braces

My 11 year old gets braces today. Another milestone in parenthood!
I'm stocked up on soft foods, ibuprofen and orajel and I bought a waterpik.
I've heard too many stories of kids having alot of cavities because they
didn't take good care of their teeth while in braces.

--
Marie
~The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of
tolerance comes when we are in the majority.~
Ralph W. Sockman

Ugh. Two of my girls need braces, but I cannot afford the down payment on
both of them yet. So they are going to have to wait. I am hoping that once I
am done with school and get a better job, that I will have better dental
insurance than my husband does right now. Then perhaps we can afford the
braces.
--
Sue (mom to three girls)

"MarieD" wrote in message
...
My 11 year old gets braces today. Another milestone in parenthood!
I'm stocked up on soft foods, ibuprofen and orajel and I bought a
waterpik. I've heard too many stories of kids having alot of cavities
because they didn't take good care of their teeth while in braces.

--
Marie
~The test of courage comes when we are in the minority. The test of
tolerance comes when we are in the majority.~
Ralph W. Sockman

"Sue" wrote in message
...
Ugh. Two of my girls need braces, but I cannot afford the down payment on
both of them yet. So they are going to have to wait. I am hoping that once
I am done with school and get a better job, that I will have better dental
insurance than my husband does right now. Then perhaps we can afford the
braces.

The kids are on dh's insurance, and their dental insurance changed right
before my daughter's first appointment. The new insurance did not cover
orthontics at all, whereas the old one would have covered much of it.
The down payment was part of our tax refund this year. It was only $600.
Something happened with the first orthodontist and she went bankrupt, so her
patients were forced to hurry and find another ortho. The only other one in
town took us all in and was really great about the down payment. She split
it up into the monthly payments so that we did not have to pay a down
payment twice. None of us can get our money back from the first ortho,
either. I had paid 20% of our total already.
Marie

MarieD wrote:
My 11 year old gets braces today. Another milestone in parenthood!
I'm stocked up on soft foods, ibuprofen and orajel and I bought a
waterpik. I've heard too many stories of kids having alot of cavities
because they didn't take good care of their teeth while in braces.


Well good for you. I had braces and I still thank my father for paying
for them when I look in the mirror and I'm 39!

I am also frightened by the price. I know my two older boys will need
extensive orthodontic work (already see an ortho actually) and I'm
pretty sure the little boys will too. I'll buy that guy a new car of
his own before I'm done.

--

Nikki, mama to 4 boys.

"Nikki" wrote in message
news:BomdnUeFqsRrCDnVnZ2dnUVZ_s7inZ2d@prairiewave. com...
Well good for you. I had braces and I still thank my father for paying
for them when I look in the mirror and I'm 39!

That's good to know! In my daughter's case, her canines are still in her
gums, right above her very front teeth, and pushing down on the teeth,
causing them to grow sideways. If I don't have something done about those,
then her teeth will get worse. They already hurt and bleed alot from being
pushed to grow sideways(they keep going and have gotten worse in the past
couple of years). The xrays look horrible- the canines in the center of her
mouth, growing toward each other, and the teeth they are pushing on are
growing sideways away from each other. My mom said my brother's were like
that, also.

I am also frightened by the price. I know my two older boys will need
extensive orthodontic work (already see an ortho actually) and I'm pretty
sure the little boys will too. I'll buy that guy a new car of his own
before I'm done.

I am really hoping this is the only one we'll have to do braces for!! My
oldest was told she'd need braces way back when she was about 7 or 8, but
now that all her adult teeth are in, they say she has perfect teeth and a
perfect bite! I'm really glad I waited. I know they are doing them earlier
than they used to but I'm wondering how many kids this happens to who
actually do outgrow the crooked teeth without having braces? My last child
is 5 so I have awhile for her.
I really don't know how the price is comparable to other places. It's
between $5000-$6000 for us. One place was $6000, and that office went
bankrupt a few months ago so we had to move to someone else's office and it
was cheaper(and the new office didn't require all those new patients to pay
a lump sum down payment again). In any case, thousands of dollars does make
your heart race a bit! It's just some metal, bands and cement/glue!! And it
only takes a few patients to pay off the orthodontist's college loans...
Marie