Q : Teeth braces for kids

[radhak]

My 8 year old daughter has had 3 of her teeth removed for cavities in the past 3 years. Yes, blame for that is to us, her parents, but that's a wholly different story. Now she's the model of dental hygiene and care .

Anyway, her dentist said her remaining teeth are 'crowding' and she needs braces (space maintainers) to keep them in line (sorta 'disciplined'). Today, the orthodontist's assistant called to tell me it's gonna cost $4300, of which insurance pays $1000, so the rest is mine .

Of course, she offered me an interest-free payment plan, but it does force me to think - is this really needed? I don't want to spend for something cosmetic, but if it's gonna be a real problem for her later on, I don't want to be a blind-tightwad now. (or open myself for her suing me later for not being a caring parent )

So whaddya say?

[kirkroy]

We're close to outfitting another kid with braces but we put the orthodontist off until they were a bit older (youngest is 11 now). The shocker for us was the $6800 price tag, of which 20% is covered by insurance. We're shopping around.

I figure it is worth it as poor spacing seems to contribute to issues down the line (ask me about my crowns!).

[LCHIEN]

that's a difficult choice. In this day and age who wants to deny their kids anything...
I guess there's really two classes of orthodonty, one whrere its really needed or they'll have trouble, and the other where its mostly cosmetic.

we put braces on both my kids who are now 21 and 25 with only partial insurance coverage like you.

it's painful and inconvenient to the kids, and as you mention, more costly than a PM66. Tooth hygiene is greatly complicated, they are more likely to get cavities where the braces are fastened. This takes more nagging by the parents. If you do it in their teens, then its the most complicated time in their lives, already. Do they need more complications? At times I literally felt bad about putting my son thru it.

I think there's very few cases where the orthodontic need is medically driven, for most its a case of looks. Are you kids the type with model-like smiles and personalities where thet will help them a lot?

I know they're supposed to wear their retainers more or less forever at night to help keep the teeth correctly positioned and from migrating to their bad positions... I know both my kids have stopped wearing them.

so it depends:
Will it improve their looks a little or a great deal?
are they going to need the improvement in looks in their lifestyle?
Do they have the personality to cope with their treatment (pain, inconvenience, temporary appearance) well?
Are they committed to oral hygiene to work harder to prevent tooth decay?
Is it partially or fully covered by your insurance?
Will they be committed in the long run to care for their orthodia work and wear retainers every night?

Some of these things are hard to predict when they are still young.
You can always invest the money and give it to them when they are 25 and tell them to have their teeth done then... if they want it then. Most adult brace wearers are pretty much wanting the looks and committed to them.

[Stytooner]

Thats a buncha bucks for just some bracing. I got quoted $3200 today for the whole dang bridge. Apparently its cheaper when you get older, so let them pay for it then.
Actually if they are crowding, they can cause health and irritability issues later on. I am not sure I would put them on a very young child though. Wait an see what the second layer of teeth look like.

[dkerfoot]

My oldest son really needed braces and got them. The ortho told me my oldest daughter needed them too - her bottom front teeth are slightly crooked (like mine) but she has a beautiful smile. (The upward angle on this particular picture is incidental - her smile looks great from any angle.)

He came close to accusing me of being an abusive parent for not reaching for my checkbook just because he held out his hand.

Unfortunately, my other daughter probably will need them. She already had some prep work done when she was 8.

Can you imagine asking a plastic surgeon if he thought you needed any work done and being told no? The reason people's insurance tends to pay 20% is because about 80% of it is unnecessary.

[Sugarman]

We were told our youngest daughter, now 36, needed braces because her mouth was too small to hold her permanent teeth. She was around 12 at the time. Don't remember the cost, I think the shock has blotted it out of my memory. Since she was still growing we opted to wait and see if her mouth grew into the teeth, so to speak. It did and there were no problems except for a small gap between her front teeth. Seems her mouth actually outgrew her teeth. She wore braces for a short time to close the gap. She still has perfect teeth. She is now being told the same thing about two of her daughters but is opting for the same program we followed. So far they are also working out OK.

[Knottscott]

Sometimes its "needed" for health reasons, sometimes its cosmetic. A second opinion could help clarify.

$4300 is about the going rate for the two sets we've had to do.

