Dental care - Braces

[peanutbutter8204]

I 'm looking to get braces this fall anyone know some good deals or places? I live in Chicago.

On average how much are braces?

[Hot dog]

i just got some for my daughter and they were about 6,000. I got two kinds of insurance to help one covered 2,000 and the other 1500. Good luck finding a deal they say to check around. I also used my health care spending account to get them tax free. and I have to keep the second ins for at least two years to get refunded the money

[disneysteve]

My daughter had hers put on about 2 years ago. We paid about $3,500 which was after a 20% discount from our insurance, so the actual cost was $4,400.

Her ortho offered either a 5% discount if we paid in full up front or 0% financing. I ran the numbers and went with the 0% financing. We paid $700 up front and $150/month for 18 months.

[peanutbutter8204]

Originally Posted by Hot dog

i just got some for my daughter and they were about 6,000. I got two kinds of insurance to help one covered 2,000 and the other 1500. Good luck finding a deal they say to check around. I also used my health care spending account to get them tax free. and I have to keep the second ins for at least two years to get refunded the money

Most Insurance companies (at least thats what I was told) don't pay for braces. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield. Can you tell me which companies you have or any that you know that cover braces.

Thanks in advance.

[creditcardfree]

Good question. I'm taking my daughter in for an evaluation in 2 weeks. I hope that it is not more than $4K or so. Our insurance may reimburse up to 50%...which I thought was common...but I might be wrong. We have United Concordia. There are no 'participating orthodontists', so will have to file the claim ourselves. A little bit of a pain, but worth it to get 1/2 paid for.

[rob62521]

I live in downstate Illinois. My teeth were really, really, bad. My braces cost $5,500. Plus $250 for the initial exam and the molds, etc. I have no dental insurance so this is out of pocket expense. I would call around and check to see what the average cost is. I went a few years ago (like over 10) to an orthodontist and she was going to charge me $5000 so I didn't think $5,500 was too bad then. I would ask for word of mouth from other folks who have braces and who they went to. I asked around, asked my dentist, and then made the appointment. I liked the orthod and his staff and the office.

[mom-from-missouri]

We have coventry medical and delta dental. Our plan pays 50% for braces on kids 19 and under .

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by peanutbutter8204

Most Insurance companies (at least thats what I was told) don't pay for braces.

I think 100% coverage is rare, but partial coverage is pretty common. Our covered 20%.

[zakity]

Our insurance doesn't cover braces for adults, but does to like 50% for kids. Mine cost $5000ish, DH's cost $6000ish, Beak's was like $1800ish (had to pay $900 and insurance covered the other $900), and Toad's was like $1200ish (again the ins paid half).

Beak and Toad both have to go back for Phase II, Beak in a few months and Toad in a few years. They had issues that had to be fixed right then or they would cause more problems later on. They have to wait until they have certain teeth in before they can do Phase II.

[mom2manyboyz]

I got braces for my two teenagers a year and a half ago. In my area, they have a foundation that often covers the cost of braces. You have to be a resident of the area though. People usually hear of it by word of mouth and eligibility seems to be based on the need for the braces. One of my children qualified and the other one didn't. My insurance didn't cover the one that didn't... they cost me between 4 and 5 thousand.

[Hot dog]

I have blue cross blue shield which covered 1500 and united concordia which covered 2000 and got the 5% discount for paying up front. BCBS does not pay up front so I had to pay and they are supposed to send me a check every month for like 18 months they do not pay directly to the orthodontist.

[Tsots11]

I once had insurance that would pay part of the cost, but only after you had been a member of the insurance for 2 years.
Most insurances give discounted rates, note more.
I would negotiate the price with the dentist

[Marcymox]

We were just evaluated this week for dd. The cost were 6200 and with all of our insurance discounts, our total obligation is 2800.00. This is our 3rd opinion, and the midrange price between the 3. All of our price quotes were within 500.00 of that 2800.00 obligation.

they give 5% off for paying full upfront in cash ( or credit card) and they offer a no interest payment plan.

we have united healthcare and chose an othodontist in network on our providers website. Out of network is not coverd and adults are not covered.

[Maismom]

My DD's ortho work was approx. 5k. Both my DH and I have dental coverage from our employees, and they cover 50% up to $1,500 per life. So, I used my $1,500 first towards the payment, and about $1300 from DH's dental. We had to pay for initial X-ray that was another $300 or so, and I used the fund from my FSA.

[ishanbansal]

Dental treatment is one of the most expensive medical treatment. Many a times, people do not carry any Dental Insurance. In such cases, the cost of the dental treatment becomes very expensive and you have to pay all the expenses out of your pocket.

A very cheap option is to use a Discount Dental Plan. Discount dental plan is NOT insurance plan, but discount programs. Essentially, if you have a Discount Dental Plan, you get huge discounts on expenses incurred on Dental Treatment. A Discount Dental Plan normally features savings of 10% to 60% on most dental procedures.

[smith29]

Originally Posted by ishanbansal

Dental treatment is one of the most expensive medical treatment. Many a times, people do not carry any Dental Insurance. In such cases, the cost of the dental treatment becomes very expensive and you have to pay all the expenses out of your pocket.

A very cheap option is to use a Discount Dental Plan. Discount dental plan is NOT insurance plan, but discount programs. Essentially, if you have a Discount Dental Plan, you get huge discounts on expenses incurred on Dental Treatment. A Discount Dental Plan normally features savings of 10% to 60% on most dental procedures.

yep... discount dental plans help to get rid of their dental maladies at astonishing rates.

__________________
AmericanDiscountDental .com

[snafu]

Does the dental school affiliated with a university in your region, offer braces as part of their public services? Dental students need to practice their skills and take patients from the general public. The costs for their services are moderate, mostly just for product expenses. The dental students are close to graduation and their own practices. They are heavily supervised. The issues are: it takes them longer to do procedures because of their lack of experience; patients make an appointment well in advance of the procedure. You do not get to choose who will do your dental work. You do not see the same student on subsequent appointments.

Several people I know take a winter vacation in Mexico City each year spending part of the day having dental work done, vacation secondary. I don't know anyone who had braces but routine cleaning, filling, and one cap was so much less it covered the cost of the flight and all the stuff they buy. Some dental plans will cover part of the initial exam and % of filling when charged as 'emergency.'

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by snafu

Several people I know take a winter vacation in Mexico City each year spending part of the day having dental work done, vacation secondary. I don't know anyone who had braces but routine cleaning, filling, and one cap was so much less it covered the cost of the flight and all the stuff they buy.

That wouldn't work for braces. With braces, you need to be seen monthly for 2 years or so. You'd have to move to Mexico.

[Goldy1]

move to mexico. lol. My employer chosen dental insurance does not cover braces. it cover routine, fillings, crowns etc but not ortho