My teeth mean a lot to me. I’ve been blessed with strong, mostly white, mostly straight teeth. I’ve always had a small gap in between my two front teeth, but it never really bothered me. I have only one small filling. Going to the dentist is not a traumatizing experience for me emotionally, however, it has come to be financially traumatizing.
My kids did not inherit my “I don’t need braces or fillings” teeth. My oldest sucked her thumb until she received her driver’s license (just as her father did). If you’ve never seen a thumb-sucking mouth before, I caution you - it is not pretty. Ever hear the expression, “she could eat a corn cob through a knot-hole”? Well, she could have.
When someone sucks her thumb that much, the roof of the mouth is pushed upwards, the front teeth protrude, and the jaw can be misaligned. I knew this was going to be an expensive mouth to fix. My youngest inherited teeth that looked like tombstones in the moonlight. Where he got all the room in his mouth for all the spaces, I’ll never know. I have a small, sweet mouth.
I needed to find an orthodontist. Lucky for me, there’s one on every street corner these days – and now I know why. What a racket!
The first step is to go to the orthodontist. While there, you will have pictures of your child’s mouth taken, and then they put it on a computer where you get to see the teeth visibly move until the last frame when your child’s smile is complete. Very clever, because how can you take your child away from that beautiful, computer-enhanced smile and say, “No thanks, we’ll keep looking”? Well, it’s hard.
I tried to shop around. My habit is to get three estimates before I agree to purchase anything. My child permitted me two before she said, “It’s my mouth and those bitewings hurt and I’m not going anywhere else.” I couldn’t really argue since both estimates were the exact same price. How they managed to quote the same thing, I’ll never know, but my conspiracy theory voice whispers that there are some underhanded shenanigans in orthodontia.
Both offices (I secretly went to a third without her and got the same spiel) so really, all three offices were eerily similar. All three had an arcade section, a TV area, cookies (Yes, junk food - it is a conspiracy!) and beautiful “after” pictures on the wall.
Article comments
1 - SLP
A couple of comments / thoughts. Not to be overly critical but, 1) Some of the "overhead" of becoming an orthodontist is also the opportuntiy cost and expense of 11 years of college to become a specialist. 2) Invisalign is usually more expensive because there is a large lab bill added to the overall overhead cost. 3) Your estimates of the patients being see by an orthodontist is overestimated. The average orthodontist "starts" ~ 200-250 new patients per year citing the Journal of Clinical Orthodontics. 3000 a year is just not accurate or realistic for an orthodontist to manage.
2 - alexandria jackson
Well, I was wondering when an orthodontist would weigh in. 1)I understand education costs because I also earned my doctorate. But I don't describe that as "overhead." Once you pay off your student loans, then do you drop the price? 2) I still would be very interested in an acutal cost breakdown of both orthodonture and invisalign because I have trouble making the figures work out. 3) You may be right, I forgot to figure that those 3000 clients are in braces for a 2 year average so my figure of $15 million was inadvertently doubled. Still, for the service received and the time spent in the orthodontist's office, the cost is difficult to justify. If any orthodontist reading this wants to itemize the cost of an "average" set of braces, I'd love to read it with an open mind.
3 - paul b
I don't think anyone should be held accountable of their fees because of how they spend their money. When my plumber or electrician are in my house for an hour or less and charge me a fee, i don't ask them to justify what they charge. As far as a conspiracy, we have to fill out forms to insurance companies with our fees. I agree that their are some orthodontists that charge a lot, but sometimes you get what you pay for. By the way, I am not an orthodontist. Please respond. I would like to continue this further.
4 - Alexandria
I guess I do think that there should be some justification in the cost of health related items. I one time got quoted $120 for a breathing apparatus, but when I got there, said I had insurance and filled out my insurance forms, the machine ended up costing (my insurance company) $340. I never pursued this because one of my kids was suffering at the time, but it still seems a bit sneaky to me. I DO want to know why orthodontia is so expensive and I AM frustrated by the rising health care costs in this country. But you could also plug in any health care item like "mammograms" or "sonagrams" or even "lab work" and I'd still want to know the cost breakdown and why. One time, when I went for a mammogram, I was asked if I wanted the "comfort pad." I said, "what is that?" and they said, "It's a cushion so it doesn't hurt so much." I said, "Yes please!" and they told me the cost was $5. I was outraged! What about the people who can't afford that? Why would the little piece of cotton cost so much? why wouldn't they just make that standard? So it isn't just orthodontia that I'm frustrated with, that just happened to be my current frustration.
