When it is time for us to buy a car we like to know that we are getting the best price. There may be several dealerships that offer the same exact car but their pricing and their willingness to help will be different. A 2010 Honda Civic is still the same car no matter if you bought it from dealership X, Y or Z. We should treat our dental braces the same way we treat shopping for a car.

When it is time to get braces do we just take the first quote we get from our dentist or do we shop around? Most of us will just take our dentist’s word for it that they are offering the best price and we go ahead with the treatment.

Like a dealership, dentists can offer the same treatment but at varying prices and varying degrees of help with that price. We always have insurance to help us with the price and that too has varying degrees like is the dentist in network or out of network for the insurance company?

To ensure that we are getting a fair price on dental braces it helps to see what other regions of the United States are paying for their braces. The prices will vary based on region but if you are in one of the regions we will talk about and have been quoted a higher price; then it is time to get a second opinion.

The North East region includes states like New York and Maine will pay about $11,000 for the full orthodontic treatment. The Mid West region with states like Michigan and Ohio are paying around $7,500 for their braces; while the South region including Texas and Louisiana are fairly close with their price for braces around $7,000 per treatment. The second most expensive region is the East Cost with the people in California and Washington having to pay about $9,000 for their braces.

These averages include child, teen and adult with a general rule of thumb being that children’s braces usually cost about $1,000 less than adult braces. Dentist’s offices are good at helping their patients pay the bill and have been known to offer payment plans outside of what the insurance company will cover.

Before you sign the dotted line so to speak on this dental work it pays to shop around and make sure that you are getting the best service for the best price.