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If your family couldn’t spring for braces when you were a child, you might be ready to invest in braces now that you are an adult. The good news is you don’t have to be a tech billionaire to afford braces as an adult, so the cost of braces shouldn’t hold you back from taking the next step to a perfect smile.
Typical Price of Braces for Adults
Depending on your dental care needs, the price of braces generally falls between $2,000 to $7,000. If your teeth need very little straightening or a lot of repairs, then the total will be at the outer ranges. Don’t need major work? You’ll probably fall somewhere in the middle. All things considered, the total investment is likely lower than what your family would’ve paid in junior high — if you factor in inflation, that is.
But you don’t have to guess on the price and hope for the best. Dr. Laster will look at your smile and weigh all the factors to pin down the best solution and the perfect price. With that figure in mind, you can start budgeting for your new smile with purpose.
Investing in Your Smile Could Save You Big Time
Sure, skipping the braces now will save you from the cost of braces initially, but it’s not likely to save you any money in the long run. That’s because living with misaligned teeth puts a lot of extra pressure on your teeth, gums, and underlying bone structures. You can easily end up with damage that costs tons to repair and the worst part, your teeth are still not in perfect alignment.
If a bad bite leaves you with damage to your teeth, for example, then porcelain veneers will run you anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000. And if you end up with gum disease caused by crowded teeth? That’ll cost you $1,000 per year for treatment or more if you end up losing teeth as a result.
When jaw pain and migraines inevitably rear their ugly heads, your treatment costs will skyrocket as you look for help from both your dentist and doctor. Migraine medicine alone can cost a pretty penny, while TMJ treatments are sure to make braces look affordable in comparison.
In the end, it’s understandable to skip the braces if you cannot afford it. But if you’re only doing so in order to keep more money in your pocket, you’re likely to end up disappointed before long.
Braces vs Aligners: You Have Options to Best Suit Your Budget
Dental technology has changed by leaps and bounds since you were a kid, which means traditional braces are no longer your only option. Today, you can elect to use clear aligners instead to work on getting your teeth straight without the brackets and wires.
The new aligners gently maneuver your teeth into place while remaining out of sight and out of mind. Since they are not nearly as visible as traditional braces, no one will notice what you’re up to, allowing you to surprise them with your perfect smile in no time flat.
Not only that, but the aligners are slightly less expensive and require far fewer in-office appointments. In fact, you just have to switch out the aligner for the next one in line every two weeks to keep moving toward your goal — no adjustments needed.
It’s Easy to Offset Costs with a Health Savings Account
Although clear aligners might be less expensive than traditional braces, they are still a big investment. You can offset your costs by using a health savings account (HSA) to pay for them. That’s right, braces of all kinds are considered eligible dental expenses when it comes to your HSA funds.
As you sock away pre-tax money in your account, you give yourself a discount of sorts that’ll go a long way in working the expense into your budget. With that, you can rest assured that you’ve done all you can to make your investment into your newfound smile as affordable as possible.
Schedule a Free Adult Braces Consultation to Learn More
Before you can get to budgeting for the price of your adult braces, you should set up a consultation to see what it might entail. With help from your dentist, you can learn what work will be needed to get your teeth ready for braces and straighten them all out. To schedule your visit, just give us a call at (919) 676-0541 and we will find a convenient time for you to come down. We look forward to helping you make this big step and finally get the perfect smile you deserve.
At Laster Orthodontics, we help families develop healthy, life-changing smiles using customized treatments, cutting-edge technologies, and caring relationships. Our individualized treatment plans help our patients achieve their perfect smile in the quickest, most painless way possible by utilizing a wide range of options from traditional braces to propel accelerated treatment to Dr. Laster’s in-house aligner program, Laster Perfect Smile. With three locations throughout the Triangle Area, we create life-changing smiles every day.
