Orthodontic Trauma

nalani

nalani

Well-Known Member
So, I took my daughter to the ortho today because the dentist says she needs to be seen ... she's 9 ... all her perms are in (early for her age) ... and they're all crooked ... so, I took her to the ortho .. a dude with no personality but very nice all the same ... so ... wanna hear the verdict?

$200 for what they call "records" ... they'll do xrays, pics, molds, things like that ... see what it looks like now and what they want it to look like and so on ...

$4000 for braces and retainer including all visits ... they'll let me lay down $1000 when they initially put them on and then I can pay $100 a month after that ....

but wait .. that's not all ...

because she's missing her two bottom canines, and because the top two canines are all squished up in her mouth and can't come out because there's no room, they need to extract two teeth and help them out ... she also has a severe shift in her upper track so they have to be "moved" surgically before they're braced. What's that gonna cost me? $4000. Of course, that includes all the visits. They'll also let me pay $100 a month for that ... for the rest of my life, apparently.

So, for a mere $8200, 2 surgical procedures, and 3 years of treatment, my daughter can have a great smile. It's not covered by insurance because, evidentally, my crappy ass dental insurance doesn't cover ortho. So, I asked "why get it?" ... she has 4 more teeth on the top than she has on the lower jaw - not one set of teeth match together when she bites. the ortho asked if she's been suffering from headaches because, with this jaw problem, he'd be shocked if she wasn't screaming in pain every now again ... *ding* *ding* ... she has really bad headaches ... I had her tested for migraines but they aren't migraines ... it must be her jaw...

Well .. we're going for a second consult before we agree to anything ... but I do believe now is the time to start my Adopt-A-Tooth campaign ... for just $20 a month, less than the price of a double latte per day, you can adopt your very own tooth ... send it to the ortho .. give it a future ... :headbang: .. call now .. operators are standing by ...
 
:eek13:

...for prolly less than 1k you can get her dentures and save her all the dental trauma she'll have to go through in later life. :D
 
A baseball bat would take the teeth out, then Medical will pick up the tab. Just a thought. :angel:
 
Lots of money, but well worth it. Just make sure the Ortho takes the time and patience to enroll your daughter in the process.

I had a horrible overbite. I had 4 teeth pulled and wore braces for 5 years, 3 or 4 of which included wearing headgear. There's where enrollment becomes important. My ortho was not willing to work with me on the humiliation thing (like I'm going to wear headgear to middle school, right), so it took a lot longer than it should have.

My daughter is going to have to have them too. She's got the opposite problem - an underbite. She may actually get them before all the permanents come in. Luckily, my insurance will cover some of the cost.
 
*wants Jan's insurance*

The ortho was really cool about that ... he said he didn't want to just jump in and do it .. he wanted to take time, especially because she's so young ... he said he wants to be absolutely sure, and wants us to be absolutely comfortable, before anything happens ... he said the entire process - from molding and consultations to setting the braces - should take 4 - 6 months ... he wants to go slow and not rush things ... for a minute there, I thought that was a line :D
 
Severe shift in the upper tract? I can't even imagine what that is. I never had braces, so my dental parlance is minimal. Can you elaborate?
 
ohh my :eek13:

That's just too expensive....if i recall right my treatment cost me around MX$8,000 (when the dollar was at MX$2.8)
 
jeex na, can't you at least get the extractions on your healthcare because of the headaches?

i hate to say this but i went to private dental treatments here recently [trying to break my phobia] and the prices here are bloody brilliant. extractions are about 40quid or so, the most expensive crowns and bridges are under 200. and that's without the insurance, which for me will hopefully be under 15-20 quid a month and cover everyhting but ortho.

i figure i pay something like 1000-1500 quid p/a to national insurance, which covers dentists, doctors and pension from the nhs. another 200 p/a for private dental work is a fractional amount and i guess the reason its cheap is because the nhs is there setting a sensible minimum price level.
 
Isn't 9 a bit young to start all this? The jaw isn't full grown until about the age of 14 and most dentists over here won't consider braces before that age.

