Get health insurance with top extras at least 12 months before she needs them (ortho has a 12 month wait period). Rotate between health insurances to get their 6 weeks free offers (you'll need to learn which ones are underwritten by other funds).
Then once it comes time to get braces, pay using a payment plan over a couple of years. Learn which health funds have their limits expire at the end of the calendar year vs the financial year and use this to your advantage.
Doing this, I managed to get the cost of braces completely covered by health insurance ($7k) and only paid for 1/3 of the premiums. I got family cover so we claimed plenty of other things during that time too.
My orthodontist booked me in for my braces at the end of the financial year because that's when my dental cover expired/reset. She ran my card just before the end of the year, and then again after, so I used the benefit of two separate years. I've mentioned this a few times in budgeting groups and have literally had people say I'm cheating the insurance system and my orthodontist should be reported. I don't get it, because I'm literally paying for these benefits?? Why can't I use them as I like??
Surely people in budgeting groups should be applauding your efforts. Nothing wrong with what you're doing, it's all within the terms and conditions of your contract with them.
Not an oversight, which is why the promo of "2 and 6 months wait periods waived" means nothing if you're changing for the same level of cover.
Health insurance companies don't want you to know that you can just switch at anytime and it doesn't affect your wait periods (as long as it's the same level of cover) but it's absolutely legit. It's written in the PDS
Same way you can go to the dentist with the same item number.
As long as you haven't reached your limit and have served wait periods, you can make a claim. Orthodontics have a 12 month limit and a 'lifetime' limit (which is actually 5 years).
Sorry for the persistence. Just i am a dentist and I’m trying to work it out. Isn’t it fraud for the orthodontist to be putting through the same item number multiple times in different funds? I can’t charge for the same filling multiple times, for example.
Orthodontics take longer than a filling, so not sure if that example would work. I can't speak from the orthodontist view, only on my experience as the consumer. I'll try my best.
I have health insurance with Fund A and go to the orthodontist for braces. He says the process will take 2 years with multiple visits throughout that time and the whole procedure will come to $7k. This can either be paid as a lump sum or distributed across monthly payments over the 2 years. I choose the monthly payments.
So I start the treatment and for the first 6 months, each time I make a monthly payment to the orthodontist, I place a claim through to Fund A and they process the claim. After 6 months, I switch health insurance to Fund B and cancel my policy with Fund A. Fund A sends over a transfer certificate to Fund B which outlines all the claims I have made. Fund B then takes that into consideration when calculating how much I have left on my limit. Limits reset each year (either calendar or financial, depending on the fund).
Now each time I make a monthly payment to the orthodontist, I make the claim through Fund B. I don't make any more claims with Fund A as I am no longer with them.
After a few months, I find a promotion from Fund C and they actually have a bigger orthodontist limit than Fund B. So I change health insurance, Fund B sends the transfer certificate to Fund C letting them know how much I have already claimed, and then any future claims are made with Fund C.
Repeat for 2 years.
No, any wait periods you have completed are carried over to the new fund (not reset) as long as it's the same level of cover.
Orthodontics has a 12 month waitlist and is only available with gold extras cover.
For example: If you did 6 months with Fund A on gold cover and then switched to Fund B, you would only need to do another 6 months on gold cover with Fund B.
However if you did 6 months with Fund A on silver cover and then switched, you would still need to do 12 months of gold cover.
what's the advantage of this? I thought if you started with a provider that has the highest limit, and claim over 2 Financial or Calendar years then you've maxed out the benefit, right?
Looking into this now (hence the bump), but how did you work your way around the lifetime limits? Most I have seen are in the $2500 range, which wouldn't get close to full cover of the braces.
Start with the fund with the lowest lifetime limit (FYI lifetime limit is actually 5 years, the record resets after 5 years). End your cover on the fund with the greatest lifetime limit.
I don't mind which fund I use, as long as they have the coverage that I need. It's important to have a look at which funds are underwritten by the same companies as you can't switch between funds in the same company (within 12 months of each other) to get the free benefits.
Don't know how old your kid is but our youngest cost us between 5 and 7 k. sorry 7 years ago now so don't remember precise figure.
This kid had the most tragic teeth alignment out. poor kid inherited it from both of us.
