Are braces worth it?
A few years ago my wife had LASIK eye surgery. She had a 30 minute consultation visit with her ophthalmologist then had the surgery which took another 30 minutes followed by a post-op visit that was 15 minutes. In total, she paid $5,000 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes with the doctor.
In contrast, when a patient undergoes orthodontic treatment, their treatment will take an average of 18-24 months with another 12 months follow up and they will spend around $6,000
In 1998, my sister started her orthodontic treatment and at the time it cost about $4,000. Since then the average cost of medical care has increased by about 7% per year. If the cost of orthodontics increased by the same amount, the cost of my sister’s braces in 2022 would be over $20,000!
