Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Brace yourself

So, we had our orthodontist appointment.  And I am "happy" to report it was financially better than I thought it would be.  And also oh so not surprised to report that Bossy has severe issues. I mean, seriously.....it would really be nice to have one thing that was easy with this kid.  But, we love him, and we deal with it.  But man, he is definitely a handful (of love!).

Let's get the financial stuff out of the way first.....right now we are looking at a grand total of about $6,000.  So WAY better than I originally thought.  The caveat to this is that right now we are hoping to be able to correct things without surgery.  We won't know until we get further along.  But surgery is a possibility, and then our total number goes out the window.  We will work out a payment plan with them....so that will be that.  I guess we will just adjust our budget again....and go from there.   We are looking into other financial aid, but no one I have talked to has ever heard of help.  I am going to reach out to some of the Autism organization and see if they have any leads.  But most of the aid available is for larger equipment, not orthodontics.

We contemplated getting a few different opinions, but I spoke to our pediatric dentist (who has been our dentist since the kids were a year old), and her feeling was that he is the BEST there is.  She has worked with several other orthodontists in the area, and she had nothing but wonderful things to say about him, his practice, and his staff.

His office was very modern and nice.  Everyone was so nice and patient.  Poor Sassy had to sit in the waiting room for almost 2 hrs.  But she had some books, and the waiting room had several video game consoles.  And a TV.  And bottles of water! 

I liked the doctor, and he has been in practice for 30 yrs.  All he does is orthodontics. After the initial consult and pictures, we went ahead and did impressions and x-rays.  $275.  At least we have our medical account!!!!

Bossy did better than expected with the impressions.  I gave him my phone to use as a stopwatch/timer.  That seemed to help.  He had a hard time with the wax impression and the girl helping with that was soooooo sweet.  I think she felt bad that he was having a hard time.  I bit down on one of the "used" pieces that wasn't going to work (yeah, only a mother will stick a piece of wax that was just in her kid's mouth in her mouth.....).  Eventually, I tried ripping the wax in half and we were able to get what we needed.  Motherhood.....the mother of all ingenuity!

I asked the doctor if he was considered mild.....moderate.  Oh no.....he is quite severe.  Cuz that is just how we roll!  He has a cross bite in the front and in the back (who knew that was even possible!).  He has an underbite.  His upper jaw is too small and narrow.  His lower jaw protrudes.  Of course he looks "perfect" to me.  But alas, his teeth are all crowded and coming in on the sides because there is no room for them.

They are hoping to push his lower jaw back and move his upper jaw forward and expand it with an expander.  If the braces aren't doing enough, then we will have to look at surgery.

We may not start this adventure for a little while though.  His upper molars aren't in enough, so we may have to wait until they descend a little more to give the expander something to clamp to.  But we go back in 2 weeks after the molds are back and will decide then.

It is always an adventure!



17 comments:

  1. I so know how you feel. I have one in braces now - mild case - $2500. However, my youngest sounds as bad as yours and has sensory issues - ie. he doesn't like anything other than food in his mouth, including toothbrushes. Yes, it is a challenge. Teeth are growing in behind the baby teeth and sideways. Sigh - my number will look like yours pretty soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, we talked at length about the sensory issues. I am sure Bossy will just LOVE having a piece of metal in the roof of his mouth! But they did say it won't touch the tissue, so eventually he will just get used to having his tongue in a slightly new position.

      The expander is about $2000 (with the records we did yesterday) and then it will be about $4000 for the rest. *sigh*

      Delete
  2. oh I know how you feel as well!!! I always tell everybody that my daughter has a mouth "worth" $7,000. But it was so worth it in the end!!! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tell people that I have Million dollar kids....since their NICU bill was 1.5 MILLION. I don't even want to think about how much we have paid since then. *shudder*

      Delete
  3. I feel for you. I was quoted $6000 for my daughter to get braces last year. Her teeth are not perfectly straight but far from hideous. I told her that I would not pay $6000 just for cosmetics. Had she truly needed braces, I would have found a way. Just to have a straight smile? No, I cannot justify going into debt for that. My husband and his sister both had braces as kids. Guess what...wisdom teeth grew in and made their teeth crooked again. I told my daughter that I will help pay for college or university, but braces were out. My dentist as a teenager was very honest. He told me that I had crooked but extremely healthy teeth (first and only cavity at 35). I think his advising against braces helped me accept my somewhat crooked teeth(sucked my thumb for wayyy longer than normal :)

    You are clearly in a situation where it sounds as though fixing his teeth is not merely cosmetic. Still...$6000+ OUCH!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If it truly was cosmetic, we wouldn't do it. I have straight teeth, but alot of spaces. I survived.

      But the doctor said this could be impeding his airway (said many kids breath better once their upper jaw expands, as it also expands the nasal passages. And it could cause other muscular and skeletal issues as he continues to grow.

      We aren't thrilled with ANOTHER 6k of medical stuff, but we have always said that our kids will get what they need.

      Delete
  4. Braces. Sigh. We are midway through treatment with my oldest - our plan total is $6800. We have had one minor oral surgery procedure (and shouldn't have any more). I can't believe what a difference a year has made.

    I'm glad your quote was lower than anticipated!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is reassuring to hear that 1) our fees are in line with other people, and 2) people see the improvement!

      Delete
  5. You are doing the right thing. Straight teeth set one up for success. He will always be grateful for them (or at least hopefully). Sorry its so expensive though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    2. Are you serious??? Straight teeth set you up for success??? Too funny! Education and intelligence set people up for success.

      Delete
    3. I don't think he will care. If we didn't do it, he wouldn't notice.

      Delete
  6. Most orthos seem to do a monthly payment on a cc or debit. You pay a down payment and then they divide the remainder by the amount of time they expect your child to be in braces. If you choose to pay upfront, there is generally a discount. Good luck!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, this is what our office will do. We will set it all up at the next visit in a few weeks. I wish we could pay upfront, but that isn't possible....unless a kind and generous soul volunteers $6000!!!! HAHAHAHA.

      Delete
  7. Mysti try the Shriners also March of Dimes sometimes they do weird things. Also I feel this is a medical necessity not a dental issue. It is a breathing problem. Fight them. I know you know how to do this.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ugh, sorry to hear that. If you're willing to take this with a grain of humor, I have a slight overbite. My teeth have never aligned top and bottom. Always frustrated me I can't open potato chip bags with the front of my mouth, but have to do so with molars instead. And at that, it's a botched work. Both of my jaws are too small for my teeth and they crowd in two different places. One of them crushed a teeth because it was so out of space. I still smile like I don't care. Perfect teeth are overrated.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ouch that hurts, though I'm glad it's not as much as anticipated. I do think it's money very well spent. I had my teeth straightened when I was a kid, and though I guess it would have been considered cosmetic, my teeth were VERY crooked and I'm glad my parents made the sacrifice. Unfortunately, the orthodontist I had didn't correct my bad bite, and I've struggled with it. Like Tanner, it makes some things inconvenient, and even worse, as I've aged, the bad bite has caused some molars to crack and need expensive dental intervention. It's great that Bossy will have his dental issues addressed.

    ReplyDelete