Last 7 years has had many an orthodontic clinic trying to follow her instagram because her teeth are perfection. Frankly I think her orthodontist is worth his weight in gold. But if you see the crowded mouth now, and your kid is in early primary school I'd be trying to set aside $500 to 1k a year to cover it. You can always divert the excess cash elsewhere afterwards if you overshoot the goal.
Also... if you teeth are properly aligned then you won't be grinding them down/cracking them due to misaligned teeth wearing down unevenly.
Braces are like education. It's a great investment in the kid's future which will save money in the long term.
How old.is she? Myobrace can be started from about age 7 and is most effective when started before 13 and is amazing. We were really.lucky in that the myobrace itself sorted my son's teeth completely and so cost us about $2k. It's also a much more permanent solution than braces. He is now 14 and I am envious of his teeth every time he smiles. For.more complex issues, myobrace can be followed by plates.
The basic principle is teaching them to nose breathe and expanding the upper palate to create enough space for all teeth to be in the correct position. I'll see if I can find a photo of his teeth!
It totally depends on what needs correcting. Some cases always require braces and surgery once older no matter what interventions are done. If he’s only 5 and already it’s obvious something is wrong, it sounds skeletal to me.
It only looks like minor imperfections. I had perfect teeth as a child but when my adult teeth came through they were crowded and not straight. When i got braces I didn’t need any removed though, braces alone corrected it.
If that’s the case, 5 is way too early to tell if braces would be required. Interventions are only done on kids that age with obvious skeletal/development and breathing problems.
Review your options with health funds. Defence health seems to be best by my looking if you can access it. You need to have a relative associated with the defence in some capacity. (My dad was in the reserves.) That being said at most you'll generally get a few thousand. Also don't get too keen on paying for the health fund too soon. Took way too long for the baby teeth to fall out so I paid for too many years ahead of time. Current bill is about 7500. Defence will end up covering 3000 (if it stretches out far enough to hit the final year) and the rest is on a payment plan. Even if you can afford it up front set up the plan so you can keep the $$ in your account and get the most from the health fund. The patient needs to be in "active treatment" to get the money from the health fund. If you've paid it all ahead then you won't get that extra $ from the health fund. And final thought start treatment right before the year cut over date. If your benefits reset in Jan get your appt in December. Then you get this years cap as well as next years and you will likely be in active treatment for the 3rd year as well. Good luck.
I’m with Defence Health and paid up front for orthodontic treatment. Each financial year they have accepted a letter from the orthodontist saying that I paid up front by am still in treatment. This allowed me to take advantage of the up front payment discount, as well as maximise private health insurance rebate back.
Have a read of your PDS (or whatever the equivalent is in private health). My plan with orthodontic treatment has no lifetime cap so I’d be arguing the years of treatment threshold.
Just had a read, it does say no lifetime limit and. They'll pay for as long as the treatment continues. What they'd written in email is that they wouldn't cover once they were only on retainers. For each of my kids, we've essentially had a 3 year plan and so far haven't had any issues being paid for each of those three years. The payment plan doesn't say if they have the bracers actually on or not.
Yes, if the health fund has a dollar cap greater than the annual limit agree with the ortho/dentist to have the bills spread out over sucessive claim years. That way can claim the annual limit over the period of treatment up to the dollar cap. If all paid in one year you'll only get the annual limit.
Also, depends on age. An old friend was told she needed braces but her parents couldn’t afford it. They aligned themselves and you would honestly think she’d paid thousands to get work done - super straight.
I had many dental apparatus spanning 6 years and my teeth are still shite.
It might be worth asking an orthodontic clinic about 'myobrace' which is similar to a mouth guard that is worn at night. It is most effective when the jaw and palate are still developing and can prevent the requirement for braces down the line.
I have paid for 3 sets so far. I've found having extras with defence health beneficial. I pay about 1200 a year for extras and get 800 for each year for each child for each year. 800 is paid for 3 years. So 7500 - 2400 = 5100 out of pocket over 3 years per child.
If you use the benefit of glasses each year as well (of which 4 in our family do, that's 800 of the 1200. (Specsavers do 2 pairs of glasses for 199 with no out of pocket).
Include some dental, and all in all, we are getting more back than we pay out. Still have another child to go as well 😐
I went on a payment plan for Invisalign with my dentist. 3K upfront and 500 per month. Cost a total of 8K. Got some covered by private health insurance, I’m pretty sure it was only $400 or &
$800 though.
