Braces - Fullerton,CA

FYI: The ortho said my child needed braces. I put it off for just over a year. We went back and the teeth grew in totally straight. I saved $ 5000.00+.

My kids had different types of treatment based on what was going on in their mouth - both with the same orthodontist.

My daughter who had many crooked teeth has had some kind of appliance in her mouth since 2nd grade. The first appliance adjusted some teeth as they grew in. The second applicance was an expander that we had to turn every other day. Eventually she wore braces and now at age 16 wears retainers on top and bottom. She's had some kind of appliance for 9 years. The cost was the same whether she wore one appliance or 7. It was $5400 (I'm in a suburb of NYC).

My son had an overbite - not so much crooked teeth. He got an expander in 6th grade and braces at the end of 7th grade. The timing for him was based on when the baby teeth came out. His was also $5400.

We paid for my first child monthly payments over the first few years - once it was paid there was no chanrge for the monthly visits after that. For my son I had put money aside in my FSA at work so I paid half in the first year and the other half in the second year. We are now completely paid for and no matter how many more visits or appliances we may need we are done with the cost.

Insurance usually only covers $1,000 to $1,500 if you even have insurance. You can also check with various networks to see if you can get discounted fee arrangements. Some network orthodontists will charge a flat $2,500 or $3,000 which sounds like a lot but is still far less sthan the the $5,400 we paid.

My husband and I will teaset eh kids about the European acations we could have had if we were childless - but we finish by telling them we'd much rather have them than the vacations.

Good luck mama!

R.,
If you are concerned about braces, I would first check and see what orthodontists are included in your insurance and then set up a few consultations. The consultations should be free and the orthodontists can give you an outline of their diagnosis, what steps they would take and what the cost would be. Then you can make an informed decision.
My son is almost 10 and is getting braces this week. We are doing a 2 step program (palate expander and braces now so his adult teeth have room to come in, then a second set of braces when he is older and has all permanent teeth). The cost of the first set is $2000 and then when we do the second set it will be an additional $3000. (**actually a bit more, our insurance paid 20%, the above quotes are after insurance)The other consultation we had was similar in price. We are in Utah though.

Please take your children to an orthodontist to find out at what age this should happen. The age depends on the reason for the braces. We cannot tell you what is best for your child.

The orthodontist will then tell you how much the braces will cost. Once you know what is being corrected you can call around to other dentists to get comparison prices.

Re whether or not it would be a two step process depends on your child's specific needs. My youngest needed an expander before braces because there wasn't enough room for all her adult teeth to come in properly, but my older daughter did not.
My dentist gave us a couple of referrals, and I asked around, the parents of my kids' friends were the best resource. The total cost was around $ 5,500 and insurance covered about a third of it.

My older daughter started out at age 7 with a consultation with an orthodontist. She got her expander installed at 7, and got her set of braces at age 8. She's 9 now and has a few months left to go on her braces, and then will wear a retainer until all of her adult teeth grow in, and then she may need a second set of braces, we'll see. There are many benefits to doing the two-step process instead of waiting and just having one set of braces.

My six-year-old is going to the orthodontist next week for her first check, because she already has over-crowding in her mouth, as her new adult teeth on the bottom don't have room to grow in properly.

The first set for my older daughter has cost us $2500, and that includes expander, braces, retainer, and all maintenance associated.

It depends on the problem. My 11 yr old daughter has an overbite, but not many crooked teeth. The dentist said to wait until she's 12 for braces. Her best friend has a lot of issues with her teeth and she had to start in second grade with a device followed by braces. She got them off some time last year, and will need them again in a year or two.

generally children get braces around 12. My child has had to wait but finally gets them Tuesday. He is 14. I'm not in Ca so I can't tell you what the price is there but the average here in Utah was about 5500 to 6000. The 2 step process is not always necessary. My neice had a two step process and they actually expanded her mouthnas the first step. The second step, the actual braces, are going on next month. Getting the child evaluated, usually costs nothing and you should get a professional opinion if you think the child needs braces as soon as possible so they can work out what is best for the child.

