Hello everybody! Welcome to spicy life!
Today I want to share my braces experience in the US
But first I want to clarify that I am not an orthodontist
Neither did I receive any professional training
This is purely my own experience
Everybody's teeth condition is different
The speed of teeth movement is different as well
So my experience is for your reference only
This video will have 5 sections
First section is about things you should do before getting braces
Then I will talk about types and costs of braces
Next I will share my advice on how to choose a orthodontist
Lastly I will discuss the average treatment time
First I want to differentiate two important concepts
In the US, dentist and orthodontist are completely different
If you need a cleaning
or if you have cavity and need a filling/crown/root canal
You need to see a dentist
If you have dental insurance
These procedures will be covered by the insurance
In general, dental insurance will provide 2 free cleanings a year
The insurance will cover approximately 80% of your filling procedure
50% of crown or root canal
Now I want to talk about the orthodontist that relates to today's video
Normally you need to pay out of pocket for cosmetic procedure
The insurance will not cover anything
One exception is, there are some dental insurance will provide some coverage for the teenager under 18 in your household
For adults who want to get braces, the insurance will not provide any coverage
Now, let's start today's video!
First of all I want to talk about things you should do before getting braces
It is better to get a teeth cleaning at least 1 to 2 months before you get your braces
Because it is very hard to clean your teeth with braces on
In addition to that, and most importantly,
you should make sure that you have good oral hygiene
I would recommend you to fix all your cavities before getting braces on
in order to have great oral hygiene
Next I want to talk about types of braces
In summary, there are 2 types of braces
First type is traditional braces
The orthodontist will put brackets on your teeth
and will attach the wire on the brackets
Now, with the development of orthodontics. You can choose the most common metal brackets,
or you can choose clear ceramic brackets
When I got my braces, my orthodontist recommended me getting ceramic brackets only for my upper teeth
She told me that the brackets will prone to break if you have ceramic brackets for both upper and lower teeth
Because they are not as strong as metal brackets
That's it for the traditional braces
Nowadays, they have a lot of innovative braces
For example, there is one type of braces called lingual braces
The brackets go behind your teeth
So you can't see it at all, but it would be very expensive
because the orthodontist would need to individually design each brackets for your teeth
The other example of newer type of braces is invisalign
It is a clear tray that you put it on your teeth
Every one or two months you will get a new set of tray from your orthodontist
If your teeth are not straight and you have bite problem
I would recommend you to go the traditional braces route
Invisalign would be perfect for somebody who has minor problem on their teeth alignment
For example somebody had braces before but did not wear their retainer as instructed and their teeth shift back
the invisalign will be a good idea
I think traditional braces will solve your problem from its root
and the brackets will be glued directly on your teeth
so you don't have to worry about taking them on and off like invisalign
If you can't remember to put the tray back after you eat or drink, that will delay your treatment
it will delay your treatment
Now I want to talk about the cost of braces
My own personal experience is invisalign is cheaper than traditional braces
But different orthodontists will have different prices
In general it will cost around $4,000-$8,000
It depends your teeth situation, for example, do you have under-bite or over-bite, do you need teeth extraction
Another thing I want to mention is
In the US, you can pay for your braces like making installment payments
you can choose if you want to pay it monthly
or pay it every time you visit your orthodontist
Or you can pay it all at once
I paid it all cash at once
my orthodontist office gave me a 5% cash discount
if you use 5% multiply your braces costs, for example, $6,000, that would save you $300
So you can consult your orthodontist office
to see if they offer this kind of cash discount
Now, I want to share some tips on choosing an orthodontist
Orthodontics has developed very maturely over the years here in the US
Lots of people here got braces at a young age
So you don't have to struggle too much on finding an orthodontist
But I want to share 2 tips
No.1 I would recommend you to find an orthodontist, instead of a dentist
I know nowadays lots of dentist office will provide some sort of "braces" services, for example, invisalign
But dentist do not have as much as the training that orthodontist has
So, if you decide that your want to get braces,
it would be better to see a professional orthodontist instead of a dentist
The next tip is to find an orthodontist that is closer to you if possible
Because there would be a lot of "incidents" happen during your treatment
especially if you never had them before
For example, your bracket will be broke from biting on an apple or other hard food
Sometimes, you would have poking wire too
if they did not trim it to the proper length
when you run into these situations, if your orthodontist is close to you
for example, only 5 or 10 min drive
you can fix it immediately
my orthodontist is only 5 min from me
it is super convenient, and it will also encourage you to communicate more with your orthodontist
in order not to delay the treatment plan
If you are very far away from your orthodontist and have to drive at least 40 or 50 min
If you do not fix your broken bracket on time
that tooth will not move to its ideal position
and you will need to wear your braces longer
Last but not least, I want to talk about how long is the treatment time
In general, for adult, because you will not have any new teeth coming out
The average treatment time is 1.5 to 2 years
But everybody is different
I only wore mine for 1 year and 4 months
So that's it for the part 1 of my braces experience
Thanks for watching and see you next time!