How much is your smile worth?

[Sum Dum Gai]

Mine will cost roughly 10k to fix. My teeth are straight, and they're pretty white. However, I have no overbite. My teeth hit edge to edge in the front, which is wearing down my upper front teeth. I got an estimate today of $6,500 for full braces to push my upper teeth out a bit and pull the lower teeth in a bit. After about a year or year and a half, they'll take the braces off and I can get veneers on the four upper front teeth to correct the damage they've sustained, at a cost of roughly 1k a tooth.

I found out today that my dental plan doesn't cover any orthodontic work for adults by the way, so this all comes straight out of my pocket. It raises the obvious question... is a pretty smile really worth 10 Gs? It's not like my teeth are fugly or jacked up looking. Over the years the damage to my uppers will hit a point that I'll have to get crowns on them or whatever, but for now they look pretty much fine.

Oh, my older daughter is going to need braces as well for pretty much the same reason. At least we'll only be paying for half of hers. They have to wait for her remaining adult teeth to come in, but we'll need to pony up for that before too long. Things like this by the way are why $100k doesn't stretch as far as you think it will when you start making it.

[RoadToRiches]

I really need to get my grill fixed. My teeth are not crooked or anything, but I do need some work. I need 2 implants in the back and would like to get a little gap fixed.

I was also thinking about veneers down the road. I know someone who did it and her teeth are sooo nice. I think she paid like 6 grand. It totally changed her face.

I was quoted 4k out of pocket for my work. Didn't go yet I really need to though.

[Apple]

Dark--do you have an FSA option? If so, I'd include this in next year's as long as they don't try to consider it cosmetic. I can't remember what Spydah paid, but he had to spend a lot too.

[debtheaven]

I'm old now ... you need to keep in mind that some of orthodontics is aesthetic, but some is functional. When I was growing up everybody had braces but me, my frugal, immigrant parents decided my teeth were "just fine". Turns out they're not. I take really good care of them now, but they will definitely not last forever.

Will those crowns you will eventually need cost more or less than the 6.5K for the braces? What is the timeline on those crowns?

This said, I'd definitely get a second estimate and even a third, for two reasons: one, it's always good to have a second estimate, and two, I'm surprised that they suggest braces at your age rather than Invisalign. Which will certainly be significantly more expensive. But I don't think it would be much fun to wear braces at your age. I do have a friend who wore braces in her late 20s, but she was a SAHM with two kids under four. Her parents too decided her teeth were "just fine". They weren't and she decided to "bite the bullet" while she was a SAHM and her kids were little. This was in the days before Invisalign.

The other thing to consider is to tell your orthodontist that he / she will have three patients, and ask for a price break!

[Sum Dum Gai]

Dark--do you have an FSA option?

We have an FSA at work, but I'm not signed up for it right now. I will be during the next open enrollment obviously.

Will those crowns you will eventually need be more or less than the 6.5K for the braces?

Less, and they might be covered (at least partially) by my dental plan. It would also let me kick the can years down the road. I don't know exactly how long it takes your teeth to wear down completely, but it's gotta be a few decades. I imagine my dentist would have a fit if I told her I'm just going to let my teeth grind themselves down to nothing and then deal with it though.

[debtheaven]

I'm 51 and still have all my teeth but one LOL! I lost a wisdom tooth two years ago.

Dark, I literally live in fear of losing my teeth and not being able to afford good implants. I do have money in the bank. Whenever I think about that money, I automatically deduct 20K for implants. Seriously.

Do what you need to do.

[Deleted]

I am 55 and have had braces for the past 18 months.
NOT for aesthetic reasons, NOT covered by insurance.

I think the money is well spent because it sure beats the pain and the problems I was experiencing!

[illinicheme]

I have terrible teeth. They're straight right now thanks to several years of braces (and three oral surgeries - thank you parents for paying for all that...), but they're "soft" and therefore quite susceptible to cavities, decalcifications, etc. I'm assuming that I'll eventually have to pony up big bucks for implants and/or veneers. (I'm currently 32. I'm sure I have at least a few years until current fillings start breaking, but I'm nearly certain that my late 30s and early 40s are going to be a stretch of significant dental work.)

