How is the monthly figure calculated, and what is the total?+
The quote should carry four numbers, not one: the fee, the down payment, the term in months, and the total payable. On the S$4,200 row above, the practice’s own plan is S$1,145 down plus 24 × S$143, so S$4,577 in total with no interest — while 36 months of outside finance at a representative 7.90% APR looks the same per month and costs S$5,157. If a clinic quotes a monthly figure without a term and an APR, that is the number to question first.
Is 12 to 24 months realistic?+
For a moderate adult case, usually yes — but the range depends on what the records show, the appliance, whether extractions are needed, how the teeth and bone respond, and how faithfully aligners or elastics are worn. Nothing about the process is faster for one appliance choice in every mouth. What we can do is state a range at the start, say what would move it, and tell you at each review whether it is running long rather than at the end.
I am mid-treatment at another practice. Can you take it over?+
Usually, and it is priced rather than refused at the counter. Bring the original plan, the records and the current appliance details. The transfer is assessed as its own case: a S$150 consultation fee, credited against the remaining treatment if you continue. The fee is recalculated on the treatment time that remains, so you do not pay twice for the part already finished — and you do not get an estimate on the phone, because it depends on the records.
What happens after the braces come off?+
Retention is part of the fee rather than an upsell: 24 months of aftercare reviews from the day the appliance is removed, and one set of retainers — a fixed wire, a removable night retainer, or both, as the plan states. A replacement retainer is S$250 per arch, S$273 with GST. The reviews do not hold the teeth; the retainers do, for as long as they are worn. If you stop wearing them, we will tell you plainly that the case can relapse.
Is any of it claimable — MediSave, CHAS, insurance?+
Orthodontic treatment is not claimable from MediSave, and the Community Health Assist Scheme does not apply to it. Saying so plainly is more useful than leaving it to the counter. Insurance is different: some policies pay part of a fee following an accident, and some cover children. Ask your insurer before starting, and we will provide the itemised quote, the records and the treatment report they ask for.
When is treatment not the right purchase?+
When the crowding is slight and relapse after a previous course could be held with a retainer instead. When the problem is a jaw relationship that braces alone cannot correct, so the honest plan involves a surgeon and a different budget. When the fee outweighs what the change is worth to you. And it is worth knowing why mail-order aligners are not a cheaper version of this: nobody takes the records, nobody examines the roots or the gum, no clinician is responsible for the finish, and the retention stage is usually where the process stops.
