Orthodontic Woes

Yep, I got my first kid in braces yesterday, and none too soon. He graduates from high school in two years. Yikes! I post-poned it for as long as I could, financially, but now it's time to bite the bullet, because we are running out of time. It will cost us about $200 a month for 18 months, and that's after insurance pitches in. Sigh.

Gil's comment was, "I look like a freak!" and then, "I had no idea what I was getting into!" The price of beauty, sweetheart.

I had Dani evaluated as well, and while I wanted to get her started, we just can't afford it right now. She was massively disappointed. I wish I could do something about it, but it's just not possible. Crud.

I was evaluated, too. Here's the chain of events behind that - I have six baby teeth spots in my mouth, no adult teeth ever grew in. Thank you, bad genetics. Three of them have already been pulled, and there are bridges. Of the three remaining in my mouth, one of them is really disintegrating, and needs to be pulled out. It's kind of stable right now, but that won't be the case forever. That means one of two things - grinding down the surrounding teeth (not the best thing) and putting in a bridge, or getting an implant. Now, an implant is super-permanent. When they put it in, the bone grows around the base of the implant root. But my teeth have drifted since I had braces when I was 12, and they are really out of alignment. Big conclusion - I will have to wear braces to align my teeth ($5500), then get at least four implants (for the decayed one, and for the current bridges which will be removed when they put on the braces), which can be about $2000 a pop. So, I'm looking at anywhere from $12,000 to $15,000 of dental work depending on what options I want to take. My current insurance does not cover adult orthodontics, but may cover some of the implants. The whole process could take anywhere from 2 to 3 years. But I can't do any of that until I've got Dani and Gil through braces. Man, I will be in my early 40's wearing braces! And paying out a million dollars, too. Poop.