Personally, I'd do what I could to fix as much as possible now. I'd probably make a plan to at least get the braces (once covered by FSA enrollment). Sounds like the $4k for veneers could be delayed for a few years, so you wouldn't necessarily have to put up the entire $10k right now.

[oreo]

It seems like if you can get the dentist to say that the way your teeth are currently is causing erosion of your upper teeth that insurance should cover some of it as it isn't strictly cosmetic. Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying??? Of course, just because they "should" doesn't mean they will. I've heard of people who have TMJ and had to get that fixed and insurance didn't cover it

[Sum Dum Gai]

It seems like if you can get the dentist to say that the way your teeth are currently is causing erosion of your upper teeth that insurance should cover some of it as it isn't strictly cosmetic.

You'd think. They said my insurer only covers orthodontic work for minors though.

[973beachbum]

Dark most Dental insurance only covers braces for kids. That is pretty standard.

I would work out a schedule with the dentist and coordinate that schedule with your FSA so you can make contributions to it to match what you need. From what you are saying it sounds like braces would be the first step. So the first year you would need that amount in your FSA. I would see if they could schedule it so that that is one year and the work on the crwons is half the next year and maybe the other half the year after that.

Most of the time with work like this they can schedule it out so that you can do it over quite a while considering you aren't talking about a root canal or anything. Just my 2 dents.

illinicheme I hear you! I have fought to fix my teeth for years and it feels like a losing battle sometimes.

[midjd]

I agree with those who have suggested coordinating with your FSA funding (and getting a second opinion). I've had to stretch out dental work over the course of several years when I hit the maximum annual payout. Like illincheme, I'll probably need crowns/veneers in my early 30s and I wish I (or my mom) had known how passing up on the $1K braces would end up costing $15K later.

If there is a bright side, at least your daughter will be getting a leg up and hopefully won't have to go through the same thing in 20 years

[Deleted]

I've got 2 implants plus a few crowns and bridges. No orthdontia. This, despite dental checkups every 6 months and regular brushing and flossing. I've been really hard on my molars and the current dentist figured out that I was clenching my teeth at night. A plastic bite guard put an end to broken teeth and crowns.

In my case it's all for function and not cosmetic- I love fresh vegetables and other crunchy food and I need molars to eat them!

[Sum Dum Gai]

The thing that really burns me up about it is that I was in the service for 6 years. I got a dental checkup at least annually that whole time. Not one of my dentists, and I saw a different one practically every time, ever said anything about my teeth hitting the way they do and needing braces. I never really thought about it because my teeth have always been that way. If I'd gotten the braces then they would have been completely covered.

[naturallyfrugal]

I had braces in high school for a similar reason - my teeth were straight (still are), but they did slant in a few milimeters so the braces (with rubber bands) fixed it.

Fast forward 17 years and the enamel on the back of my teeth is/was flaking off, which made my teeth look gray. I still had no cavities and my teeth were in good shape, but my smile wasn't bright. I was self-conscious about it and chose to get veneers - 16 of them (8 top and 8 bottom). It was a huge expense and was totally out-of-pocket, but I don't regret if for a second. Since some of mine are towards the back of my mouth, they take a "pounding" when I chew and I have to replace two of them that cracked and popped off and were bit into pieces. This was not a result of poor quality because every dentist I've been to since getting them, has commented on what a great job the original dentist did. Since yours would be in the front, you probably wouldn't have that problem. I do have a hairline crack at the top of one of my front ones, as a result of being intubated for surgery and it put a lot of pressure on my front teeth. But, it's not visible, so I'm not worrying about it.

Another thing to keep in mind - veneers usually need to be replaced every 15 - 20 years, which I think is similar to crowns. You still need to brush and flush well because you can get cavities, even with veneers. Oh, and you can't chew on hard foods like nuts or they may crack/come off. I'm always really careful about chewing food in the very back of my mouth.

