As I grew up, I’ve never gotten braces because I had nice teeth alignment until my wisdom teeth messed that up in my early 20s. Now I get to become an adult with braces at age 34 for the first time. Before I got myself into the treatment, I researched what treatment options are available to me and the cost associated with them. (Please note that I don’t have orthodontist coverage on my dental insurance. So the cost you will see here would be more expensive than what you can get with insurance.) Keep reading to find out what I learned during my hunt for orthodontic treatment.
The cost and the treatment options vary depending on personal dental conditions. Here is my condition and the brief history before starting the treatment.
I’ve considered getting braces over the last seven years ever since my previous dentist told me that my teeth were crowded. I’ve avoided braces not because I was scared of the dental work but because the cost seemed too high for some minor crowding issue. At that point, my misalignment wasn’t severe so I ignored this matter for as long as I could.
Now, after seven years of procrastinating, my teeth alignment is kind of a mess… One of my bottom teeth fell forward. Another tooth fell inward. Some of my front teeth are overlapping each other. They became very difficult to brush.
After talking to some specialist, my case was classified as minor crowding on the top and moderate crowding on the bottom.
I went to three different dental/orthodontic offices for consultations. All consultations were free.
I discussed four types of orthodontic treatment options during the consultations:
My first reaction was to consider Invisalign because I liked the idea of being discrete. But after talking to all three dental professionals, I became unsure of this option. They all told me that Invisalign is more expensive (about $1000 -$2000 more than the traditional metal/ceramic options), and takes longer to correct the alignment because it provides less control for the professionals to adjust the tooth movement.
Especially with my case, wearing rubber bands would be a must during the course of treatment. One of the orthodontist informed that it was possible to wear rubber bands with Invisalign but more difficult compared to the traditional options.
Next, I suggested another discrete option – lingual braces. Unfortunately, I was immediately shot down at my first consultation. The specialist told me that the space inside my mouth is already so small. If I got any braces back of my teeth, my tongue would have nowhere to go, and I would have terrible speech problems.
At that point, there are only two options – the metal braces and the white ceramic braces.
I wanted to avoid the metal braces option at all costs. I wouldn’t be able to pull off that look for even a second. (Katy Perry can, but not me – Remember “Last Friday Night” music video?)
Considering I wanted something discrete, the white ceramic braces became my best option. Even though people could see I have braces, the color blended much better with my natural teeth.
The cost of ceramic braces was a little pricier (about $1000 more) than the metal braces. The dental professionals recommended me to get ceramic braces on my top teeth and metal braces on the bottom so that I could reduce the cost. When I smiled, my bottom teeth didn’t show, so I decided to go with the half-and-half option in the end.
One thing good about the traditional braces was the shorter duration of treatment. I wanted to get this over FAST! Who wants some foreign objects in their mouth any longer than necessary? My treatment should last approximately 12 – 18 months. I’m hoping that’s accurate…
After deciding to go with white ceramic option on top and metal braces on the bottom, I compared the cost of the adult braces with each dental/orthodontic offices:
All prices are without insurance since I don’t have any orthodontic dental plan under my dental insurance. All offices had in-office payment plan and some provided more discounts if I paid all cost up front.
I also asked about dental discount plans at each office. Unfortunately, none of my selected offices accepted them.
Now my treatment plan and all quotes were in, I had a decision to make. WHO DO I CHOOSE? Long story short, I decided to choose my primary dentist for my treatment. Some of them might question me “why didn’t you choose an orthodontist? they are the specialists!” I’ll be honest. I was hesitant to choose my dentist over the other orthodontists, who had extra educations and more experiences in treating mispositioned teeth and jaws. But I have my reasons, and here is why.
One of the Orthodontist (Orthodontist A) was great. In the office, I received complimentary X-rays, pictures, and exams, and the orthodontist A spent time going through treatment options in detail. I knew exactly which treatment options were better for me and what she was planning to do. Only concern with her was the cost. $6500 seemed pretty steep compared to other places…
The other orthodontist (Orthodontist B) presented much cheaper price, but I remembered how hard it was for me to communicate with him. During the consultation, he checked my mouth about 15 seconds and told me that he could give me braces cheaper than anywhere else in my neighborhood. I asked him if he would take X-rays to further examine my conditions. He responded that he would not take X-Rays unless I signed a contract (In their website, it stated the X-rays were included in the free consultation).
I was already discouraged at that point but kept asking different options of treatments that I was interested in. He kept mentioning the cost but wasn’t much of a help giving me any recommendations regarding which treatment options would benefit my alignment. I left office feeling somewhat disrespected. I felt he didn’t care about me as a patient but only cared about my money. Getting braces is a long term commitment. I couldn’t stand talking to him not even 30 minutes. I couldn’t imagine visiting his office every month for more than a year.
Unlike other orthodontists I visited, I had a long term relationship with my dentist. I have been visiting her office for past five years, and she’s always been easy to talk to. When I had my initial concerns with her orthodontic skills, I researched her past work online and saw she had some experiences in adult braces. I found some examples similar to mine and they looked great. That wasn’t the only reassuring fact. When I discussed braces with my dentist, her treatment plan was identical to Orthodontist A’s recommendation (the one with $6500 price tag). Then I thought to myself – why should I pay more for the same plan?
Overall, my hunt for the right orthodontic treatments went well. I visited multiple dental/orthodontic specialists and explored all options before deciding what was best for me. The cost of adult braces are not cheap without or even with insurance. Considering the cost is important but it is also important how comfortable I am with the specialist. Getting braces is a long term commitment after all. I need to be able to discuss any issues may come up during the course of treatment.
If you are looking to get braces as an adult like me, I hope sharing my experience can help your hunt for your orthodontic treatment. I will periodically post my treatment updates in the future if interested. Please feel free to leave comments if any questions for me!
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