Matilda got her braces on her teeth today...!! She was both excited about and fearful of the day. She has beautiful teeth, has managed to get to 14 and not need a filling and once her eye teeth pop into place her smile will be gorgeous again.
She is in a little pain this evening, says her mouth feels "tight" but nothing paracetamol won't take care of. She has always taken excellent care of her teeth and now has a very detailed, comprehensive plan mapped out...we have a new electric toothbrush, various types of floss, picks, brushes, wax etc. She'll do well once she gets the hang of it and into a routine.
Her treatment is going to cost a bit under $5000.00...$4660.00 to be precise. This is the total fee for the entire package, no hidden extras. I know it will be worth the dollars spent in the long run. I wish I had been able to have the opportunity to have orthodontic treatment, I guess I could now but one in the family at any one time is enough. My Mum was a sole parent with 4 kids, there were no extra dollars,let alone dollars for orthodontic treatment.
The thing that really irks me about the whole deal is the pittance that Medibank Private will refund. Matilda's lifetime orthodontic benefit will be $2400.00, almost half of the total cost. I also discovered today that unless I ask for it at the end of her treatment they will only refund $1350.00...(that's $400 for 2008, $450 for 2009 and $500 for 2010...once treatment is complete a letter from the orthodontist will entitle us to the remaining $1000 or so)...no-one tells you this though, you have to know the right questions to ask and unless you get told which questions are the right questions, you just don't get the refund. I have been asking myself whether it's really worth having private health insurance, certainly not if it is just for orthodontics. Matilda had to have two teeth extracted last week to make space for her eye teeth to slip into...it was $175/tooth...outrageous...!!! Total refund $35.00/tooth. Medibank Private can expect a huge number of claims from our family this year...we are going to get everything we possibly can get back, we don't pay this for nothing.
Photos to come...they are still on the camera...
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3 comments:
Paying for dental care of any kind is outrageous here in the states as well!
A woman who works with my husband will be putting TWO of her FOUR kids in braces in September. She'll be shelling out a minimum of $10,000 AND SHE HAS INSURANCE. Ack!
I couldn't find your email on your profile. Mine is:
ringldr AT hotmail DOT com
Shoot me an email, and I'll send you my snail mail. Buddha would ADORE international mail!!!
Hi kerrie, i am glad to see you started a blog!
Yeah, Alexander's will be more than that, but i have been putting it off because we can't really afford it. But i have little choice now, he is 15. We have insurance but it won't pay much for orthodontics.
Hi Kerrie,
Poor Matilda, I remember that "tightness" of braces. She is no stranger to dealing with pain so she will be fine I know!
With dental things private health cover hardly seems to be worth it - a drop in a bucket. (However last year I must admit that we didn't pay for anything while David was at Westmead! But I wish I could say the same thing about dental...it's not like we go to the dentist every week!)
Sigh.
Love to all there...
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