Braces typically cost between $2,750 and $13,000 depending on the type, and most people use a combination of insurance, payment plans, and tax-advantaged accounts to cover the bill. The good news is that orthodontists are well aware of the sticker shock and most offices offer multiple ways to spread out or reduce the cost.
What Braces Actually Cost
Before figuring out how to pay, it helps to know the number you’re working with. Traditional metal braces typically run $2,750 to $7,500. Ceramic braces, which blend in more with your teeth, cost $3,000 to $8,500. Clear aligners like Invisalign fall in a similar range at $3,250 to $8,250. Lingual braces, which sit behind the teeth, are the most expensive option at $5,000 to $13,000.
Where you live, how complex your case is, and how long treatment takes all shift the price within those ranges. An 18-month case with mild crowding will cost significantly less than a three-year case involving jaw alignment issues.
Dental Insurance Coverage
If you have dental insurance, check whether it includes orthodontic benefits. Many plans do, but the payout is limited. Orthodontic coverage typically comes with a lifetime maximum, meaning the plan will pay up to a fixed dollar amount for braces across your entire life, not per year. TRICARE’s dental plan, for example, caps orthodontic benefits at $1,750 per person. Private plans vary, but lifetime maximums in the $1,000 to $2,000 range are common.
That won’t cover the full cost, but it takes a meaningful chunk off the total. If you’re choosing between plan tiers during open enrollment, compare the added premium for orthodontic coverage against the lifetime maximum to see if it’s worth it. For a child who clearly needs braces, it almost always is.
One important detail: if you’re buying a new individual dental plan specifically to get orthodontic coverage, expect a waiting period. Most plans require 6 to 12 months, and sometimes up to 24 months, before major services kick in. You can’t sign up and start treatment the next month.
In-Office Payment Plans
This is the most popular option for covering whatever insurance doesn’t. Most orthodontic practices offer in-house payment plans that let you split the cost into monthly installments over the course of treatment. You’ll typically need a down payment to get started, with the remainder divided into equal monthly payments.
The key advantage here is that most in-house plans charge zero interest, according to the American Association of Orthodontists. That makes them significantly cheaper than putting braces on a credit card or taking out a personal loan. The monthly amount depends on your total balance and treatment length, but spreading $4,000 over 18 to 24 months puts payments in the $165 to $225 range for many families.
Ask about payment plans at your initial consultation. Offices expect the question and most have a financial coordinator whose entire job is helping you work this out.
Third-Party Financing
If the orthodontist’s in-house plan doesn’t work for your budget, third-party medical financing companies offer another route. These work like a loan specifically for healthcare expenses. Some offer promotional periods with zero interest if you pay the balance within a set timeframe, typically 6 to 24 months. After that promotional window closes, standard interest rates apply based on your credit history, and those rates can be steep.
If you go this route, read the terms carefully. A zero-interest promotional plan is a great deal only if you’re confident you can pay it off before the promotional period ends. If you can’t, the interest is often applied retroactively to the original balance.
Pay-in-Full Discounts
If you have the cash available, ask about a discount for paying the entire balance upfront. Many orthodontists offer this because it eliminates their administrative cost of tracking monthly payments and chasing late bills. Discounts typically range from 5% to 10%, though practices vary. On a $5,000 treatment plan, that’s $250 to $500 back in your pocket. It’s always worth asking, even if it’s not advertised.
HSA and FSA Accounts
Health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts let you pay for braces with pre-tax dollars, which effectively gives you a discount equal to your tax rate. The IRS explicitly lists braces as an eligible medical expense under Publication 502, so there’s no gray area here.
If your employer offers an FSA, you can set aside pre-tax money each year to cover orthodontic costs. The annual contribution limit for health FSAs is $3,300 in 2025. Since braces span multiple years, you can contribute in consecutive years to cover the total. Just remember that most FSAs have a “use it or lose it” rule, so align your contributions with your actual payment schedule.
HSAs have higher contribution limits and no expiration on the funds, making them even more flexible. If you have a high-deductible health plan with an HSA, this is one of the most tax-efficient ways to pay. For someone in the 22% federal tax bracket, paying $5,000 in braces through an HSA saves roughly $1,100 in taxes.
Dental School Clinics
University dental schools with orthodontic residency programs offer treatment at a significant discount. Penn Dental Medicine, for instance, reports costs that are 50% to 70% lower than private practices. You’ll receive care from residents who are already licensed dentists completing their orthodontic specialty training, supervised by experienced faculty.
The trade-off is time. Appointments often take longer because of the teaching component, scheduling can be less flexible, and treatment may extend a few months beyond what a private practice would require. But if cost is your primary concern, a dental school clinic can cut a $5,000 bill down to $1,500 to $2,500. Search for orthodontic residency programs at universities near you, as not every dental school offers this to the public.
Medicaid Coverage for Children
Medicaid covers braces for children when treatment is deemed medically necessary, not just cosmetic. Each state sets its own criteria, but the standard is a condition severe enough to affect function, like chewing, breathing, or speech. States use scoring systems to evaluate how far a child’s bite deviates from normal, and only cases above a certain severity threshold qualify.
This means Medicaid won’t cover braces for mild crowding or purely cosmetic concerns. But for children with significant overbites, underbites, cleft-related issues, or other functional problems, it can cover the full cost. Your child’s dentist or orthodontist can assess whether the case is likely to meet your state’s criteria and handle the paperwork for prior authorization.
Nonprofit Assistance Programs
Several nonprofits help families who can’t afford braces. Smiles Change Lives is the largest, connecting children ages 7 to 18 with orthodontists who provide treatment at a reduced fee. Families must meet income guidelines that vary by location, and there’s a $30 nonrefundable application fee. If accepted, the cost of treatment through the program is dramatically lower than retail pricing.
Other options include Dental Lifeline Network, which connects people with disabilities, the elderly, or the medically fragile to volunteer dentists, and local charitable care programs run by orthodontic practices in your area. Some orthodontists quietly offer one or two pro bono cases per year, particularly for children. It never hurts to ask.
Combining Multiple Options
Most families don’t rely on a single payment method. A common approach looks something like this: insurance covers $1,500, you pay $1,000 from an FSA or HSA, and the remaining $2,500 goes on the orthodontist’s zero-interest payment plan at around $140 per month for 18 months. That turns a $5,000 expense into something manageable without paying a cent in interest or financing fees.
Start by getting a clear total from your orthodontist, then check your insurance benefits and tax-advantaged account balances. Whatever gap remains is what you need to finance, and a zero-interest in-house plan is almost always the best way to cover it.