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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Credit cards, Sliding scale doctors and maybe some other expenses like mortgage etc is less (or they rent)

I mean poor poor, not fake poor but actually solidly middle class. No mortgage. No new car. No college degree. Crummy job. Struggling to pay bills. Yet one or two kids in braces. The money just doesn’t add up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Okay, how? I don’t want to pay another $7k.

The same way they qualify for their food stamps. They don’t work.

Many people on food stamps actually work minimum wage jobs. Maybe if states raised their minimum wages more people could get off food stamps. That was a novel idea floated by a wealthy R in CA.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-the-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Credit cards, Sliding scale doctors and maybe some other expenses like mortgage etc is less (or they rent)

I mean poor poor, not fake poor but actually solidly middle class. No mortgage. No new car. No college degree. Crummy job. Struggling to pay bills. Yet one or two kids in braces. The money just doesn’t add up.

How do you know how much money these folks make?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Nobody is getting braces for free.

Medicaid does pay for dental care until age 21

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Credit cards, Sliding scale doctors and maybe some other expenses like mortgage etc is less (or they rent)

I mean poor poor, not fake poor but actually solidly middle class. No mortgage. No new car. No college degree. Crummy job. Struggling to pay bills. Yet one or two kids in braces. The money just doesn’t add up.

You can also take the child to the dental school where it won’t cost much money for braces.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Okay, how? I don’t want to pay another $7k.

The same way they qualify for their food stamps. They don’t work.

Many people on food stamps actually work minimum wage jobs. Maybe if states raised their minimum wages more people could get off food stamps. That was a novel idea floated by a wealthy R in CA.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-the-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap

Raising min wage will only make braces (among other things) more expensive for the rest of us.

Op this is just another example of how the middle class loses. We make too much to qualify for assistance yet too little to easily afford things like braces.

[Anonymous]

priorities. just like you, they put their kids first. I bet they aren't living in a house as nice as yours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Okay, how? I don’t want to pay another $7k.

The same way they qualify for their food stamps. They don’t work.

Many people on food stamps actually work minimum wage jobs. Maybe if states raised their minimum wages more people could get off food stamps. That was a novel idea floated by a wealthy R in CA.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-the-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap

Raising min wage will only make braces (among other things) more expensive for the rest of us.

Op this is just another example of how the middle class loses. We make too much to qualify for assistance yet too little to easily afford things like braces.

Not having braces isn’t the end of the world. Most of the world exists without braces.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you ask them, OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I'm struggling to understand how you can't come up with $3K - before insurance.

If you have two incomes, and decent careers - where is all of your income going.

Two years of braces and everything is not $3k - more like $5k+. And even if it was, that’s more than their car is worth, in some cases.

then you're getting royally ripped off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Credit cards, Sliding scale doctors and maybe some other expenses like mortgage etc is less (or they rent)

I mean poor poor, not fake poor but actually solidly middle class. No mortgage. No new car. No college degree. Crummy job. Struggling to pay bills. Yet one or two kids in braces. The money just doesn’t add up.

How do you know how much money these folks make?

Because they get a fee waiver to play in my daughter's league. Because I see them working part-time at the grocery store. Because some of them tell me they aren't currently employed. You know, things like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Nobody is getting braces for free.

Medicaid does pay for dental care until age 21

Medicaid pays for dental care and braces? That would make sense as one of the fee waiver girls with braces also has an 18 or 19 year old brother who went off to play basketball for a community college. He attended a few practices over winter break and had gotten braces during his first semester at college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Credit cards, Sliding scale doctors and maybe some other expenses like mortgage etc is less (or they rent)

I mean poor poor, not fake poor but actually solidly middle class. No mortgage. No new car. No college degree. Crummy job. Struggling to pay bills. Yet one or two kids in braces. The money just doesn’t add up.

How do you know how much money these folks make?

Because they get a fee waiver to play in my daughter's league. Because I see them working part-time at the grocery store. Because some of them tell me they aren't currently employed. You know, things like that.

Then, they are on medicaid and medicaid pays. Or, they are on a payment plan or a relative is paying. There are also other kid health/dental plans that are low cost that parents may be paying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I see the signs advertising braces with your Medicaid card in another language I speak. I do not have personal experience so don't know if it really pays or not.

I heard a radio ad for this. Medicaid and sliding scale even if you don't have medicaid.

Like dentistry, the top places aren't going to offer htis but someone will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Okay, how? I don’t want to pay another $7k.

The same way they qualify for their food stamps. They don’t work.

Many people on food stamps actually work minimum wage jobs. Maybe if states raised their minimum wages more people could get off food stamps. That was a novel idea floated by a wealthy R in CA.

https://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-the-supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-snap

Raising min wage will only make braces (among other things) more expensive for the rest of us.

Op this is just another example of how the middle class loses. We make too much to qualify for assistance yet too little to easily afford things like braces.

+1
I think this is where OP is coming from. My family is middle class and in this area that does not add up to much. It is tough to work hard, try to save, sacrifice many things and all those things that add up to "following the rules" yet you constantly see people richer getting more and people poorer being given assistance or opportunities that are not available to those who are fine overall but definitely struggle.