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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
Reply to "Teachers: Where did your kid get BRACES with CareFirst Dental PPO?"
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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You just get a $1,000 to use until the kid is age 18. We used most of it for an expander so it didn’t help us for braces. Did a payment using my FSA card and it’s manageable[/quote] Exactly. Sadly, it covers a very small portion. We went to RAD Orthodontics in Bethesda and they quoted me a price that included everything... and I do mean everything. My DS had malocclusion (his bite was wrong because his teeth didn't line up correctly). He had to have 4 of his baby teeth pulled when he was 8, and they'd replaced his teeth with spacers, so his adult teeth had enough room to come in where they should go and so they wouldn't grow in crowded or incorrectly. Once he'd gotten that all squared away, it was time, to get braces. We started with traditional metal braces first. Unfortunately, the metal braces weren't a great fit, as my DS has ADHD, so without even realizing it, he would fidget with his braces or pick at them, or would bite on pen caps (which would usually cause his brackets to break off, as the brackets are frangible). I feel like we were in that office at least once a week to replace a broken bracket (btw, the office staff was AMAZING at fitting him in quickly when he would break a bracket). Their office is conveniently located right across the street from Walter Johnson, so depending on the time of day he called, they'd tell him to just pop on over at his lunch period or stop by right after school to get it fixed... they always, always, always fit him in the same day) Needless to say, we quickly we realized that metal braces were not a great fit for him. He wore the metal ones for about 4 months. Next, we tried ceramic braces. While they were better than metal, Dr. Rad said that the ceramic ones weren't producing the optimal results in the timeframe that they should have. He said that if we stuck with ceramic, he'd have to wear them for at least an extra year to get the desired results he wanted. Every kid is different though, so what didn't work for my kid may be excellent for yours? He wore the ceramic for about 6 months. Then came lingual braces (those are installed on the under side of the teeth). He hated those. Hated the feel of them. Hated everything about them. He especially didn't like that his tongue would rest on his bottom braces. He tried those for about 6 weeks and then was done. Lastly... INVISALIGN! Dr. Rad was extremely hesitant to put him in aligners because it takes a very responsible kid to wear them and take care of them correctly, diligently keep track of how long you have them in, because they h have to be switched out every few weeks / month like clockwork, and... not lose them (one of the biggest cons to them, is that they're VERY easy to misplace as they're obviously clear). They blend in with everything and you can easily lose sight of where they are, even when they're right in front of you (especially on something like a granite counter top). I've come to learn that many teenagers will just wrap them up in a napkin at lunch, rather than putting them in their case. So they ball them up in a napkin and either put it in the pocket of their sweatshirt or leave it on the table... and you can guess what usually happens to that balled up napkin after lunch? Into the garbage it usually goes! By the time they realize it's not in their mouth, it's been dumped into the trash with all of the other dirty napkins. Now getting to the dramatic effects of the actual invisaligns (btw, if you want to save a ton of money, go directly through one of the independent aligner companies, such as Smile Direct Club, but there are many others out there, too). So, as soon as you put the Invisaligns in your mouth, they make your teeth look perfect. I swear, somehow they make your teeth look like you've already worn traditional braces for 4 years! Right out of the box, aligners make your teeth look so incredible as soon as you pop them in... it's truly amazing! So, of course your kid will want to wear them all the time. You'll never have to worry about them whether they're wearing them enough. I never once had to nag him to wear them because he loved the way they looked so much! He actually took such great care of them. He only lost an aligner a handful times over the 18 months he wore them, and when he did, Dr. Rad told him to just move on to the next set a few days early. He still wears them to this day, but doesn't have to. He switches between tge invisalign and his retainer. Like I did, when we first went to Dr. Rad, he quoted me $8,000 all inclusive IF I paid it all up front prior to starting. All inclusive meant everything -- all pre-treatment exams, x-rays, imaging, office visits, emergency care, all adjustments, all hardware, all systems, all invisalign aligner trays, retainers, follow-up retention care, etc. All everything until the desired results were achieved. Even if that meant he had to wear them for 8 years (he didn't, of course, but it would have covered that). A friend's husband is an ortho in NJ, and he thought that we got a bargain paying what we did, considering all the work that my DS had done, all of the "emergency" visits, and all of the hardware he went through, and even now continuing his retention care. My friends husband said that most of the orthos up by him charge for the braces themselves a one-time fee, and then there are separate charges for each orthodontist visit, new hardware, etc. I'd hate that, because unless you're keeping a meticulous record of how much everything is costing each time you go, that amount could easily end up costing far more than you thought you would spend or had budgeted to spend. Dr. Rad is awesome too! The is love him, he's very cool and doesn't make the kids feel bad or guilt trip them if they mess up. The man has got the patience of a Saint, btw. ** My apologies, OP! I know I wrote a LOT more than you had requested, but I just wanted to give you a different perspective in regards to pricing. Sorry for the ramblings, lol! 😊 [/quote]
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