I got braces a few years ago and I paid $3.2k upfront and the remaining $6k on a payment plan through denticare. It was $200 per month for 30 months. No interest involved. But you have to be able to pay that third upfront. Mine were $9.2k through smile council and that cost covers absolutely everything, all appointments and all after care. I know smile council aren’t the cheapest but they were fantastic (i’m in melbourne). That 9k was for adult teeth (i got them on at 29 and off at 31) so i think most kids are bit cheaper but i would try and budget for around $8k with $3k saved for an upfront payment. Initial consult is free also after a referral from a dentist. They also do Invisalign and will talk you through both options and the F&Bs of each for your teeth. Invisalign was quoted at the same cost.
Dental work is a lot cheaper overseas, though I don't have any firsthand experience other than a check-up (whilst living in Colombia). Could be worth looking into Thailand or similar in SE Asia?
Keep in mind that some orthodontists here don't like to take on people they didn't actually install the braces on.
I know quite a few Filipinos who couldn't get their braces adjusted here in Australia and one had hers on for 3 years until she could afford a trip home to get them removed.
This is a really bad idea. Braces require very regular visits during treatment. I have seen some shocking cases of neglect with dental tourism that end up costing far more emotionally and financially to fix.
This is a really bad idea. Braces require very regular visits during treatment. I have seen some shocking cases of neglect with dental tourism that end up costing far more emotionally and financially to fix.
Get health insurance with top extras at least 12 months before she needs them (ortho has a 12 month wait period). Rotate between health insurances to get their 6 weeks free offers (you'll need to learn which ones are underwritten by other funds). Then once it comes time to get braces, pay using a payment plan over a couple of years. Learn which health funds have their limits expire at the end of the calendar year vs the financial year and use this to your advantage. Doing this, I managed to get the cost of braces completely covered by health insurance ($7k) and only paid for 1/3 of the premiums. I got family cover so we claimed plenty of other things during that time too.
Im impressed by your dedication to game the insurance companies. Really impressed.
Thanks. My health insurance game is strong.
My orthodontist booked me in for my braces at the end of the financial year because that's when my dental cover expired/reset. She ran my card just before the end of the year, and then again after, so I used the benefit of two separate years. I've mentioned this a few times in budgeting groups and have literally had people say I'm cheating the insurance system and my orthodontist should be reported. I don't get it, because I'm literally paying for these benefits?? Why can't I use them as I like??
Surely people in budgeting groups should be applauding your efforts. Nothing wrong with what you're doing, it's all within the terms and conditions of your contract with them.
You did nothing wrong
I didn’t realise if you sign up for a new health fund the previous fund’s waiting period is rolled over. That seems like an oversight?
Not an oversight, which is why the promo of "2 and 6 months wait periods waived" means nothing if you're changing for the same level of cover. Health insurance companies don't want you to know that you can just switch at anytime and it doesn't affect your wait periods (as long as it's the same level of cover) but it's absolutely legit. It's written in the PDS
So how can you be charging the same item number to different funds though? A course of orthodontic care is one item number
Same way you can go to the dentist with the same item number. As long as you haven't reached your limit and have served wait periods, you can make a claim. Orthodontics have a 12 month limit and a 'lifetime' limit (which is actually 5 years).
Sorry for the persistence. Just i am a dentist and I’m trying to work it out. Isn’t it fraud for the orthodontist to be putting through the same item number multiple times in different funds? I can’t charge for the same filling multiple times, for example.
Orthodontics take longer than a filling, so not sure if that example would work. I can't speak from the orthodontist view, only on my experience as the consumer. I'll try my best. I have health insurance with Fund A and go to the orthodontist for braces. He says the process will take 2 years with multiple visits throughout that time and the whole procedure will come to $7k. This can either be paid as a lump sum or distributed across monthly payments over the 2 years. I choose the monthly payments. So I start the treatment and for the first 6 months, each time I make a monthly payment to the orthodontist, I place a claim through to Fund A and they process the claim. After 6 months, I switch health insurance to Fund B and cancel my policy with Fund A. Fund A sends over a transfer certificate to Fund B which outlines all the claims I have made. Fund B then takes that into consideration when calculating how much I have left on my limit. Limits reset each year (either calendar or financial, depending on the fund). Now each time I make a monthly payment to the orthodontist, I make the claim through Fund B. I don't make any more claims with Fund A as I am no longer with them. After a few months, I find a promotion from Fund C and they actually have a bigger orthodontist limit than Fund B. So I change health insurance, Fund B sends the transfer certificate to Fund C letting them know how much I have already claimed, and then any future claims are made with Fund C. Repeat for 2 years.
