Braces have been around for decades, and there’s a good reason they remain a go-to teeth straightening option for adults everywhere: they work. But one thing that isn’t so certain about braces is treatment cost. It isn’t a one-size-fits-all number — it depends on a variety of factors, including your location.
Your braces bill in Florida is a reflection of the state’s cost of living, taxes, and other influencers. So, it might be different than what you’d pay in Pennsylvania, Kansas, or any other state. But this guide has all the info you need to get a sense of Florida’s average orthodontic costs.
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Cost of Adult Braces in Florida vs. National Average
According to the American Dental Association, the national average cost for adult braces treatment is $4,800 to $7,135. Florida is an incredibly diverse state with big cities, open spaces, tourist attractions, retirement communities, busy beaches, and quiet small towns. As a result, its braces prices are all over the board. In general, they’re similar to the national average, but it all depends on where you live within the state.
Area | Cost in Florida | National Average |
---|---|---|
Urban | $4,500–$7,250 | $5,250 |
Suburban | $5,000–$7,250 | $5,500 |
Rural | $4,000–$7,000 | $5,000 |
These ranges are estimates based on what we know about adult braces costs and some information from a few Florida-based orthodontists. But they should give you a general sense of what you might pay.
Why Are Braces So Expensive?
There’s no getting around the fact that braces are expensive. But that’s because they’re one of the most consistent and effective treatments available.
They might be visible and somewhat intrusive, but braces’ major benefit is their sturdiness. You can’t take them out like clear aligners, so they eliminate the potential for user error. Sure, you need to avoid excessively sticky or gummy foods, but in return, you’re getting surefire results. Metal brackets and wires give an orthodontist incredible control over your teeth, and during routine office visits, they can make adjustments to deliver the perfect results.
Braces require routine trips to the orthodontist over the course of a 12–24 month treatment timeline, and each visit costs money. Orthodontist offices have overhead costs like rent, utilities, and staff, which translate to patient fees. And don’t forget that you’re also paying for the orthodontist’s expertise and time. However, as you’ll find out, the price you ultimately pay is subject to a variety of influences, including where you live.
Looking For Affordable Orthodontic Treatment in Florida?
Braces are a time-tested treatment, but their price tag doesn’t fit every budget. That’s why adults with mild misalignments sometimes opt for at-home aligners instead.
By cutting office visits out of the equation, home aligner companies like Byte and SmileDirectClub offer comparable services for lower prices. We’ve done extensive research on home aligner options. Our in-depth guide provides all the info you need to find the best option for your smile.
What Factors Influence the Cost of Braces?
Braces are typically expensive. But exactly how expensive is a more complicated question. Multiple factors can influence your final bill. Some are based on your location, others are constant across state lines. We break them all down in detail below.
Condition Severity
This is the most significant price-determining factor. A minor case of crowding or spacing simply takes less time and aligners to correct than a severe case of crossbite. The fewer office visits your teeth require, the less you’ll pay. During your initial consultation, your dentist/orthodontist can evaluate your teeth and estimate how long your treatment might take.
Type of Braces
Orthodontic technology has advanced significantly over the past couple of decades, and standard metal brackets aren’t the only option anymore. For instance, you can opt for ceramic braces that blend in with your teeth, or lingual braces that sit behind your teeth. Each of these is less noticeable than traditional braces, but they’re also more expensive. Ceramic braces can cost up to $8,000, while lingual braces can be between $8,000 and $13,000.
Region
In general, orthodontic care costs more on the coasts and less in the middle of the country. The northeast is particularly expensive, while southern states like Alabama and Mississippi boast some of the nation’s lowest costs. Taxes can also play a role. The state will add sales tax to your total braces cost, and higher corporate taxes might cause your orthodontist to accommodate by raising prices.
The Southeast typically offers some decent orthodontic prices. States like Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina benefit from the low average prices that Southern states enjoy. But they’re also more populous and more tourism-driven than states like Alabama and Mississippi, which can lead to higher prices, depending on where you live. Florida is an incredibly diverse state, so its prices can swing drastically from one end of the spectrum to the other based on the specific location.
If you live on Florida’s panhandle, you might have access to Alabama, which boasts some of the nation’s lowest average dental and orthodontic fees. Georgia is nearby too, and it has a lower average cost of living than Florida, so you can potentially find cheaper braces there too. Just keep in mind that this isn’t a one-time thing. Braces require regular office visits, so don’t drive four hours for cheaper treatment if you’re not willing to make that trek every month.