Katie is also missing her upper canines and her front incisors were sideways but are now much straighter simply because her jaw has grown.
 
ris said:
jeex na, can't you at least get the extractions on your healthcare because of the headaches?

i hate to say this but i went to private dental treatments here recently [trying to break my phobia] and the prices here are bloody brilliant. extractions are about 40quid or so, the most expensive crowns and bridges are under 200. and that's without the insurance, which for me will hopefully be under 15-20 quid a month and cover everyhting but ortho.

i figure i pay something like 1000-1500 quid p/a to national insurance, which covers dentists, doctors and pension from the nhs. another 200 p/a for private dental work is a fractional amount and i guess the reason its cheap is because the nhs is there setting a sensible minimum price level.
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The last time I had some dental work done apart from regular 6 monthly check-ups and cleaning was 3 years ago. I try to look after my teeth. :)

Oh, and I do have an open anterior bite but it's never caused me any problems and my teeth don't look crooked.
 
it's EXTREMELY well worth the cost.
i started the orthodontic stuff when i was in, like, second grade. so i was very young, too.
got braces when i was 9, i believe.
had them off when i was 12.

and now... just look at my avatar
:laugh4:
 
They're doing ortho work a lot earlier in a lot more cases. I didn't get my braces until I was 11 or 12. That was some time ago.

These days, they give them to kids who sometimes still have their baby teeth. The Drs have learned alot about how the teeth and jaw develop and they can supposedly avoid problems with permanent teeth by correctly aligning the baby teeth.

What I would love to have had would have been those no-see'um mouth pieces. They are not actually braces, but a set of progressive molds. I imagine they are more expensive, but they look like they would be a lot more comfortable. They are certainly far less restrictive than braces are - you can take them out as needed to eat, brush, etc.
 
Yes, they are not new though because I had a see through mould when I was 14. I was supposed to wear it at night but I hated it and wouldn't. So they gave up hassling me in the end.

It's difficult for them to do anything with Katies teeth because of the problem associated with Bacterial Endocarditits so they tell me.
 
Oh, that sucks. Unfortunately, relatively few dental policies cover anything more than cleanings and fillings, and it's freaking expensive. I actually do the insurance where I work, and it's not worth it. We don't even provide it.

Na, do you have a 125 Cafeteria plan at work? You could take your $100 a month through that and at least get the taxes on it back.
 
Aunty Em said:
Yes, they are not new though because I had a see through mould when I was 14. I was supposed to wear it at night but I hated it and wouldn't. So they gave up hassling me in the end.
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My sister has a set like that. She's too lazy to put them on most nights though.
 
All her perms are in and, if they shift, will shift for the worse ... she's an early developer ...

HomeLAN - I think I know what kind of plan you're talking about - we don't call it a cafeteria plan though ... is that were you set an amount to be taken out of your paycheck before taxes then send them receipts to reimburse you? We have that - but I can't up the amount until August ... it's great though - this year I should save only about $150 in taxes, but still - that's $150 :) ... after I up it, I should be able to save much, much, more ...

Unc - all her upper teeth are about 3/4 of the width of a tooth shifted to the left ... they need to pull two teeth to let the canines drop, but they can't drop unless they shift the entire upper tract ...

I can get the extractions done on the insurance ... but that's the cheapest of the procedures ... I want 100% full coverage!!!! *demands full coverage, blaming my dental and insurance problems on the man*
 
nalani said:
All her perms are in and, if they shift, will shift for the worse ... she's an early developer ...

HomeLAN - I think I know what kind of plan you're talking about - we don't call it a cafeteria plan though ... is that were you set an amount to be taken out of your paycheck before taxes then send them receipts to reimburse you? We have that - but I can't up the amount until August ... it's great though - this year I should save only about $150 in taxes, but still - that's $150 :) ... after I up it, I should be able to save much, much, more ...
Click to expand...

I think ours is a cafeteria plan.

...and you're not kidding about the early developer part!!
 
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