Orthodontics

In 2015 the dentist told me that Nadia and Ian needed to see an orthodontist. I called two orthodontists, and both said that Ian (age 6.5) was too young to be seen, but Paul took Nadia to see Dr. Wilson. He said it would be at least 18 months until she would be ready to begin. About 18 months later Nadia and Ian had their first appointments with Dr. Stush. We've been returning every 6 or 12 months since then. Last summer Dr. Stush said he thought Nadia would be ready to begin treatment in 2020. I had orthodontic insurance through my job, but when I found out that I was unemployed, I cancelled Nadia's next appointment. All of these appointments have been free, but I didn't see the point of continuing if we weren't going to pay for her to have braces at this time. Ian's teeth are definitely in worse shape than Nadia's. If we are going to spend $$ on braces, we decided Ian should be the priority. I took Ian to Dr. Stush today, and he said it's time to start the first phase. The next appointment (mid October) will cost $250, and then I'll meet with the orthodontist at the end of October to discuss the plan. That is when I'll find out how much it will cost. Dr. Wilson doesn't charge for the first appointment, and he gives the cost at that time. Dr. Stush's office is in Lewisburg, which is 20 minutes from our house. Dr. Wilson has two offices. One is also in Lewisburg but in 2015 he wasn't doing first appointments at that office. His other office is about 35 minutes from our home. The quote will cost $250 from Dr. Wilson, but it will be free to receive that from Dr. Stush. I am trying to get Ian an appointment with Dr. Stush. I have no idea if there tends to be much of a difference in the cost from one orthodontist to another, but just in case there is, I am wanting two quotes given braces cost thousands of dollars. I wish I could get both estimates for free, but it seems one of them will cost $250. I started my orthodontic work when I was in fourth grade, and my braces didn't come off until I was in eleventh grade. I hope and pray that Ian won't have appointments for that many years! When I thought they'd both be having braces, I planned to wait until both were ready so I could do their appointments on the same day, but at this point we're just planning on paying for braces for Ian. Nadia is fine with that! The dentist hasn't mentioned (yet) that Oliver needs to see an orthodontist. Oliver's teeth used to look perfect to my untrained eye, but that hasn't been the case since his permanent teeth started coming in. I'm hoping they'll straighten out on their own. When I was pregnant with each child, I prayed that they would inherit teeth like their dad's not like mine. Ian definitely got my teeth. Hoping Nadia and Oliver's teeth prove to be like their dad's. For budgeting purposes I have been assuming Ian's braces will cost about $5K. In two months I should find out how accurate my guesstimate was. 

 

Today's appointment wasn't actually totally free for me because I paid Nadia $5 to babysit Oliver. I know in this COVID-19 era they do not like you to bring extra people to medical appointments so I paid Nadia to babysit Oliver while I took Ian to the orthodontist and library. She has saved almost $150 over the last few months, which is by far the most money she's ever had at one time in her life. I thought maybe she'd use it to buy a hoverboard as she loves using Oliver's, but she said she's going to put that on her Christmas wish list. I think she's going to buy more Legos. Aren't we already drowning in Legos?!?! I can't talk because I saw a GREAT sale recently where the Lego sets were marked down 80% and bought two sets for Nadia and two sets for Ian for Christmas gifts. Most of Nadia's Legos are in her bedroom. Most of Ian's Legos are in the basement. Some of his are on the dining room table, but I claimed half of the dining room table for doing jigsaw puzzles because I'm too old to do them on the floor. Last week Paul, Nadia, and I completed a 1,008 piece puzzle that Pop Pop had given Great Gram years ago. The picture is of Nadia and Ian when they were much younger. It's a photo Wendy had taken at a park in Maryland. Yesterday we started a 1,000 piece tiger puzzle. It's rather a misnomer to call it our dining room table as we almost never eat at that table, ha ha!