Spacer or retainer for 9 year old? Paying out of pocket
We are entering a new phase of parenting: the Ortho Years. His pediatric dentist referred him for a consult, we can pick the practice. We have terrible dental insurance which doesn't even cover ortho, so we are price sensitive. He's only 9 (about to turn 10) so who knows where this journey will take us. Our first visit was to Dr Barrett, who is recommending a retainer for now; second opinion with Solano Smile dr. who is recommending a spacer for now. Obviously we don't want to buy more than our son needs but it's confusing, not being dental experts ourselves, and we're not sure how to proceed. Do we ask our adult dentist (who we love and trust) for a third opinion? Do we go with the practice recommending the currently-less expensive option? (spacer) That would send us down the road with Solano Smile, which feels like a lifetime commitment.
As a side note, we do think the child does need or will need ortho work - dad did, and kid's smile is a bit wonky. Basically, we're braced for braces, but have no idea how to navigate when, or with what practice.
thanks for any advice!
Parent Replies
We had a similar issue with my 8-year-old, not knowing which treatment plan was the right one. We got a consultation with the orthodontic faculty clinic at UCSF. Because they are a university, I felt confident in their recommendations and especially that they weren’t trying to upsell us. They were only a little bit cheaper than private practices, but the peace of mind I got from having a consultation with a non-profit was invaluable. We did go with them for the treatment, which is not convenient but we’ve been very happy with them and the interest-free monthly payment plan.
We had a wonderful multi-year experience with Orthoworks in Hercules. It is not as far as it seems because we scheduled all appointments for Saturday mornings when there is no traffic. If you do not have insurance, they may be able to negotiate with you on the price. Basically our 5 years with Orthworks had the $6000 total cost spread out monthly with no interest (downpayment and then $100 per month). I feel it was completely worth the cost and Orthworks has a great, caring, professional staff.
I think if you love your dentist ask their opinion - we had a similar situation including paying out of pocket with kid #1, 2 VASTLY different opinions (6 extractions vs. none!) Ultimately what I've come to understand is that ortho work is like a melding of the medicine and art - not to be too out there about it, but it's not a one size fits all thing for sure. Different doctors see the face/smile in different ways, and you really need to just go with your gut and what seems to make sense to you. In our case we went with the no extractions and it's been a great ride, we trust our ortho pretty well and everything has always felt above board and not like they're just trying to milk us. It helps if both your opinions gave you the entire picture about why what they're doing now will effect what they will do in the future. Good luck!
We also got several different opinions about our kids. We ended up with Dr. Iezman who was so reasonable, straightforward, conservative about interventions, and smart. He explained everything and let us know that my son did NOT need the procedure another ortho recommended (he turned out right), and also let us know that my other son could wait for braces (totally willing to lose him as a patient). His office staff are very competent and nice, but even if you don't go with him, it's worth getting his opinion on treatment.