[scmhogg]

Rad,

Bite the bullet. I'm not a dentist, but missing teeth will effect her other teeth without correction. Unfortunately, the longer you wait, the more they will have moved. Your daughter will feel more confidant if she feels she has a beautiful smile.

Luckily, braces are considered cool now. Years ago, my daughter needed braces, and we had no insurance at all. The monthly payments were as painful as the braces. The result gave my daughter a beautiful smile. One that she didn't use very much before the braces. I can't even remember what it cost now and she still has the smile.

Steve

[ps. a little beauty pagent tip. put a little vaseline on the front teeth. They will shine and they won't stick to her lip.]

[jaywood]

Hey Rad -

I agree with Steve... bite the bullet and have it done! I'm 49 years old and had to have braces when I was 45 because my parents opted to have a few of my teeth pulled when I was young rather than putting me in braces. The lack of space in my jaws for all my teeth caused them to have to pull the teeth... but the lack of braces caused misalignment of my teeth. By the time I reached my 40's I was wearing my teeth out to the point where I was going to have to get dentures or braces to keep from wearing them completely out.

Believe me... getting braces at 45 years of age is NOT fun! If there is anyway you can afford to have it done... have it done.

[radhak]

Thanks guys! Gives me a lot of perspective.

Btw - how long are the braces / spacers needed? couple of years? longer?

[ejs1097]

I didn't get braces when i was a kid. Now it would take surgery including breaking and re-aligning my jaw. 6 weeks bed rest and high chance for permentant numbness in part or whole mouth area. Plus most insurance doesn't cover the surgery. The professional changes were $4k-$6k and that doesn't include the facility charges. I opted to not do the surgery based on the numbess risk, instead I just have to wait intil sometime in the future my lower tooth splits my upper tooth to the point of lots of pain and getting it yanks and replaced. Yes it's already cracked a good 1/16th inch. Aligned teeth when I was a kid would have been nice. Now, braces aren't an option.

[gsmittle]

a) Doug, that's a beautiful picture--she's a beautiful young lady.

b) IMO, go for the braces. I had horribly crooked teeth until I was 26. I paid for the braces out of my pocket since I didn't have insurance. I wore them for five years. In fact, my wedding pictures show me in braces.

The difference is huge. Gone are the blinding headaches, sinus issues, inability to bite a sandwich (I'm serious--I used to have to cut them in little pieces because I couldn't bite cleanly), and my reputation as a dour youth. I used to never smile because my teeth were a mess.

Doing it during the teen years is expensive, but much less painful and much shorter than waiting until adulthood.

Just my $0.02 worth.

g.

[Thalermade]

Definitely get a second opinion. My kids (who are both in high school) had braces in jr. high. Our orthodontist explained that each kid is different, but generally, the earlier braces get put on, the higher the chances there will need to be a second correction in the late teen/early 20's.

As with insurance, play the games. Our orthodontist financed it over two years. My wife and I were both able to sign up for dental insurance and so we were able to have each insurance contribute the max $1,000 from each plan.

It is amazing that amount of orthdontia coverage really has not changed in 25 plus years, while the costs have significantly increased.


have fun and brush well
Russ

[dkerfoot]

a) Doug, that's a beautiful picture--she's a beautiful young lady.

Thanks!

I think the moral of the story is: It depends. Obviously some folks here would have greatly benefited from braces. I am anticipating paying for 2 of my 4 kids to have braces.

But I was also told my daughter "needed" them and it is just clearly not the case.

The Orthodontist has a vested interest in selling services. Doctors are no more immune to this affect than anyone else. Ask probing questions and get a 2nd opinion. Ask your regular dentist lots of questions too. Make sure they understand that it is a financial strain. Maybe even tell them it is a choice between braces or a college fund - Which do you recommend?

[Mrs. Wallnut]

Radhak,

IMO I would wait and get some other prices. I am not sure what your area offers but I found a dentist around our area that does some orthodontic work and got a price from him on everything. The price on our oldest sons braces was 2800.00. Our insurance didn't cover any of it and we didn't have to pay for the braces (a gift so to speak). He was in the braces for about a year and a half and is now out of them. He had braces on the top and a type of reverse retainer on the bottom to "push" his teeth from behind to straighten the bottom teeth.

But like I said check around and find out different prices if you are able to.