My sons braces were right at $4,000 and that was 2 years ago.Most orthodontists let you put a down payment down and then make monthly payments.Some dental ins cover a portion.

SHelley

Wow! I don't have dental ins. Just thinking I MIGHT help.

Glenda my sons orthodontist also offered a 10% disc if we paid in full at the times the braces were palced.

Shelley

That should have been TIME and PLACED

Our daughter's braces were $4500. I really think braces should be a priority, because not having nice teeth can affect self esteem. We had coverage, but would have paid for them anyway.

Most dental insurance for orthodontics tops out at $1200-1500 total, not yearly. Most orthodontic procedures are between $3000-5000. Stinks, doesn't it?

Monthly payments are an option. And many orthodontists are willing to work with patient's parents to work out a solution.

I had braces put on the middle of November - I'm 38. :) I'm also in Canada, so the prices are possibly a bit different here. My quoted price if everything goes according to plan is $6280. Like others have mentioned, my orthodontist offers a monthly payment plan with a 15% down, and also offers an 'administrative discount' if the cost is paid in full up front. I can speak to the self-esteem issues, which is why I finally have them at 38. My teeth weren't horribly bad, but bad enough that I was definitely conscious of them - and they were still slowly getting worse, so who knows how bad they might have been in 10 years?? They're also healthy & strong enough that I should be able to keep them for my lifetime, so better late than never, right?? :)

Alyssa's were $5400, but add in the cost of teeth she had to get pulled as part of the process, and it cost about $6,000. We are on a no-interest pmt. plan offered by the orthodontist; I think we had to pay about $1,800 down on them.

I hope the boy gets braces if he needs them that badly! I cannot thank my parents enough for getting my teeth fixed!

My daughter's cost about $2000. and the orthodontist let us spread the payments out. She was very self-conscious about her teeth, I would have paid more if needed.

Glenda would it be feasible for both son and ex-wife to split the costs...if it would make it easier on all perhaps you, the son, and ex could split the payments. That would make it easier on everybody.. The most important thing is that GS get the braces..

june

My dentist accepts credit cards so at least I can get frequent flier miles for cavities.

If you live near a dental school, you can contact them to see if your GS can be a patient for an orthodontic resident. The students need to work on patients who meet certain criteria in order to graduate, so your GS may or may not be accepted as a patient. The visits take longer than in a orthodontic office, but it is cheaper.

Please don't put this on a credit card. I'm sure you can find an orthodontist who will allow payments with no interest or at the very least, a rate that is much lower than you can get on a credit card. Especially right now when the credit card companies are desperately searching for ways around the new federal rules governing how they do business.

Whatever it takes, PJR should have braces.

My little brother would never smile because of his "buck" teeth. As soon as the dentist said he was old enough for braces, he was at the orthodontist. He took excellent care of his teeth and never once complained about the braces. My parents made monthly payments, which were a struggle for them.

My brother is now 55--and he is getting braces again, starting next week. Over time, his teeth have shifted, and he decided it was worth the $5,500 price tag to get them fixed again.

Glenda, it's not your responsibility to pay for his braces, but it would make a wonderful "early inheritance" gift, if you can swing it. He would forever be grateful to his Grandma.

I am in braces now and I am 54. It will cost me $5000... plus the extractions.

It would have been cheaper and better if I could have had it done when I was young.

Glenda, could you split the cost with his dad? When my DS needed braces, my dental insurance paid half and his dad paid the other half in payments to the orthodontist. Even if PJR's mom is responsible for dental bills, I would think Parke could pony up for his only son. PJR would be so grateful when he is an adult.

One note of caution.

I assume PJR has been seen by an orthodontist who has said he needs braces.

A child who needs braces must be willing to accept the responsibilty and work that is involved with them. It is not a carefree experience.

A way to handle the expense can be worked out.

Sue

I don't know if this would be less expensive, but it is sometimes more appropriate than braces. Not every child needs 'braces'. I know some people whose jaws were stretched over a period of years, starting in pre-adolescence.

I had four teeth extracted when I was thirteen and wore braces for two years. That seemed fine, until I reached adulthood -- with an adult-sized jaw. I should probably NEVER have had the extractions. My teeth began collapsing forward in my mouth.

And YES PJR has been seen by an orthodontist.

He was scheduled to get them this past summer, and his mother could not swing it.

Being as he is going to high school, and needs them, I would see if I could handle it financially.

I think my daughter's cost $3500, but that was about 15 years ago. It was a payment plan...didn't cost very much per month.
I think it was $88. Money well spent.

Maybe between his mother AND his father and you....the three of you could handle it.

Glenda, it would be a blessing if you could help them out. My daughter was very embarrassed and now feels much better about herself and smiles more. I know that my Great-grandparents paid for my aunt's and uncle's braces because my grand-parents couldn't afford it.

It is very kind of you to want to help. PJR is lucky to have Grandma that loves him like you do.

5 years ago it cost us $6,500 for the teeth pulling, braces & the follow-ups. My youngest son's teeth were a mess...teeth going every which way. He even had little popcorn seed sized teeth in the roof of his mouth that they had to remove (showed up on x-rays) Best money we ever spent was getting him braces. We did give up allot.....extra fun stuff like trips, a new bike, snow board boots but to see him smile again was worth it :~)

Thou, I have to say, the Otho said my middle son, at age 14, needed braces also. He had straight as a arrow teeth. They said he had a 'slight' under bite. I also knew he was still growing & his face was changing. We decided to wait a bit and see what happened with maturity. By the time he was 15 1/15, the 'need, for braces was no longer there.

I hope things work out for your grandson!

If the Mom, the Dad, and you shared the cost-everyone would pay 1/3 of the cost. Seems fair. If thats not feasible-contact the orthodontist and explain the situation. That way he can give you the payment options.