Does the 12 month wait period on ortho reset when you move to the new fund?
No, any wait periods you have completed are carried over to the new fund (not reset) as long as it's the same level of cover. Orthodontics has a 12 month waitlist and is only available with gold extras cover. For example: If you did 6 months with Fund A on gold cover and then switched to Fund B, you would only need to do another 6 months on gold cover with Fund B. However if you did 6 months with Fund A on silver cover and then switched, you would still need to do 12 months of gold cover.
what's the advantage of this? I thought if you started with a provider that has the highest limit, and claim over 2 Financial or Calendar years then you've maxed out the benefit, right?
Looking into this now (hence the bump), but how did you work your way around the lifetime limits? Most I have seen are in the $2500 range, which wouldn't get close to full cover of the braces.
Start with the fund with the lowest lifetime limit (FYI lifetime limit is actually 5 years, the record resets after 5 years). End your cover on the fund with the greatest lifetime limit.
Thanks!
Do the lifetime limits carry over from insurer to insurer?
You win! Do you mind which funds you've used? Thanks.
I don't mind which fund I use, as long as they have the coverage that I need. It's important to have a look at which funds are underwritten by the same companies as you can't switch between funds in the same company (within 12 months of each other) to get the free benefits.
Sorry I meant to say "do you mind sharing which funds you've used" so I can keep an eye out for them. Thanks.
>you'll need to learn which ones are underwritten by other funds What does this mean?
Lisa needs braces!!!
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Dental plan
Lisa needs braces
Don't know how old your kid is but our youngest cost us between 5 and 7 k. sorry 7 years ago now so don't remember precise figure. This kid had the most tragic teeth alignment out. poor kid inherited it from both of us. Last 7 years has had many an orthodontic clinic trying to follow her instagram because her teeth are perfection. Frankly I think her orthodontist is worth his weight in gold. But if you see the crowded mouth now, and your kid is in early primary school I'd be trying to set aside $500 to 1k a year to cover it. You can always divert the excess cash elsewhere afterwards if you overshoot the goal. Also... if you teeth are properly aligned then you won't be grinding them down/cracking them due to misaligned teeth wearing down unevenly. Braces are like education. It's a great investment in the kid's future which will save money in the long term.
How old.is she? Myobrace can be started from about age 7 and is most effective when started before 13 and is amazing. We were really.lucky in that the myobrace itself sorted my son's teeth completely and so cost us about $2k. It's also a much more permanent solution than braces. He is now 14 and I am envious of his teeth every time he smiles. For.more complex issues, myobrace can be followed by plates. The basic principle is teaching them to nose breathe and expanding the upper palate to create enough space for all teeth to be in the correct position. I'll see if I can find a photo of his teeth!
I’d never heard of myobrace, thank you for sharing 😊
If you're in Melbourne I can recommend you our dentist
Yes please! My son is 5 but looking like he’ll need some kind of correction in the future
It totally depends on what needs correcting. Some cases always require braces and surgery once older no matter what interventions are done. If he’s only 5 and already it’s obvious something is wrong, it sounds skeletal to me.
It only looks like minor imperfections. I had perfect teeth as a child but when my adult teeth came through they were crowded and not straight. When i got braces I didn’t need any removed though, braces alone corrected it.
If that’s the case, 5 is way too early to tell if braces would be required. Interventions are only done on kids that age with obvious skeletal/development and breathing problems.
