Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 10783883)

Holy crap, that is a ridulous amount of money, how can it be justified?

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 10783883)

Holy crap, that is a ridulous amount of money, how can it be justified?

Originally Posted by macy (Post 10783773)

Just for those that have children that will need braces on their teeth. We are about to embark on the process and are paying $1500 upfront and then $63 per week for 18 months so around $6k.

This doesn't include the $2k of work he needed doing before the braces were to be fitted, ie. filings and extractions poor thing... after living here so long we were not that shocked by the price...

Originally Posted by h2oskineil (Post 10783987)

You can claim 20% tax back on anything over $2060.00.
http://www.etax.com.au/blog/tax-tips...-tax-deduction

Originally Posted by old.sparkles (Post 10783888)

It's considerably more than the UK - you can only get nhs braces in severe cases, but private was quoted as £1800 for young spark. Not sure on follow up appt's as we decided against it at the time as he only has a slight underbite.

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 10784036)

I have been reading up on braces through the NHS and they seem to be widely available and definitely not just for severe cases. It was thought one of my boys might need them and we were told it wasnt a problem getting them but fortunately his teeth are correcting themselves.

Originally Posted by h2oskineil (Post 10783987)

You can claim 20% tax back on anything over $2060.00.
http://www.etax.com.au/blog/tax-tips...-tax-deduction

For tax purposes, the Australian Tax Office lumps dental expenses together with other medical expenses. Unfortunately, this means you can’t claim back your dental expenses ‘dollar for dollar’ – but there are some savings to be had.

If you have more than $2060 net medical expenses (your total medical expenses minus Medicare and private health rebates) within one tax year, you can claim 20% of the amount above $2060 as a deductible expense.

Example 1:




John spends a total of $2500 on dental and medical bills in the tax year
John received a total of $450 back from Medicare and $900 back from private health insurance
John’s net medical expenses = $2500 minus $450 (Medicare rebate) minus $900 (private health) = $1150
Because John’s net medical expenses are less than $2060, John can’t claim any medical expense deduction on his tax return

Example 2:

Mary spends a total of $7000 on dental and medical bills during one tax year
Mary received $875 back from Medicare and $2500 back from private health insurance
Mary’s net medical expenses = $7500 minus $875 (Medicare rebate) minus $2500 (private health) = $4125
Mary’s net medical expenses are more than $2060, so she can claim 20% of the amount above this threshold as a deduction
$4125 (net medical expenses) minus $2060 (ATO threshold) times 20% = $413
Mary can claim $413 as a tax deduction on her tax return

What you can claim:

Payments to dentists, orthodontists or registered dental mechanics
Payments to optometrists, including prescription glasses and contact lenses
Payments for medical aids prescribed by a doctor
Payments for laser eye surgery
Payments for artificial limbs or eyes and hearing aids
What you can’t claim:

Payments to a private health provider for insurance
Travel or accommodation expenses associated with you dental treatment
Dental services that are purely cosmetic
Non-prescription, chemist-type items sold 'over the counter' such as tablets for pain relief.

Originally Posted by old.sparkles (Post 10784037)

Well I only know what I was told when young spark went to see the orthodontist - they had photos of severe cases, and we were told that he would have to be in that category to get nhs funded braces.

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 10784137)

Dont know, maybe some regional variation although there shouldnt be. They are only available if needed for a medical reason (overcrowding etc) which is fair enough and not for purely cosmetic reasons.

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 10784036)

I have been reading up on braces through the NHS and they seem to be widely available and definitely not just for severe cases. It was thought one of my boys might need them and we were told it wasnt a problem getting them but fortunately his teeth are correcting themselves.

Originally Posted by old.sparkles (Post 10784037)

Well I only know what I was told when young spark went to see the orthodontist - they had photos of severe cases, and we were told that he would have to be in that category to get nhs funded braces.

Originally Posted by old.sparkles (Post 10784142)

As I said, he has a slight underbite I think it's called (lower teeth are slightly in front of upper teeth) and I would have had to pay.

Originally Posted by old.sparkles (Post 10784037)

Well I only know what I was told when young spark went to see the orthodontist - they had photos of severe cases, and we were told that he would have to be in that category to get nhs funded braces.

Originally Posted by Kapri (Post 10786677)

My son saw an NHS orthodontist just before we left the UK. I was told he would need braces in 18 months time. It wasn't going to cost us anything but is going to cost us $ 6000 in Aus :eek:

Originally Posted by caleb2003 (Post 11086828)

Can you go back on a 'holiday' to the UK and get the work done?

Originally Posted by irishbloo (Post 11086871)

This would not be possible.Checkups are required every six weeks or so.Long way to go for check ups.

Originally Posted by caleb2003 (Post 11086889)

I meant just go for the braces and then get it checked up in Aus!

Originally Posted by irishbloo (Post 11086891)

An Australian orthodontist will more than likely not do this.In fact if you already have a brace on when you arrive they will want it removed and started again.

Originally Posted by irishbloo (Post 11086891)

An Australian orthodontist will more than likely not do this.In fact if you already have a brace on when you arrive they will want it removed and started again.

Originally Posted by papilon (Post 11090606)

Why all the concern about braces, it's UnBritish we are supposed to have crooked wonky teeth :p

Originally Posted by carolinephillips (Post 11090631)

I didn't realise that once your teeth were straight that you had to have a wire fitted permanently behind them to stop them going wonky again. DD is against having a permanent wire.

Originally Posted by carolinephillips (Post 11090631)

I didn't realise that once your teeth were straight that you had to have a wire fitted permanently behind them to stop them going wonky again. DD is against having a permanent wire.

Originally Posted by macy (Post 11092253)

I know, we were the same and had no idea that teeth do seem to have mind of their own... makes you wonder why we are paying the $7k in the first place if they are just going to go back to where they came from without the permanent wire..we were told the youngest would have to have it on for 6 years afterwards... apparently you can't feel it... makes you wonder how we survived on the NHS dental scheme when we were kids...;)

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 11092471)

Can someone explain to me how they can cost $6000? Fortunately our kids teeth are all going where they should and braces dont seem necessary anymore.

Originally Posted by moneypenny20 (Post 11092524)

Why does anything cost what it does? You're paying for the Orthodontist's expertise of using the right brace in the right way, you're paying for a minimum two/three years of regular checkups and alterations. It's a load of money but divide it down to the number of appointments you may have in that two plus years and it's not quite so bad. Most Orthodontists do a payment plan which lessens the pain.

The girls Ortho is brilliant, he found the greatest surgeon for their surgery, worked very closely with him in order to get the best outcome for them and has done amazing work on their mouths over the past few years. He's more than earned the money we've paid him imo. However we've probably had way more service from him than most people who just have braces to straighten out a few teeth.

First Born had her treatment started five or so years ago and still has six monthly check ups covered by that initial $5,500 and Tiddler will still be seeing him for the next three years or so. The fact they can both eat is priceless.

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 11092540)

No, just dont see it myself. I guess it is why orthodonists drive Porsches :)

Originally Posted by chris955 (Post 11092540)

No, just dont see it myself. I guess it is why orthodonists drive Porsches :)

Originally Posted by moneypenny20 (Post 11092548)

He can drive what he likes, not going to hold his lifestyle against him, he's highly qualified, he's got the skill to enable my daughters to eat so like I said, priceless. I'm guessing his hourly rate is a fraction of a solicitor.