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Tristin has a beautiful smile. His teeth are very straight, but he has been complaining that his lower teeth feel crowded sometimes. At his last dental appointment, his dentist recommended an orthodontic consultation, but only after I told her I was concerned. Today, we visited the orthodontist she recommended. Here is what she found:

Dental Class II right side (this means the molars on his right side are slightly gaping in the bite). Dental Class I left side (this means these molars meet up as they ought to). There is an excessive vertical overlap of the front teeth. The upper teeth are ahead of the lower teeth 1-2mm when he has his teeth together (1-2mm is excessive?). There is a slight amount of crowding of the upper and lower teeth. The center line of the lower two teeth is shifted to the right. The upper and lower center lines are off by 2mm or less. There is enamel wear on the upper and lower front teeth due to the overlap. The upper and lower jaws relate normally to each other. The outline of his facial profile is balanced.

This just doesn't sound that bad to me. So, can anyone tell me why they recommended braces for 1 1/2-2 years, for a total of $4900?

I also presented a question to the orthodontist. I had braces for a couple of years, and had a retainer for a year or two at night. I also had an upper and a lower cemented retainer. The upper stayed on a couple of years, and the lower stayed on for 10 years. When the lower was removed, the teeth migrated to their previous crowding. I asked her what is going to prevent this from happening to Tristin, as well. She told me that studies done 10-15 years ago showed that this happens with 80% of orthodontic patients. The bones and gums are programmed to shift teeth forward. As I was in this 80% group, Tristin probably would be, too. The solution? Wear a retainer at night for life.

So, if I'm getting this right, we can pay $4900, and then replace and/or maintain retainers for the rest of Tristin's life. If he should ever get sick of wearing his retainer, we lose the entire investment. Can anyone tell me why I should even consider this?

Let me also say that orthodontists have a way with assuming that you are going to go along with their recommendations. They start going over whether the child wants ceramic or metal braces on the top teeth, and that they will cost an extra $200 on the bottom, and make the child think that this is all a done deal. The child says that he would probably have to take the cheaper option, at which point you are grateful that your son recognizes that finances are an issue here, and you interject that this is all contingent on whether or not the finances will work out at all. They act as though you are ready to shell out the money without hesitation, and when they spring the $4900 cost on you and you tell them that you don't think you can find that kind of money in your budget, they look confused. Then they tell you that they can work with you on payment plans. They also tell you that they have already discounted their services by $200 because you have other children that will probably need orthodontia, as well. At this point, you tearfull explain that it is just not in the budget, leave the office, wiping away the tears of guilt you have from not being able to afford something as necessary as orthodontia for straight teeth, and then apologize to your 13-year-old in the car while tears stream down your cheeks, explaining that it just isn't in the budget, and maybe if Dad's new company takes off, or maybe if his current company starts giving out bonuses again someday, if they even survive the recession, or maybe if the tree in the back yard starts growing greenbacks...

Let me see...Tristin's teeth are the straightest of all of our children's teeth. Seven children times $5000 (probably more, with the other children's teeth being worse) equals $35000+.

I think I'll start saving now for Benjamin's orthodontic treatments. They are inevitable, as his teeth are actually crooked. In the meantime, unless I hear a really good reason to shell out this kind of money for each of my children's straight teeth, I think I'll pass. And I refuse to feel guilty about it any more.