You get what you pay for?

[fosterp]

Hello, I am new to this board and in the market for some type of braces system. I am a 24 year old male with some pretty crooked teeth. I took a few pictures, not the greatest quality with a cell phone but you can get an idea of the shape they are in. Missing a first molar on bottom right side, second molar on top left side. They have been missing, along with all my wisdom teeth, for about two years, and over that time has kind of messed up my bite even more.

I got one estimate from a guy who is considered one of the most expensive in the region...a rather younger guy thats part of a family of dentists (a dad and two sons), who did a really good job of selling himself. Basically assured me that my teeth would come out looking great and no need for any extractions, and they could widen the gap in the spot that a tooth was missing (the gap had closed a bit over the years) and then put a spacer for an implant in the future. They did nothing to try and hide the fact they are the most expensive but then tried to down play the expense saying its worth it for top notch care. The consultation came with all sorts of photos of my mouth and x rays and exam from the doctor, all free of charge which impressed me. His main selling point was the damon system and gave me a short demo video of the system. All in all I was impressed by how well they sold it to me but I can't help but be skeptical.

I found it quite funny that the doctor left the room for the consultation lady to give me the price quote of 9400. However you get a 600 discount if its paid all up front. This seemed outrageous but then again I think that if his business is doing that well even with those kind of prices he must have a good enough reputation to charge that much. As far as my case was concerned, the consultation specialist said my price was about mid range for adults of my age...with the lowest end being around 7k and the highest at 12k.

I guess its worth it to add that this price pretty much covers anything and everything during the course of treatment...there is no charges for anything like broken appliances or emergency appointments or follow up care. The doctor told me 24 to 30 months of treatment...and the specialist was more conservative with a 34 month estimate as far as cost was concerned.

Does anyone have any comments as to the cost or this system relative to my condition?

http://www.molenorthodontics.com/

[aryan]

My ortho went out of the room for the assistant to discuss costs and payment options, I think it's pretty standard, makes sense to do it that way to me. Go to a couple more doctors if you're not sure about his one and see what they say.

[Sunny]

First please check out the blog of Dr Tam ... who's the ortho who writes for this forum - he's written a good article about types of brackets. Click here ... coz it's important for you to understand you'll get nothing with the damon brand that you can't get with any other brand on the market ... and usually for less money.

I highly recommend you consult with another two or three orthodontist's, to hear what they recommend. This will also help you make a decision about who is best to treat your teeth.

The cost of treatment usually does include broken appliances, extra appointments etc ... unless these have been self inflicted ... which is rare.

Some ortho's have their admin staff do the cost work, as they'll be the people who take your money etc. Where I work, the ortho gives a written quote, with the treatment plan. If you accept this, then the admin staff enter this in the computer and they receipt your money after thatn.

Good luck with finding the right person to treat you. Remember the most expensive or the least expensive may not be the best ... and brand of brackets mean nothing, as brackets don't move teeth, that takes the skill of your ortho using archwires etc.

[EC13]

Holy crap! Nearly $10,000. If I were you, I'd go with traditional braces. Your teeth need much more work than mine, but the price for having regular braces for me is about $4200. Insurance is covering about $1000 of it, and I am putting about $1500 down, so I'll only be making like $70/month payments. $10,000 seems like an AWFUL LOT of money...

Shop around. Maybe consider NOT getting the Damon System.

[Sunny]

EC ... these are traditional braces! Damon is just a brand name ... the brackets your ortho is using will have a brand name also ... it's just that most ortho's don't bother using the name ...

[EC13]

Sunny, I know that Damon uses brackets and wire, but they are self litigating correct?

And don't Damon braces offer results quicker?

To me, this isn't the same as the traditional 2 year braces.

Whereas the Damon system might be quick, and still give you great results... I am under the impression that with straightening your teeth, sometimes you gotta be patient. Sometimes the FASTEST results, doesn't mean it's the best option.

And obviously, because the treatment time is about a year less than Braces, they charge you an arm and a leg!

If I was told $10,000.... I'd tell him to just put regular braces on! Especially if my teeth needed as much help as FosterP's.

[Sunny]

Damon is just a brand name EC13 ... there's nothing the self ligating braces can do that the non self ligating can't ... and they're not any faster or slower. This type of bracket has been around for a long time and is considered traditional, as it used brackets, archwires, powerchains etc.

There's no such thing as 'traditional two year braces ... although for many people this is the 'ball park' figure. Treatment time can be anytime from around 6 months ... to many years, and this is with any brand, like Damon, TP, 3M, Innovation, GAC, Ultradent, Ormco, Viazi, In-Ovation etc etc etc.

The marketing people of some brands are spending a fortune on misleading advertising ... so it's necessary to be a wise consumer. Check out Dr Tam's blog ... I've posted a link in the post above.

We mix with orthodontist's who offer self ligating brackets ... including the damon brand and they charge the same as we do. So there's no need for the brand to add extra, unless the ortho is trying to make money selling something else ... ;(

[EC13]

Sunny, thank you for the explanation.

For some reason I was under the impression that Damon's weren't the same as traditional braces. I thought because Damon offered quicker results, that it was different...sorry!

Again though, $10,000 is SOO MUCH money. If I was quoted that much, I'd be looking elsewhere!

[Sunny]

The quicker part is just a marketing ploy ... and sadly some people who don't understand that brackets don't move teeth, do believe what they hear and read.

This is why it's important to consult with several ortho's and hear a range of opinions. The cheapest may not be the best, but neither may the most expensive.

In some areas of the world, I'm guessing $10,000 isn't too much, but you're best to find out first!

[EC13]

Yeah, sometimes I forgot that money isn't always the same!

In the US... $10,000 would be considered A LOT for braces. I know my braces (traditional) will cost about $4200.

[Sunny]

It's interesting ... but the cost for orthodontic treatment isn't much different here ... yet our dollar is quite different. I think most ortho's will treat you for around $5,000.

It's about being a wise consumer and checking out who's advertising what before believing it!

[Denise]

My entire treatment, everything included, came to $6k. My sisters treatment is a little more, since she had to have spacers and a palate expander. Almost $10k sounds like an awful lot of money.

[Anny]

I think he sounds like a really good salesperson. I've never heard of an ortho charging extra for visits or repairing bands/brackets. Everyone I know who's been braced has had at least one mishap that needed repair without being charged extra.