We got our referral from our regular dentist when it was time for their first consult with ortho. Then they laid out a treatment plan and monitored until the mouth/teeth were ready for the first steps. My oldest is 9 and will be getting his roof expander in next week at a total cost of around $3500 (this includes everything that goes with the expander and all appointments/checks for it). after that comes off it will be time for braces, not sure yet what that will run. My youngest has started seeing the ortho already at 7 but that is because he had some tooth damage that created an abbess so we had to have some molars pulled and they will be putting in his space savers this week. Our insurance will cover this outside or our normal ortho allowance.

I am not in Orange County, but my son got braces at age 10 1/2 to correct a cross-bite. He received braces on his 8 permanent teeth. He had them put on in August 2011, and removed in March 2012. They corrected his cross-bite and shifted his lower jaw slightly, his chin was off center.

He did have pain after adjustments, but nothing a dose of Motrin didn't fix. My husband was amazed at the difference between what he had gone through as a teen in the 1990s vs. what my son went through.

Our cost was around $2600. My insurance has a lifetime Orthodontics limitt. I received just over half of that towards the braces. I was then allowed to pay the balance with my FSA or a specific amount monthly. My son also now wears a retainer, the price was included, as well as any adjustments to it that are needed, all emergency appts when his braces were on, and any future appts (for 3 years I think)

When he is around 14, the dr. said that he may need another round of braces. It would depend on how the remaining 'grown up' teeth came in.
If and when we do that, I will have the remaining $ from insurance, and the rest will be on me, which I can use FSA for.

His best friend got full braces at age 12 from a different doctor and the cost was 2x ours.

Go to more than one orthodontist for consultations -- most give free assessments. You need to be comfortable with this doctor and so does your child. The reason a two-step process, starting younger these days, is used is so that work can be started while the child's mouth and head are still growing and developing; in general, it's easier (and often faster) to get certain things done before the child's palate and other bones are set hard. Waiting too long for what you call "traditional braces" could mean much more time wearing them. Only an orthodontist can fill you in on this, so you really need to get some consultations.

I know lots of kids that needed 2 steps because the orthodontist needed expand the child's pallette so their adult teeth will fit vs having to get teeth pulled later.
My niece needs an expander on the top and bottom. Ugh!
My oldest just needed braces to straighten slightly crooked teeth so we went with Invisalign. My youngest will get regular braces. She also has a moderate overbite but she is not ready yet. She just turned 10.

Also, My kids dentist told us when my kids were ready to be seen by the orthodontist.

Both ortho's I got consultations with would not put any braces on until all baby teeth were lost. In my daughter's case, they both told me not to waste time and money on the "pre braces" as they just make the whole process take longer, and that they weren't necessary to fix her problem. (overbite & crowding due to baby teeth still being in place) They suggested taking the wait and see approach by letting all the baby teeth fall out on their own to see how her adult teeth shifted into place and came in. They have already started to look so much better after 6 months and more baby teeth being lost.

My daughter is 10, and will probably lose her last baby tooth this summer. We look to get braces on her by fall. We're looking at around $5000.

Go get another consultation with more ortho's. Most are free! Good luck!

My GD got braces at age 10. It is possibly a 2-step process, although they said they won't really know if she'll need phase 2 until all of her adult teeth are in. She currently still has several baby teeth. They would not put the braces on until her adult eye teeth had come down.

I think it's easier on the kid if they get them early (7 - 10) because whatever adult teeth they have are not so firmly rooted into place and they shift/move easier. They suggested I not wait for more adult teeth as she was really having problems and even eating was becoming uncomfortable for her.

Get multiple consults and stay away from ANYONE who wants to pull adult teeth. Personally, I think early braces are a waste of money in most cases. Unless you have an major issue that needs to be dealt with during a growth period, most children can wait until there adult teeth are in to braces. There are other, cheaper options than spending $5000 for braces TWICE.
Two step braces are better for the orthodontist. Google it and see what you find.

Updated

Get multiple consults and stay away from ANYONE who wants to pull adult teeth. Personally, I think early braces are a waste of money in most cases. Unless you have an major issue that needs to be dealt with during a growth period, most children can wait until there adult teeth are in to braces. There are other, cheaper options than spending $5000 for braces TWICE.
Two step braces are better for the orthodontist. Google it and see what you find.