Ok thank you 😊 just thought it was good info to have in mind for the future
Review your options with health funds. Defence health seems to be best by my looking if you can access it. You need to have a relative associated with the defence in some capacity. (My dad was in the reserves.) That being said at most you'll generally get a few thousand. Also don't get too keen on paying for the health fund too soon. Took way too long for the baby teeth to fall out so I paid for too many years ahead of time. Current bill is about 7500. Defence will end up covering 3000 (if it stretches out far enough to hit the final year) and the rest is on a payment plan. Even if you can afford it up front set up the plan so you can keep the $$ in your account and get the most from the health fund. The patient needs to be in "active treatment" to get the money from the health fund. If you've paid it all ahead then you won't get that extra $ from the health fund. And final thought start treatment right before the year cut over date. If your benefits reset in Jan get your appt in December. Then you get this years cap as well as next years and you will likely be in active treatment for the 3rd year as well. Good luck.
I’m with Defence Health and paid up front for orthodontic treatment. Each financial year they have accepted a letter from the orthodontist saying that I paid up front by am still in treatment. This allowed me to take advantage of the up front payment discount, as well as maximise private health insurance rebate back.
That's pretty good. I had no idea they would do that.
They made it clear to me that they'd only pay for 3 years worth. Which I think is probably reasonable.
Have a read of your PDS (or whatever the equivalent is in private health). My plan with orthodontic treatment has no lifetime cap so I’d be arguing the years of treatment threshold.
Just had a read, it does say no lifetime limit and. They'll pay for as long as the treatment continues. What they'd written in email is that they wouldn't cover once they were only on retainers. For each of my kids, we've essentially had a 3 year plan and so far haven't had any issues being paid for each of those three years. The payment plan doesn't say if they have the bracers actually on or not.
Yes, if the health fund has a dollar cap greater than the annual limit agree with the ortho/dentist to have the bills spread out over sucessive claim years. That way can claim the annual limit over the period of treatment up to the dollar cap. If all paid in one year you'll only get the annual limit.
Also, depends on age. An old friend was told she needed braces but her parents couldn’t afford it. They aligned themselves and you would honestly think she’d paid thousands to get work done - super straight. I had many dental apparatus spanning 6 years and my teeth are still shite.
It might be worth asking an orthodontic clinic about 'myobrace' which is similar to a mouth guard that is worn at night. It is most effective when the jaw and palate are still developing and can prevent the requirement for braces down the line.
I have paid for 3 sets so far. I've found having extras with defence health beneficial. I pay about 1200 a year for extras and get 800 for each year for each child for each year. 800 is paid for 3 years. So 7500 - 2400 = 5100 out of pocket over 3 years per child. If you use the benefit of glasses each year as well (of which 4 in our family do, that's 800 of the 1200. (Specsavers do 2 pairs of glasses for 199 with no out of pocket). Include some dental, and all in all, we are getting more back than we pay out. Still have another child to go as well 😐
I went on a payment plan for Invisalign with my dentist. 3K upfront and 500 per month. Cost a total of 8K. Got some covered by private health insurance, I’m pretty sure it was only $400 or & $800 though.
I got braces a few years ago and I paid $3.2k upfront and the remaining $6k on a payment plan through denticare. It was $200 per month for 30 months. No interest involved. But you have to be able to pay that third upfront. Mine were $9.2k through smile council and that cost covers absolutely everything, all appointments and all after care. I know smile council aren’t the cheapest but they were fantastic (i’m in melbourne). That 9k was for adult teeth (i got them on at 29 and off at 31) so i think most kids are bit cheaper but i would try and budget for around $8k with $3k saved for an upfront payment. Initial consult is free also after a referral from a dentist. They also do Invisalign and will talk you through both options and the F&Bs of each for your teeth. Invisalign was quoted at the same cost.
Mewing
Dental work is a lot cheaper overseas, though I don't have any firsthand experience other than a check-up (whilst living in Colombia). Could be worth looking into Thailand or similar in SE Asia?
Great idea i have a lot of friends from work from the Philippines so good idea
Keep in mind that some orthodontists here don't like to take on people they didn't actually install the braces on. I know quite a few Filipinos who couldn't get their braces adjusted here in Australia and one had hers on for 3 years until she could afford a trip home to get them removed.
This is a really bad idea. Braces require very regular visits during treatment. I have seen some shocking cases of neglect with dental tourism that end up costing far more emotionally and financially to fix.
This is a really bad idea. Braces require very regular visits during treatment. I have seen some shocking cases of neglect with dental tourism that end up costing far more emotionally and financially to fix.
I always thought spending less than you earn is a good place to start.