5 - JoAnne
My son lost his lower retainer. A small piece of wire... which my son calls "a piece of paper clip", which is what really looks like. It costs $250 to replace it, which I cannot afford. I want to know how this outrageous price can be justified. Also, I was told that if he had the retainer and needed to be fixed, it costs $150 (still outrageously high). Any suggestions?
Thanks.
6 - JoAnne
I am very concerned about the metal used for retainers. I believe it is Nickel. My concern is having it in the mouth 24/7 for the rest of your life and how this metal leaks into the body. Does anyone know how toxic it is? Thanks.
7 - Geoffrey
I have never met anyone who felt they were paid too much and the "other guy" is paid too little.
It is easy to diminish the work of others whether it is being paid to "say the right words" in counseling (words are free right?) or just "throwing a ball" in professional baseball. What about the CEO of an insurance company that gets $100,000,000 as a "golden parachute upon retirement?
It is really all about the hoops necessary to get into particular line of work and the screening that takes place along the way that naturally limits the number and type of people in a particular profession. Not to knock plumbers or dish washers but how many of them would you want operating on your of your child's brain?
8 - Alexandria
JoAnne, I wish I could help you but I just don't know the answer to your questions. Perhaps an orthodontist can answer you?
Geoffrey - while I do understand about hoops, skills and abilities, you have to admit that in some specialty areas, there seems to be little oversight. Professional sports is certainly one of those areas, too.... The bottom line is the lack of oversight/keeping things in perspective. The cost of orthodontia seems outrageous for what you get. Just one gal's opinion.
9 - candy
i agree completely, Alexandria!
10 - george
if the insurance company paid for it all would you still think it is too much money? ....I did not think so. What you are doing is letting a third party whose only motivation is profit influence your rational thinking, you have been brainwashed.
11 - tomy2tone
my ex wife works for an orthodontist, i can tell you if you new the cost of the invisaline to the doctor, you for sure would have a heart attack, it is in my opinion outragious to have a mark up so extreme, i run a retail store selling recreational power sports vehicles, we struggle to make 10% on our sales of vehicles, i wont reveal what i know exactly about the profit in this product, but it sickens me.
12 - JoeP
The costs of orthodontia are purely sickening. I am convinced that these docs work together to establish something akin to fair market value, which translates loosely into "that's what everyone's charging for this." I'd love to see an orthodontist come along who will charge something far more aligned (pun intended) with the actual service provided. I'm not against someone trying to make a living, but when they conspire to set high prices for moving a few teeth a few millimeters, I get a little cranky.
13 - Amy
No offence, but you shouldnt complain about your children's orthodontic cost. I have a 'thumb suckers smile', and I know first hand how terrible it feels. You shouldnt put a price on confidence!
14 - Meg
Yes, there is a particular cost in doing things and yes Orthodontics will charge more that that. There is reasoning behind prices, just like anything.
My apologies you haven't looked into the prices of dental materials and equipment. Also why not look up the price of University to get into a dental graduate course, followed by the price of dental college, followed by the price of the additional 3 years or so of Orthodontic practice. Also, take into account those assistants that are placing the bands and elastics have taken their education programs and been trained to fulfil those duties in an orthodontic office, and yes, the Orthodontist also has to pay them.
It's nice to think the Orthodontist is just stoppping by the visit your child, they are actually checking and approving the job of the assistant.
Changing your child's face is not just moving teeth a few mm. Try reading up on human embryology and anatomy, aswell as biomechanics. Maybe then you will have a greater understanding of how your body works.
Clearly you do not know much about Orthodontics, or even dentistry as a whole. Gerneral dentists can also help you with orthodontic treatment, if your child's condition isn't terrible. The job is just done better and with more concern when done with someone who has specialized in that field.