Mamas with Teens and PreteensOh dear- the eye rolling, the attitude, the whines of 'OH MOM'... hormones? just a phase? being a teen is tough- being the mama of one is tougher...
Have you had to go through orthodontics w/ your child? aka, Brooke will need braces.
We went for a consult today. He says she will need an expander, bianary (i think thats it), and then braces. Should take 3 yrs to be complete.
Today they took pictures of her, xrays, and did an impression. We go back in June for 3 appts in a row to get the expander.
Going to cost $4300. (Ins. will pay some of it, thank goodness!)
Have you been down this road? Is the price comparable? What should I expect? I'm assuming its going to be sore when she gets the expander. I dont really know anything about any of this. Got any tips?
TIA!
__________________
Tanya
Wife to Keith (15 yrs.)
SAHM to Brooke (12), Sarah (7), Taylor (5) and Sydney Allison (8 months)
Christian, HS
Sydney & my nephew.....play nice.....ew, girl germs.....awww, love
We just started the road, lol. Chrissy got hers Monday. They just put the braces on, but either the next visit (4 weeks from now) or the one after that she'll get her "headgear" Which from what I understand isn't used as much now, but it's the only thing that will help get her lower jaw forward where it needs to be w/o surgery or extractions.
As for cost - seems comparable. We paid $2400, but our insurance covered almost the same about, it was like $3900 before that (all the ins would allow them to charge).
eta: She had spacers (not sure if it's the same as expanders?) put in 2 weeks ago to make room for the brackets on the back teeth. I guess because of the headgear they have to be the metal ones that go around the whole tooth, and not sure the ones that get glues onto her teeth.
And - the list of stuff she's not allowed to eat is HUGE!! No uncooked carrots, broccoli, nothing sticky (candy mostly), and nothing crunchy - not even potato chips!! And she has to cut a hot dog and hamburger, she can't bite into them
__________________
Allison mama to:
DH (lol), Chrissy 15, Mikhail 12, Kiera 10, Kivett 8, Aislinn 6, Alannah 3, and fresh from the oven Kian Oliver-Bell 11/15/07
Taylor had his braces removed about a year ago after wearing them for about 2 years. The cost was $4300. Keaton has been in braces for a little over a year and has less than 2 years to go. The total for him was about $5300 but we got a 10% discount since we had 2 in braces at the time. Our insurance paid $1500 on each. We had to pay about $800 up front and then had $100 monthly payments on each but paid them off early.
My boys were older than Brooke when they got their braces. It was uncomfortable in the beginning for several days. They could only eat foods that were very soft. The orthodontist will give you wax to use in places that are rubbing her gums/lips. This is very important. Advil was always the suggested pain killer and was needed on occasions. When she gets her braces adjusted it will be uncomfortable for a day or two.
__________________
~ Sherrie ~
Loving my 5 sons
Me, 2nd from left, at my 20 year high school reunion and my daredevil son, Keaton, getting stitches in the E.R.....AGAIN!
Some people are like slinkies. Not really good for anything but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs.
Allison, I'm sorry your dd has to get the head gear. That sounds horrible. Probably a good thing you homeschool. Hope that makes it a little easier on Chrissy.
Sherrie, thanks for the tip about the wax and Advil. I have heard the wax really helps.
Nancy, I'm sorry Izzi has had to have teeth pulled. Even with the expander it didnt widen her mouth enough for the other teeth? Someone was telling me last night at a softball game how amazing the changes in her dd's appearance were with the expander. She said at 1st it was weird but then it really gave her face a much nicer shape. Did you notice this with Izzi?
the expander is different than the spacers. the spacers are to make room between the teeth, but the expander is to widen her whole mouth. It will go in the roof of her mouth and we have to turn it everyday to widen it. The roof of her mouth is just too narrow.
Hopefully she wont have to have any teeth pulled. He said we picked the right time to start, before all her permanent teeth come in. The expander should help widen her mouth to make enough room so they dont come in too crowded. By the time she is ready for her braces, about 1 1/2 yrs or so, he's hoping she'll have all her teeth in (she's already got a lot of them).
I'm pretty sure I understand the expander, but I'm still unsure what the bionator is? It's supposed to help bring the lower jaw forward to help with the overbite. Is it something she takes in and out, or something thats fixed in her mouth until he takes it back out? I think it seems like it goes on the bottom of the mouth, whereas, the expander is for the top? anyone know?
My biggest piece of advice is do not start this unless you are sure you will be able to go through the entire 3 years with this orthodontist!!! If you are thinking of moving, WAIT!!!!
I say this because we sunk $4000 into our ds's mouth and then we moved......well, different orthodontics have different methods....we had to start from scratch and when ds is done, we will have paid nearly $10,000 for his orthodontics!!!
And this is with NO INSURANCE. So, please learn from our big financial hit.
We also have our second child started and her treatment total is around $5,000. We had to stop hers after the first step and put it on hold becuase we honestly can't afford to have two of them in orthodontics at the same time. As soon as our son is done, our daughter will start back up again.
Thankfully, we have no plans to move again. Knock on wood...unless a amazing job offer comes up for dh. (he is not looking for one)
After our daughter is done, then we have three more in line for orthodontics......
I'd say the price you quoted is pretty much in the range that we have been quoted. And would have paid had we not had to start all over again with our son.
Their teeth will be tender after each major appliance addition. Usually lasts for a couple days. Just make sure that your child follows the instructions from the orthodontist EXACTLY becuase this will ensure that treatment goes smoothly and also keeps delays away.
Phase one was $5,000 +, we are still in phase one. His orthodontist told us it will be a three-phase treatment (expanders, spacers. And brackets, then braces, then most likely a retainer) and will cost about $12,000-$15,00 total when complete.
__________________
"The night sky was bright with anticipation."
I think it all depends on what has to be done. My dd and ds are going and we're having some teeth pulled this summer. DD has a overbite and some crowding so we're only doing phase one. Her ortho says we're going to wait and see if making room will help her overbite. She said we're not going to rush to the braces decision. And with DS there is just some crowding so we're pulling teeth to make room. We haven't paid a dime for the consults, her telling me what the plan is and looking at their teeth. They've taken pictures and xrays, but I won't start paying until we start the process. We haven't even taked money yet.
Remember you are the mom and can reject any treatment. Ask what the goal is make sure the goal will correct the problem and they don't do extra stuff.
__________________
Traci
Homeschooling mom to Christopher Emily AnaKatherine Rebecca
Married to my soulmate for 14 years
Loving Pregnant mommys
No, I'm not a maniac just a doula
Yep...the changes in Izzi's mouth were amazing!! The expander is kind-of a medevil sort of thing and it hurts to tighten. Izzi had horrible pain in her nose for about 5 minutes after the tightening! It will pull Brooke's front teeth apart a lot!!! But then it mellows out and looks really nice. Yep, I had about 8 permanent teeth pulled and Izzi will still need teeth pulled. . Not sure what the bionator is....
Oh, and the expander pain only hurts for about the first week!!
Linear Mode
