How do so many lower income families afford braces for their teens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work as a counselor in a school where every students gets free lunch. Kids get braces from second to third tier dentists. Many of these dentists work for big dental chains
1) if it is medically necessary then medi-care pays. So the kids with severe cases that are the most costly to treat have braces free of charge.
2) an orthodontist donates his services and provides free braces to 5 needy families a year from our school.
3) installment plans of $100 to $150 dollars a month. That is $2400 to $3600 for 2 years.

I know at least a half dozen low-income teens who have gotten braces during their freshman year of college. Is that medi-caid/care too? Is financial aid dept. walking kids through this? Doesn't seem like something first-generation college kids would figure out on their own.

Why not? Do these kids go to a university with a dental school? Maybe they are getting them done there. You just never know.

The average college freshman doesn't know how to re-new a prescription on their own but you think all sorts of low-income kids hit the ground running and head to an orthodontist in their college town on their own? Sounds far fetched.

Maybe on your privileged world...most normal, non helicoptered young adults can certainly due this!

Yes, lower-income students tend to be far more resourceful than their wealthy counterparts who need to call Mommy for how to renew a prescription.

I don't know that it directly correlates to income, but my college-age kids certainly know how to renew a prescription. They also know how to price-compare pharmacies, find manufacturer discounts and as a last resort, call the prescribing doctor and ask for more affordable alternatives. I think they could figure out how the sliding fee services at the dental school work!

[Anonymous]

Some of the kids have donated braces, some have medicaid, and most are on payment plans.

We have a payment plan for my kids' braces even though we have the amount saved up in full in our HSA. There was no discount for paying in full and occasionally/RARELY an ortho leaves their practice for whatever reason before a kid's braces are finished. I didn't want to PIF and have something happen before the course of treatment is finished. We also have INSURANCE so our OOP cost is not much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the kids have donated braces, some have medicaid, and most are on payment plans.

We have a payment plan for my kids' braces even though we have the amount saved up in full in our HSA. There was no discount for paying in full and occasionally/RARELY an ortho leaves their practice for whatever reason before a kid's braces are finished. I didn't want to PIF and have something happen before the course of treatment is finished. We also have INSURANCE so our OOP cost is not much.

You are very lucky to have dental insurance that covers braces. My employer's otherwise decent dental plan does not. You are also not the 'low income' that the OP was referring to if you have a well-funded HSA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work as a counselor in a school where every students gets free lunch. Kids get braces from second to third tier dentists. Many of these dentists work for big dental chains
1) if it is medically necessary then medi-care pays. So the kids with severe cases that are the most costly to treat have braces free of charge.
2) an orthodontist donates his services and provides free braces to 5 needy families a year from our school.
3) installment plans of $100 to $150 dollars a month. That is $2400 to $3600 for 2 years.

I know at least a half dozen low-income teens who have gotten braces during their freshman year of college. Is that medi-caid/care too? Is financial aid dept. walking kids through this? Doesn't seem like something first-generation college kids would figure out on their own.

Why not? Do these kids go to a university with a dental school? Maybe they are getting them done there. You just never know.

The average college freshman doesn't know how to re-new a prescription on their own but you think all sorts of low-income kids hit the ground running and head to an orthodontist in their college town on their own? Sounds far fetched.

Maybe on your privileged world...most normal, non helicoptered young adults can certainly due this!

Yes, lower-income students tend to be far more resourceful than their wealthy counterparts who need to call Mommy for how to renew a prescription.

Literally 80-90% of low income students fail out of undergrad. But in your imagination they have it all figured out and call up a college town orthodontists during welcome week?

[Anonymous]

Medicaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They probably get it for “free” (#yourepayingforit).

Medicaid does not yo for orthodontics. Nice try though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Medicaid.

Nope. Medicaid only covers in extreme cases, as in unable to eat because of misaligned teeth

[Anonymous]

Who freaking cares if it's Medicaid or not???

If you are not poor, your life is great.

Give these people a break and a chance. Jeez.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the kids have donated braces, some have medicaid, and most are on payment plans.

We have a payment plan for my kids' braces even though we have the amount saved up in full in our HSA. There was no discount for paying in full and occasionally/RARELY an ortho leaves their practice for whatever reason before a kid's braces are finished. I didn't want to PIF and have something happen before the course of treatment is finished. We also have INSURANCE so our OOP cost is not much.

You are very lucky to have dental insurance that covers braces. My employer's otherwise decent dental plan does not. You are also not the 'low income' that the OP was referring to if you have a well-funded HSA.

No, I am not. But instead of saving up for her kid's braces, she should get him braces when he needs them before his teeth are harmed. Our dentist told us that we could do ds's braces anytime because it was only cosmetic. We took him at 13 to the orthodontist and he showed us how some of his teeth were being worn down because of his bite pattern. OP should just do a payment plan and get her kid braces.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’re a two parent house, college educated, decent careers. Even with supposed good insurance we really struggled to pay for braces for our two oldest. My youngest daughter plays on a cheap YMCA sports league and it seems basically every lower income teen her age has braces. Meanwhile we’re still saving $ to put her in braces. Where do they all find the $ for orthodontia? I’m at a loss as to how this is possible.

Dental insurance covered a portion because the misalignment gave me TMJ. My parents paid the rest in monthly installments of $25. This was in the 80s.

[Anonymous]

Those that said medicaid abuse may be on the button. Texas just successfully sued lots of doctors and orthodontists for unnecessary procedures totaling $236M, which I bet include lots of braces.

The State of Texas announced Tuesday it had settled a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against one of its largest private contractors over what state and federal regulators claimed was a scheme that caused taxpayers to pay for thousands of unnecessary children’s dental and orthodontic procedures over nearly a decade.

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Texas-announces-record-236M-Medicaid-fraud-13627611.php

[Anonymous]

^ The company hired to review Medicaid dental procedures and services just literally rubber-stamped everything under pressure from dentists. Total free-for-all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who freaking cares if it's Medicaid or not???

If you are not poor, your life is great.

Give these people a break and a chance. Jeez.

Seriously! Begrudging a teen braces? What the heck is wrong in your life you have time for this?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who freaking cares if it's Medicaid or not???

If you are not poor, your life is great.

Give these people a break and a chance. Jeez.

Seriously! Begrudging a teen braces? What the heck is wrong in your life you have time for this?!

It is interesting, isn’t it? I understand just a touch better why we are not going to a single payer model. Too many people begrudge the poor any services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, thanks for raising this important question.

There are some terrific charities out there that help the poor with dental care.

Here is one if any of you posters want to donate or get involved, or to pass this along to a family you know who needs orthodontic work but can't afford it.

https://www.smileschangelives.org/

You, PP, are the DCUM G.O.A.T.

Thank you for this.