At some point, a visit to an orthodontist is necessary. You may have been referred to one by your family dentist so that you can receive better treatment for your alignment issues. However, it may leave you wondering what the cost of their specialized expertise and treatment might cost you.
Learn how much you can expect to pay for an orthodontist, so you can figure out what you can do to get your much-needed orthodontic treatment!
What an Orthodontist Does
An orthodontist is not your regular dentist. An orthodontist has the same expertise as your typical dentist but specializes in correcting the position of your teeth and jaws.
Visiting an orthodontist isn’t unusual since abnormal teeth and jaw alignment are common dental problems. With an orthodontist’s expertise, they can help identify and rectify misalignments that occur from teeth growing improperly, resulting in issues like crooked teeth.
Crooked teeth might seem harmless, but orthodontists know how misalignments can create potential dental issues. The way crooked teeth’s misalignment affects your oral health is that it can cause excess wear and tear on the teeth, gums, and jaw muscles. It can develop potential issues like cracked teeth, cavities, jaw strain, temporomandibular joint disorder, and chronic headaches.
That’s where an orthodontist’s expertise comes into play. They strive to help prevent such dental problems and provide the necessary treatment to ensure optimal oral health that will have you smiling brightly again.
What Treatments Orthodontists Offer
Before starting treatment, an orthodontist will address your misalignment issues by learning what they’re working with first. This initial phase of dental care is imperative. It helps your orthodontist get a clearer idea of the treatment route that’s most effective for you.
Typically, you can expect an orthodontist to run testing and imaging to see first-hand the nature of your misalignment issue. Once they assess the data collected, they will diagnose the particular dental problem and provide a treatment plan. An orthodontist can provide common treatment options such as metal braces, Invisalign, and retainers. In more severe cases, orthodontists might require a surgeon to perform jaw surgery. These all help to straighten out your teeth, but your orthodontist will educate you on each to determine what’s best suited.
From there, your orthodontist will explain your treatment plan more fully. They will describe how to care for your orthodontic appliance (e.g. braces) and how they will monitor your progress (e.g. dental monitoring app), where they may need adjustments down the line. You can expect orthodontists to be more proactive in their approach. Since orthodontists understand the growth of teeth and jaws, they know consistently monitoring progression in treatment is important.
For instance, a child that has bite issues. Orthodontists know that children are still growing at their age, which is why they supervise facial growth. If anything develops, orthodontists can spot it and adjust treatment if necessary. With their knowledge, available treatment options, and level of involvement, there is high value in being under an orthodontist’s care.
Orthodontist Price Expectations
Like any dental visit, you will need to pay for it. As mentioned previously, the specialized dentistry that orthodontists provide has high value for good reasons. Naturally, this is reflected in the cost of seeing one for treatment. However, all orthodontists don’t charge the same prices for their work. The cost can vary depending on who you choose.
For instance, how much they can charge for treatment. You need to consider how much you would be paying for your type of treatment based on the complexity of your misalignment issue. On average, choosing Invisalign for your treatment can cost between $2,000 to $8,000. Plus, the number of orthodontic visits you might require and the duration of your treatment can contribute to the total cost.
Thankfully, orthodontic treatment doesn’t break the bank. Orthodontists can provide a few avenues you can take so that everything is affordable for you. These include accepting insurance coverage and offering payment plans to fit your income bracket, to name a few. It’s why it’s important to find the right orthodontist, so you can ensure healthy, straightened teeth that you can afford without financial stress. Specialized dentistry, like orthodontics, has a high value that is fittingly represented in the cost of seeing an orthodontist. Yet, costs vary depending on the orthodontist you see, along with the associated prices like the type of treatment, duration, and the number of orthodontic visits. You may think the costs might be high for exceptional dental care, but orthodontists make it so anyone can afford treatment by providing financial options to suit you. With an orthodontist, you can ensure better oral health and a beautiful smile without worrying about financial woes!
