important part is, it's a long procedure that involves going to the ortho several times (I went to the ortho once every 3 weeks, because I could only make to certain time), it can be painful, it sometimes can end badly. So do your legwork and do research on it. Get it done by someone who knows what he's doing. As far as I see, I think they worth the effort in the end (though I have to admit that the rubber band was annoying)