Has mom asked doc for help? are there resources for moms that can't afford such things? I think all three of you making payments would be cool.
next years ski trip might go towards braces... good idea!

Amen Kat! Or maybe they could take just one trip instead of two. Just a thought??

My 4 oldest grands have had braces. Some mouths are worse than others and cost less and take less time. It's money well spent. The idea of a local dental school is wonderful. I think my last GSs only cost $3000.

Definitely look into a local dental college. My husband has inheirited terrible teeth and has had root canals and implants done at our local dental college. Ha$ $aved u$ thou$and$.

Glenda..you really need to check into the dental school(s). I'm almost sure there's 1 or more in your area.

Remember when everyone use to go to Pell City and get "one day dentures"? lol I remember my Aunt and Grandmother both went..it was an all day thing, but they both came home smiling!

Glenda , UAB has a dental school, thats where my boss went to dental school.

SHelley

I wouldn't give it a second thought. I'd pay for his braces and skimp on myself a little bit so I could do this for him. He's such a cutie and it would mean the world to him, I'll bet. It really doesn't matter who is "supposed" to pay for them, just that it gets done and that he isn't self conscious about his smile.

I think it's up to the parents to skimp to pay for their son's braces not the grandparents. By the time we retire, we shouldn't have to skimp anymore.....we did that when we were younger for our own kids :~)

That might be true in your case, Snap, but I was saying what I would do if my grandchild needed braces and the parents weren't taking care of it. :)

Grandparents need to do what they CAN do, if they can. There are avenue's to be explored. T'will see.

End of this.

We had braces on both the girls at the same time. PLUS they both had to have their wisdom teeth out before that. We made payments up until they were taken off of Kalie...2+ years. It was a real stretch for us...but it was something that Kalie needed very badly and we wanted to do for them as much as we could. I can't imagine that monthly payments can't be met by both the parents. It maybe moms responsiblity....but it is all About the CHILD!

This was the day they had their wisdome teeth pulled.......This is their smiles today!

I advise against paying your dental bill with a credit card unless you can wipe out the balance in couple of months - Who needs 18% interest charge compounded monthly? It will sink you. In many cases, you are better off taking a loan against your life insurance.

There are a lot of thoughts and suggestions on this thread. I only skimmed it, so forgive me if someone suggested this and I missed it.

What about mom getting him on the state-sponsored insurance program for uninsured children? If they qualify, that pays medical, dental and braces. My sister got some homeless children she took in on it, and both she and her husband work--but don't make enough to pay for medical for the kids. Seems that would be a good place to start.

Someone did say that not every child need braces. Some do--for medical reasons, but in most cases, they're purely cosmetic. What's wrong with teaching a child to love themselves as they are? Seems to me, kids have more self esteem issues when the parents and others around them TELL them there's something that needs to be corrected for them to be worthwhile.

And worst comes to worse? There's nothing at all wrong with waiting for the braces until he's an adult and can pay for them himself. Both my husband and brother's wife got their braces as adults (families couldn't afford them when they were kids)--and know what? They were in them a MUCH shorter time than children are. Most of the kids I've known to be in braces spend at least 2-3 years in them. The adults I've known to have just as bad problems with their mouths as kids, but the adults were in braces no longer than 1.5 years. So there are advantages to waiting--to be compared to the disadvantage of being an adult wearing braces, of course. But their mouths are done growing, and it seems--IMO--that the corrections are more stable, and less likely to move back. DD had the SAME mouth configuration as her dad. His teeth were corrected beautifully after a year and a half. She was treated by the head of the orthodonture dept. at one of the country's top schools, she was in an appliance for a couple of years, braces for 3--and her teeth have moved back almost to where they were when she started. I honestly think that in hte interest of getting kids in and out of braces early, some of the work is being done TOO early, and it doesn't hold up as they continue to grow.

Whatever is decided, the best of luck to you and him.

When Twinkie and I first married and didn't have a pot or a window to throw it out of we had two girls - both in braces. We made monthly payments until they were paid for. Grandparents would have helped - IF they had known that we were squeaking by to pay for them.

I'm 59 and had a hygienist say not very long ago, "well, you have all these spaces in between your teeth..." I thought to myself, "Honey, when I was growing up nobody had braces that I knew. We were all low middle income kids and braces were totally out of the question." Not bad enough that I would go through wearing and paying for them now, but if they were - I'd sure do it now for myself.

Hey, the easier to floss YaYa! LOL

Both my boys had braces and they really needed them. There was no way I was going to have them go through jr. high and high school with their teeth the way they were. Their bite was off and my oldest could have eaten corn on the cob through a wire fence his teeth were so buck. But the orthodontist took payments and we managed. Their teeth are beautiful now and I'm glad we did it.

Azzalea, I disagree that by parents trying to help their kids better themselves it lowers their self-esteem. Kids can and will be so very cruel to their peers. THAT is what will errode their self-esteem....not parents trying to help them better themselves. And waiting till they are adults? The self-esteem problem is well established by then. Plus, it's not uncommon for kids to be surrounded by other "metal mouths" but as an adult there aren't nearly as many.

Sandy, your girls were beautiful as young girls but they have grown into stunning women. I know you must be so proud!

Glenda, if PJr's teeth are in need, there must be a way to get them fixed. I'm sure his parents want whats best for him.

Glenda, no matter who is responsible for paying for the braces, it seems to me that PRJs needs come first. Your DS should help out, if necessary.

Down the road, the exes can work out a "repayment" plan if needed.

I didn't think parenthood was about keeping score on who pays what, as long as the child's needs are met.

Take a look at this site might help to find out

Here is a link that might be useful: Dental cost calculator