I'm in the process of getting an implant right now - $4k out-of-pocket and I do have insurance. I had an unknown infection in my jaw and it totally messed up a tooth (molar in the very back) and I had to have an extraction, sinus augmentation, and bone grafts. The implant is in and I'm waiting for the go-ahead to get the crown - so far, it's taken 7 months. I think the crown is another $1k. I could have gotten a bridge, but I'm young (sort of) and the teeth on either side are in good shape and an implant, though more expensive, is a more conservative choice.

I think I probably have about a $25k smile and people often tell me I have nice teeth, which is nice to hear. Sometimes I say I have veneers, sometimes I don't. I chose to have veneers that look just like my real teeth in shape - they aren't perfectly straight across, I think I would have felt weird if I looked in the mirror and saw totally different shaped teeth.

Good luck with whatever option(s) you choose!

[luckyme]

Apr 6, 2011 18:25:09 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

A plastic bite guard put an end to broken teeth and crowns.

DD16 was just diagnosed with clenching during sleep. Was the bite guard OTC or custom?

[chiver78]

I second the FSA recommendation, and it sounds like you're already planning that next time around. that's good.

I am finishing up 3 years' worth of Invisalign - final appointment for retainer impressions is Monday - at a cost of $5000. my dental covered $2k (lifetime cap for anyone) and I FSA'd the remaining $3k.

fwiw, all of this could have been taken care of (free to me) by my parents' dental insurance when I was in jr HS and said to my dentist at the time 'hey, should we fix this now, while everyone else has braces too??' but they said no, I'd grow into it. um....not so much. my parents tell me that a childhood Sears portrait of mine hung in the window for months after I went in, to the point where my mom went in to say really, WTE? they told her that they never see kids with perfect teeth (I was 4) before the adult teeth come in. my baby teeth were perfectly aligned.....so that should tell you how crowded the adult teeth were.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Mine should have been taken care of as a kid too but I don't really blame my parents. Not a single dentist told them my mouth was too small and I'd have problems later as an adult because of it. Also at the time they did not know that gum disease was genetic.

My teeth are pretty straight but my front teeth are not (turns out that is also genetic). My parents did feel that was pretty much just cosmetic and didn't see a need for braces. Overall it hasn't bothered me too much, but there have been times when I was pissed about it.

I talked to my dentist and now, at 27, it'd require some serious oral surgery just to even get my teeth prepped for braces.

So I talked to her about it and honestly I am going to have gum problems no matter what (thank you genes!), getting braces would just mean I could go down to maybe two yearly visits instead of four. That isn't a sure thing.

I broke my front tooth at the age of nine, comestic dentistry has improved so much even in the past three years since I got it recapped that she can take my tooth apart and cosmetically enhance it to the point that unless you knew me, you'd never know my front teeth aren't perfectly straight. This would cost me around $200 out of pocket, less if insurance pays for some of it.

So when I add on the cost of braces, the cost of the surgery I'd need to get my mouth ready, the time to recover and have all this done, really IMO my smile isn't worth that much.

Not when paying a couple extra hundred a year and then $200 for my tooth can acheive pretty much the same effect.

[ontrack]

My fiance uses a plastic bite guard at night to stop his teeth grinding. He has a custom-made one now, but made do for a few years with the OTC ones. The custom one is way better, and lasts longer

[lulubean]

Going next week to price braces, it's worth it for me.

[pepper112765]

Most orthodontists let you do a payment plan, or they use some company for financing, which I don't understand why someone would do that, if you can have a 0% interest monthly payment. Anyway, I paid the monthly. My insurance covered $2000, I paid the rest. Total about $5500.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

they use some company for financing, which I don't understand why someone would do that, if you can have a 0% interest monthly payment.

I don't know about orthodontists, but all the dentists nad oral surgeons here either want you to pay up front or you have to sign up for a medical credit card and pay with that.

They won't take payments anymore.

I have one for my dentist because we all go to her and I can use that in a dental emergency (otherwise I pay out of pocket), but no way am I going to sign up for every clinic's version of the card.

