Monday, April 28, 2008

the 6000 dollar question

I took the boy today to the orthodontist and it appears he's finally ready to start the process of getting braces. The Orthodontist was extremely nice when he said it will probably cost all together $6000 dollars. I gulped and almost fainted. I was thinking 3 grand, but not 6. The next visit is only going to cost a measly $250, for castings and such. Then they will decide how they will have to proceed. He said nothing has to be decided today or in the next year for that matter, it is up to us if we even want to do anything. I was starting to think they boy's teeth really aren't that bad. I mulled this over on the ride home. I dropped him off at his mother's and then called him back to the car to ask him a question. At this point, I not only notice how crooked the bottom teeth are, I also notice how nasty they are. They were literally caked with god knows what making them appear like someone slapped mortar on them. I said I want you to go in that house into the bathroom and pull your bottom lip down and take a good look at your teeth. He gives me the "I wonder how bad it is look", gulps and says ok. I cannot believe how hard it is to get that boy to brush his teeth. Then I'm thinking if he doesn't care enough to brush them, why are we straightening them to have them fall out. Oy! I can just about imagine what the orthodontist thought.

7 comments:

Cassandra said...

Ugh-- I know Spencer is going to need braces. I guess I should start saving now!

How did you make your blog header? That is AWESOME!!!!!

KG said...

So - I know $6000 sounds like a lot. But it will be SO SO SO worth it in the long run. Well, IF he takes care of the braces and his teeth.

My teeth were so bad pre-braces that I remember wearing my retainer RELIGIOUSLY out of fear my teeth would look like they had before braces if I failed to wear the retainer. I had total meth mouth!

Kristi @ Mi Vida Ocupada said...

Its worth it!!!!!

Michelle Leigh said...

Holy crap, 6k! That's ridiculous! I agree with law student though, it will be well worth it in his smile and he will forever appreciate it (when he is old enough to realize the favor you did him). My sister's teeth suck and she never got braces. Now she's stuck with them as an adult with not a whole lot of options. 6k! Wow. I'm praying my kiddos get my teeth!

jessica said...

holy crap. that's a lot of money. j-man has braces but we've only paid less than 1K for them so far... i'm sure it's a process, and we'll be shelling out more but that is a LOT!

Anonymous said...

Holy crap! When I was a teenager and had them done they were $3,000 and back then that made my parents want to faint. Six thousand bucks?!?! That's like a MAJOR vacation! Or a down payment on a small house! It's crazy how much shit costs nowadays.

But like Law Student said, it will be worth it in the long run if he takes care of them. I didn't wear my retainer like I should have (so my bottom teeth shifted some) but the tops are fine...I used to have a major overbite AND buck teeth...never a good thing for a young kid!

jenny said...

i think mine were about 5k - but guess what? they ARE so worth it. my brother had 'em as well and now my little sister will be getting them soon (we were so blessed with our teeth huh? right.). anyways, he might not care much about 'em now, but give him a few years and he will. the cost blows though. :(