Re-locating while wearing braces!!!

[rayden001]

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I will be relocating for medical school in the fall and I have been thinking about getting braces.

Normally, I would just wait till I relocate to start treatment but I want to take advantage of a reimbursement fund ($1500) that my current job provides for orthodontic procedures. This fund will not be available to me once I terminate my employment.

I have roughly three months before school starts. For those of you with braces or had any experience with it, is $1500 enough reason to start my treatment before relocating or should I just wait till school starts? What kinds of hassle should I expect when switching orthodontists?

Thanks for your input

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

1500 bucks sounds like a good reason to me

 

[armybound]

if you're going to get them either way, might as well pay less for them

plus I'd rather get them started and get them off sooner instead of waiting around.

 

[TurtleGirl]

I think it depends on what type of braces you get. I have Invisalign braces so my orthodontist required me to pay her up front and when I moved I had to pay the new orthodontist extra. I think with metal braces it is more difficult though, since different Drs use different wires, brackets, etc. Since you already know in advance when and where you will be moving you might not even have to pay extra if you lay it all out for your orthodontist initially.

 

[kami333]

What are the restrictions on the fund, will it only cover certain orthodontists? If you already know where you are relocating to, any chance of taking a road trip to find a doc in the new city and start it there?

I got a TMJ splint made in Dec, since I knew I was quitting my job and relocating in Jan and my new insurance wouldn't cover them I took a trip to the city I was moving to and got it done there.

 

[Food]

I was also wondering about this. I've been wanting to get braces, and will be started med school this fall. Is this a good idea?

 

[rayden001]

What are the restrictions on the fund, will it only cover certain orthodontists? If you already know where you are relocating to, any chance of taking a road trip to find a doc in the new city and start it there?

I got a TMJ splint made in Dec, since I knew I was quitting my job and relocating in Jan and my new insurance wouldn't cover them I took a trip to the city I was moving to and got it done there.

Road trip is not feasible. I currently reside in Minnesota and will be moving to the east coast for medical school.

I think it depends on what type of braces you get. I have Invisalign braces so my orthodontist required me to pay her up front and when I moved I had to pay the new orthodontist extra. I think with metal braces it is more difficult though, since different Drs use different wires, brackets, etc. Since you already know in advance when and where you will be moving you might not even have to pay extra if you lay it all out for your orthodontist initially.

I guess I could inform the orthodontist from the onset that I intend on relocating soon after my treatment begins. But my only fear is that the orthodontist might try to get as much money as they can from me before I transfer my services.

 

[shiftingmirage]

I would suggest finding a chain, sears dental comes to mind (and they do do orthodontics) and say, if I pay here and move over there, does my plan continue? Any one know of any other chains out there?

Do you know what kind of insurance coverage you will have in med school? Maybe they will cover 1k, so you're only loosing 500, not ideal, but less than 1500.

 

[mspeedwagon]

It really depends on where you are geographically and what the total cost of braces ($1500 isn't really enough money to complicate your life over if you are in a big city where the cost of braces is high).

I got braces in Boston and had to pay $5000 to the orthodontist upfront for the entire treatment (or pay a little more and pay him monthly). I opted for the former because I didn't think I was going to move at the time. Of course, I ended up moving to CA and had to pay another orthodontist here for a few visit ($175 per visit). In the end, I started flying from CA back to Boston because I liked my first orthodontist better and he said he didn't charge me since I paid upfront (also ticket prices had fallen so they were in the $200 range).

The only thing I liked about this whole thing is that I got to get the opinions of two different orthodontists. However, it could be confusing at times (one orthodontist says the braces are ready to come off and the other says that they are not). I think in the end, I wish I had just started and finished with the same orthodontist. In part this is because I liked the first orthodontist a lot better (even though they were both highly recommended).

Sorry that was long: In short, I would find the best orthodontist in your new town and start it once you are there. $1500 is not good enough reason to get started and have to transfer care.

Edit: If you can use that $1500 now in the city where you are going to medical school, I would drive/fly to that place and set it up and see if you can pay that $1500 upfront.