[Sum Dum Gai]

The quote I got assumed a payment plan. They had somewhere around $900 down, which was like 15% I think, and then monthly payments of $237 or so for two years. There's no interest on the payment plan. However, they give you a 5% discount if you pay cash up front which would lower my cost from $6,585 to $6,255.75.

[shanendoah]

I didn't get braces as a kid because my parents' insurance didn't cover it and they couldn't afford it. I don't blame them. While I had/have an overbite, chances are that braces alone won't fix it and I'll need jaw surgery. And it wasn't causing any other issues. In fact, I got compliments on my smile.

However, after a really bad cavity from when I didn't have dental insurance, combined with a botched root canal on my two upper front teeth, they were starting to fold back. While people often don't realize it, we tend to discriminate against people who have bad oral hygiene. Since I want to go further in my career, and I work in healthcare, I decided to get braces at 35. (Literally, they were put on the day after my birthday.)

I'm lucky. I have great dental coverage. I have a friend who is the office manager for the same ortho I'm seeing who also got braces. I'm paying less than she is.
My insurance would not have covered Invisalign, though.
Right now, I have to have a bite plate in addition to the braces. After 2 years, when they come off, I might still need surgery to correct the overbite. I don't know if I'll do the surgery, but at least my front teeth will be straight and not looking like they're collapsing in to my head.

[Deleted]

Apr 6, 2011 20:44:38 GMT -5 luckyme said:

DD16 was just diagnosed with clenching during sleep. Was the bite guard OTC or custom?

Mine was custom- I think it cost $150 4 years ago and it's still holding up well. It's but I occasionally soak it in mouthwash to deep-clean it. It's a real minty rush when I put it in after that!

[Sum Dum Gai]

Dark -- would not paying the money and fixing the issue cause more or even worse issues down the road?

Basically, every time I close my mouth the edge of my top front four teeth hit the edge of my bottom front four teeth. They should go in front of those teeth, but mine hit edge on edge exactly. This is obviously causing the teeth to wear themselves out. The bottom teeth appear to be winning the fight, and my upper teeth are getting beat up. If I do nothing it will wear the front teeth out completely, eventually, but we're talking decades here. The other options would be to replace the teeth with implants, or grind them down and put in crowns in the front. The crowns would still hit wrong and wear themselves down, but they're tougher than teeth so it would take even longer. This would probably be cheaper than braces in the long run, and I wouldn't have to do anything for a while. Braces are the only way I'm keeping my natural front teeth though. They're probably the most expensive way to fix the problem long term though.

I mostly asked out of curiosity, since I'm pretty sure I'll just cough up the dough and try to keep my teeth. It is a good amount of money to put into my smile though, especially since I have straight teeth already. I mean, I don't have toothpaste commercial teeth, but most people don't see my teeth and think, "Man, that guy needs some work".

[rumples]

I had to have about $10K worth of dental work done a few years ago due to getting braces as an adult (mid-20s). I had several large fillings in my molars and the pressure of the bands surrounding them caused every one of them to crack. Was the possibility of this disclosed by my orthodontist prior to putting the braces on? Of course not.

Something to think about if you have any fillings in your molars...

[greenstone]

I've spent about $6400 on my smile. My front teeth were severely crowded and my bite was off. Like the OP, my upper and lower front teeth were right on top of one another, although my molars hit together first so my front teeth couldn't touch. Until my orthodontist showed me a proper bite, I didn't know mine wasn't normal LOL. It still looks weird to me to see my upper teeth in front of my lower teeth.
I am currently 19 months into Invisalign treatment and it has been well worth it. I paid $5500 total for Invisalign. I had to pay $1100 up front and the remaining balance was paid in 16 monthly installments. I was able to make all but 2 payments from my FSA. My last payment was in February. Yeah! My ortho also had a financing option available but I don't know the terms since I wasn't interested in going that route.
Because my front arch is small, I had to have all four of my bicuspids pulled to make enough room for my other teeth. I paid almost $900 for the four extractions. I went to an oral surgeon who was great. I was having a hard time psychologically with pulling four good teeth so I wanted the best.