Taxes can influence your braces price too. Fortunately, Florida’s aren’t too extreme. Their sales tax, which is added directly to your final price, is a fairly average 6%. And the state’s corporate income tax is 5.5%, which likely isn’t high enough to cause your orthodontist to bump their prices up too much.
Urban, Suburban, or Rural?
Not only are orthodontic costs different for each state, but they also vary based on your location within the state. Urban areas, for example, often have a higher cost of living, and it’s less expensive to live in a small town. Do you have high rent and utility payments? Then your dentist or orthodontist likely does too. Higher overhead costs usually result in more expensive orthodontic treatment.
Urban
Florida has more than 21 million residents, making it the third-most populous state (behind California and Texas). You’ll find a good portion of these residents in one of the four largest cities: Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, and Orlando. With many of Florida’s urban hubs, the farther south you go, the higher the cost of living. Jacksonville, for example, is near the northern border and has a cost of living that’s lower than the state average, especially when it comes to healthcare expenses.
But head south and you’re getting closer to tourism territory — popular beaches and entertainment destinations. The cost of living is just slightly higher than the national average in Tampa and Orlando, but Miami is a lot more expensive, so you might pay more for braces there.
Suburban
Most of Florida’s population, however, is spread out across the state in mid-sized towns with 50,000–200,000 residents. The suburbs around Miami, Tampa, or Fort Lauderdale can be pricey, sometimes even more expensive than the cities themselves. Some of Florida’s most expensive places to live are around Miami or mid-sized beach towns like Naples. The farther from the beach you get, the lower your cost of living probably is. Inland cities like Tallahassee and Gainsville are less expensive, which often includes cheaper orthodontic costs.
Rural
Assessing small Florida towns is tricky because there are a couple of different types. Rural areas in northern Florida are similar to the rural areas you might find in Alabama or Georgia, which are inexpensive and often have low orthodontic prices. Search along the coast, however, and you’ll find tourist beach locales, luxury retirement communities, and other expensive small towns. These represent both ends of the braces price spectrum — inland small towns usually have affordable braces and coastal towns can have some of the state’s highest prices.
Local Competition
When you have numerous orthodontists in an area, they each need to stay ahead of the competition and attract new customers. Many times, this means lower prices and special offers or sales. So, if there’s a high concentration of orthodontists in your area, it can mean lower prices, giving you the ability to “shop around.”
Live in a big city? You’ll have plenty of orthodontists vying for your business. Orthodontists face more competition in big cities like Miami and Tampa than they do in small towns. So, to differentiate themselves, they might lower their prices or offer special deals on treatment. If you live in a city, keep an eye on orthodontist websites or call them directly to take advantage of discounts and sales.
If you live in a small town, there might only be one or two orthodontists nearby, so they don’t have as much incentive to run promotions (but they still might!).
Orthodontist Experience
Like most industries, in orthodontia, seasoned professionals can charge more for their services than relative newcomers. So, if your orthodontist has been administering braces for years, you might end up paying a bit more. For this reason, it can sometimes be helpful to “shop around” to weigh your options if you have multiple orthodontists nearby.
Managing Treatment Costs
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by treatment costs, you’re not alone. Take comfort in the fact that in most cases, you won’t have to pay the entire amount up front. Here are some ways you can make that price tag seem a little more manageable:
Review Your Insurance Plan
Braces for children and adolescents are partially covered by most dental insurance plans. However, plans don’t often cover costs for anyone over 18, unless they include orthodontic benefits. But you don’t want to begin treatment expecting help from your insurance provider, only to find out that it’s not coming. So don’t commit to braces without first reviewing your insurance plan and contacting your provider.
Some orthodontist offices also accept payments directly from an FSA or HSA if you have one. Consult your dentist or orthodontist to see how they handle these payments.
Search for Sales and Discounts
You won’t likely see your orthodontist running sales or promotional discounts on braces. But sometimes they’ll offer perks to go along with your treatment, like teeth whitening or a percentage off your next visit. It certainly can’t hurt to ask. Sometimes you can even find deals on Groupon.
Universities with dental and orthodontic schools will also offer discounts if you don’t mind a resident administering your treatment. These individuals are qualified and on the track to becoming state-licensed orthodontists. Plus, they’re overseen by professors and experienced dental professionals, so you can be sure you’re receiving quality care.
