I’ve always wanted to get braces, both to realign my teeth and maybe even help a bit with my headaches from jaw misalignment. I estimated the cost at $2,500.
I went for a consultation, and the dentist told me that I could benefit from some orthodontic work, but that the cost for basic ortho (which is the type I would benefit from) is $6,000.
Traditional or Invisalign?
My dentist told me that the cost at his office for traditional, metal braces was the same as the cost for Invisalign. For some, Invisalign may be more (as they may require additional treatments), but he told me that my teeth would respond just as well to both, because the problems are very mild.
Since they both cost the same, I would be more inclined to entertain the idea of Invisalign. My only qualm about Invisalign is that I don’t know if I have enough willpower to keep them in all of the time.
Second Opinion
While I do trust my dentist and his expertise, I think I would be dumb NOT to get a second opinion. I don’t know if $6,000 for adult orthodontics is expensive, on par, or cheap. I don’t know if most dental professionals will believe that my teeth would respond just as well to Invisalign as they would to traditional metal braces.
It’s incredibly important to do research when it comes to your body and your money, especially when it can alter your appearance and also cost a lot of money to boot.
Timing
Timing is everything for me when it comes to dental work. My partner’s ortho benefits have kicked in, but he hasn’t received his benefits package yet. I need to find out if his benefits will cover a percentage of the cost on top of my benefits. I also want to get the ASAP so that, if we get married next summer, I won’t have them on during my wedding.
How do you feel about adult braces? Have you ever tried Invisalign?
Here’s my professional $0.02. 6k seems like a fair price. You’re lucky you get any coverage from your insurance since insurance companies usually put an age limilation of 18yrs on ortho. As per braces/invisalign. While I’m not going to totally knock invisaligh it’s not my favorite choice. 1) like you said- dedication. 2) I’ve seen too many ‘over corrected’ cases requiring retreatment b/c of computer calculation error 3) traditional braces are better for your treatment provider. Traditional braces give the dentist (or hygienist) total control over movement. In traditional braces your teeth may respond to treatment faster as well since there is more control over it with no computer reliance. You’re not restricted to metal brackets either. You can get ceramic/white brackets and clear elastics if it’s cosmetics you’re concerend about. If you’re a heavy coffee/tea/red wine drinker or a smoker don’t go w/ ceramic since the will absorb dark stains. You can email me w/ any questions! I’m a hygienist who works w/ ortho 🙂
I didn’t have/need braces, but I recently had some expensive dental work done on my own that, in the end, my insurance didn’t cover as much of as they had originally quoted me. (After referring me to a practice, they came back and said that the dentist in the practice I saw was out of network.) My ex had Invisalign retainers after getting his braces off, and he almost never had them in. I think you’re committed enough to stick to them, though!
I think it is great if you decide to go for it, many adults don’t take care of their teeth and a few months is nothing to have good teeth the rest of your adult life. No idea if the cost is high or low.
I would get a second opinion just to get prices, and make sure everything will be done for you. Sometimes extra expenses pop up that they don’t tell you about. I had one such incident where my orthodontist wanted an extra procedure done which insurance wouldn’t pay for. He didn’t tell me about it until a year in. It would have cost a few thousand dollars, but was only cosmetic, so thankfully I was able to opt out.
I agree with Catherine when it comes to metal braces. Invisalign are a nice, but don’t always work the best and metal is usually faster.
I used Invisalign in my mid-20’s and loved it, but I agree it’s a lot of dedication. I still have an overbite that I think trad braces would have corrected even better, but I just wanted straight teeth so at least that was achieved.
I’ve heard that Invisalign costs about double traditional braces. And at least down here it is rare that the additional expense would be covered. I have a very mild crookedness and out of vanity looked into fixing it, but it’s just not worth $5K or more to fix it when it’s hard for other people to know it’s there.
I’ve never had braces but I do know that teeth are worth the investment when it comes to keeping them look good and healthy. If braces is what you need then go for it!
My braces were $6000 5 years ago, so your price is average by my standards 😉
I had traditional metal braces though. I couldn’t wear invisalign because I had to wear elastics to realign my jaw. I only needed to wear braces for 10 months! It was awesome!
Dental care is on my mind right now – I’m probably gonna need my wisdom teeth out in the next couple of years. So that’s probably $1-2k down the drain. Wondering if I should look into getting them pulled while overseas…
Krystal and Serendipity did Invisalign, right? I don’t really know anything about it. I did have braces for awhile as a kid. Still don’t have perfectly straight teeth – they were TERRIBLE to start with (decided not to go ahead with the second round, which I regret a little bit, but not hugely – cost my parents a lot) but to be honest I’m actually more self conscious about the colour of my teeth rather than the alignment.
Isn’t it funny how doctors and dentists just expect us to agree to whatever costs they lay out without getting a second opinion. It’d be great if there was just a catalogue of average procedure prices so we’d at least be able to compare.
My father was firmly anti-orthodontia because he had braces as a kid and they didn’t fix his issues. I probably would have benefited from them as several of my molars came in crooked and put damaging pressure on neighboring teeth. I’ve lost more than one tooth to that. But it’s a moot point, because we never had insurance and probably couldn’t have afforded braces even with insurance.
My current dental insurance sets prices for in-network providers. So as long as I stick with an provider who is in Aetna’s dental PPO, the prices are going to be the same. And those contracted prices? HUGE discount. I was given an estimate for a root canal and crown a couple weeks ago. $2700. With insurance covering $300. I was freaked out. That would take me a year to save up. Then a couple days later, I got a letter from the dentist saying they showed my their full prices instead of the contracted prices. New cost: $1200 and insurance covering half.