Does anyone know how much it would cost to go to Japan with braces? Like after getting braces here (the UK), how much it would be to maintain them and visit the orthodontist and stuff? I’m will be going as a student for a year around August/ September of 2024 and will be 19 and I’m also a girl if that counts for anything. 🙂
3 comments
The good news is that dental work of all kinds is very affordable in Japan. 1/4 of what I would pay back in the gaikoku-land, and the quality is usually high (though can be a bit hit and miss it is said).
That said, maybe first search for and read a bunch of the other posts like *[this one](https://reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/pb1ic9/getting_braces_in_japan/)* as it’s been asked a bunch before and I think they’ll answer a lot of your questions. Then feel free to come back with what’s still on your mind.
You should be warned that you may not be able to find an orthodontist willing to maintain existing braces. They generally are not willing to deal with hardware installed by other doctors. This is not unique to Japan.
I’m not sure how far along you are with your braces or how much time you have left with them. I had braces on before I moved to Japan and discussed it with my orthodontist. We decided it would be best to remove them entirely around 6 months ahead of the original schedule and he glued a semi-permanent retainer into my mouth to keep my teeth from moving back.
I say ‘semi-permanent’ because around 5 years later I went to a new dentist who removed it (after asking permission).