Florida is home to three schools of dentistry, two of which offer reduced-cost orthodontic services: the University of Florida and Nova Southeastern University. The University of Florida’s clinic is in Gainesville, while NSU has adult clinics in Davie, Clearwater, and Cypress Creek, plus two pediatric clinics around Fort Lauderdale.
Inquire about Financing Options
Most orthodontist offices offer financing plans that break your costs into manageable monthly payments. Typically you won’t need to pay the entire lump sum upfront. The terms of these plans vary, so you should speak with your orthodontist about the financing options they offer.
If your orthodontist’s options aren’t ideal, you can look into third-party dental financing companies like CareCredit or beWell, which finance everything from routine dentistry to complex orthodontic procedures.
Discuss Aftercare in Advance
Even after the brackets come off, teeth tend to shift back to their old positions. Aftercare retainers keep that from happening. After your teeth have been freed, you’ll have a perfect new smile, and you’ll need to purchase a retainer to protect it. Retainer costs vary, but you can usually get one for $200–$600. This, too, depends on your specific orthodontist.
Because your dentist can make tweaks and course corrections throughout your treatment, they can ensure that you’ll get a perfectly straight smile, and they won’t remove your braces until then. That said, some teeth simply don’t move quite as expected, so your orthodontist might need to add attachments and extend your treatment timeline, which will cost more. Talk to your orthodontist about their mid-treatment refinement policies before you begin.
3 Affordable Braces Alternatives
Braces are one of the most effective and powerful options out there, but they’re not ideal for everyone. Whether you’re unsure about the price tag or the procedure, here are three braces alternatives we think are worth your time.
1. Six Month Smiles
Maybe you want to get the sturdiness and power of braces, but avoid the metal wires and lengthy treatment time. If so, you might consider Six Month Smiles. They’re an in-office brand that uses clear wires and brackets for a more discreet appearance. Or, if you want to avoid brackets and wires altogether, they recently expanded their services to offer clear aligners as well.
With an average price range of $3,500–$5,000, Six Month Smiles costs less than traditional braces in most cases. Plus, as their name suggests, the average treatment time is just six months, so you get the best of both worlds – one-on-one care and an abbreviated timeline. But on the flipside, Six Month Smiles isn’t suitable for as wide a range of conditions as traditional braces. If you have a severe case of misalignment, Six Month Smiles might not work for you.
2. Byte
Byte is a home teeth straightening service that sells custom clear aligners for less than half the price of braces or Invisalign. You'll receive your full aligner series in the mail, then administer treatment from the comfort of your home, no office visits required.
Like Six Month Smiles, byte can treat mild-to-moderate cases of misalignment. But unlike Six Month Smiles, Byte’s aligners are nearly invisible and come with the HyperByte — a high-frequency vibration device that can make treatment more efficient for some customers. We also like their lifetime guarantee, which promises users free revision treatment if their teeth ever move out of alignment.
If you think Byte might be a good fit for your needs, check out our comprehensive review for a closer look at their service offerings, customer reviews, and a whole lot more.
3. Candid
Candid started out as an at-home teeth straightening service like Byte, but has since transitioned to a hybrid model that more closely resembles in-office treatment options like Invisalign.
With Candid, your treatment will be administered by a local dentist, but you'll only need to visit them in person a couple of times throughout the entire process — much less often than braces. That said, you'll still get the clinical oversight you need thanks to Candid's proprietary CandidMonitoring™ system, which allows you to submit scans of your teeth for review every two weeks from the comfort of home.
Candid treatment typically costs less than braces, but on the flip side, it's more limited in the scope of conditions it can address. Candid's treatment plans aren't currently designed to incorporate rubber bands or dental attachments like braces can. However, if you're looking to correct a mild or moderate case of misalignment, Candid could be a great option for you.
Read our review of Candid to learn more.
Conclusion
Getting braces is a big move, a significant step on your journey toward a new smile. But it’s also a big expense, and uncertainty about your treatment’s price tag can be stressful. Fortunately, with the knowledge you’ve gained from this guide, you can get a better sense of whether braces are a viable option.
Keep in mind, though, that the only way to get a truly accurate cost for your braces in Florida is by visiting your orthodontist. Although braces might seem expensive, there are ways to make them more affordable, like financing, discounts, and insurance. In the end, if you decide that they’re simply not right for you, there are plenty of other options available. No matter which route you take, your destination is the same: a brand new, photo-ready smile.
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