You have probably heard figures anywhere from R15 000 to R80 000, and that range alone is enough to make anyone put off the call.
So here are our actual fees, how medical aid usually works, and how we make the balance manageable. Read it, think about it, and decide in your own time.
Every mouth is different, and a minor correction over a few months is not the same job as a complex case treated over two to three years. It would be dishonest to price them as though they were. But you deserve a realistic figure before you walk in, so here is where our treatments actually fall.
A specialist examination with Dr Essop. He looks, he listens, and he tells you honestly whether orthodontic treatment is indicated.
Covers the consultation, a complete set of records, Dr Essop’s own diagnosis and treatment planning, and a second appointment where he takes you through the full diagnosis and every option available to you. You leave understanding your own mouth.
For functional or partial fixed treatment, the kind of early work that heads off a bigger problem later.
Depending on the case. All comprehensive treatment falls under one banner, regardless of age.
From R35 000 for a minor case, up to R75 000 to R80 000 for a comprehensive one, depending on the case.
A specialist orthodontic fee is not “the braces”. It covers the whole journey, from the first records to the day your retainer goes in.
Intraoral scan, panoramic and cephalometric radiographs, and the photographs needed to plan properly.
Dr Essop’s own cephalometric tracing and treatment planning, which he does himself rather than delegating.
Fixed braces or aligners, and every scheduled adjustment across the full course of treatment.
The retainers and the review visits that protect the result you paid for.
And it includes care from a registered specialist orthodontist who spent four years studying orthodontics and nothing else. When you compare quotes, compare what is inside them. A lower headline price that leaves out records, retainers or reviews is rarely the bargain it appears to be.
Most South African medical aids do contribute towards orthodontic treatment, particularly for children and teenagers, and more schemes contribute than most parents expect. In our practice the majority of patients are on Discovery and its plans, and we also see regular contributions from Momentum and BestMed. How much you receive depends on your scheme, your specific plan and your available benefit, so the only reliable answer is the one your own scheme gives you.
Straight from your scheme. If there is a shortfall, that balance is due to us.
Not a one-line quotation. A complete submission pack: your tailored quote, intraoral and extraoral photographs, panoramic and cephalometric radiographs, and a traced cephalometric radiograph in the format schemes find easiest to assess. Built so schemes can approve without going back and forth.
Your fee splits into an initial payment and monthly payments. We claim the initial fee from your scheme. If the approved amount is less than the initial fee, you settle the difference on the day your braces are fitted or aligners are ordered.
You pay us monthly and claim that amount back yourself. It sounds like more work than it is: you are only ever one month ahead, because each month your scheme reimburses you and you pay that forward. We do it this way deliberately, because it keeps a large amount of administration out of the practice, and that is part of how we keep our fees where they are.
Please say so rather than walking away. Where a child really needs treatment, Dr Essop would rather find a way. We can reduce the initial fee and adjust the monthly amount, or extend the number of months, and in a genuine case he will look at the fee itself.
That conversation happens more often than you might think, and nobody is judged for having it.
There is never any pressure to decide on the day. The plan and the quote are yours to take home.
You will have seen fixed-price braces advertised, sometimes very heavily, at prices that are difficult to ignore. We would ask you to look past the price at what is being proposed.
Is a full diagnostic work-up included? Has anyone assessed the bite rather than only the appearance of the front teeth? Are retainers and reviews covered? And who exactly will be planning and supervising the treatment?
Orthodontics is not only about straightening the teeth you can see. It is about where the roots sit, how the bite functions, and whether the result is stable in five years. Those are the parts you cannot evaluate from a photograph, and they are the parts that are expensive to put right afterwards.
The real question is not what the lowest price is. It is who should be the person moving your teeth.
Why a specialist orthodontist?At our practice comprehensive braces for children, teenagers and adults range from R37 000 to R60 000, and clear aligners from R35 000 to R80 000 depending on complexity. Early interceptive treatment for children starts from around R5 000. A first specialist consultation is R680, and full records with diagnosis and treatment planning are R4 240.
Most major schemes contribute, particularly for children and teenagers. We see regular contributions from Discovery, Momentum and BestMed. The amount depends on your plan and your available benefit. We claim your consultation and records directly, and we provide a complete medical aid ready report so your scheme can assess the treatment quickly.
Yes, and they are interest free. We ask for 30% of the total as an initial fee, and the balance is spread over 12 to 20 months at no interest.
The consultation alone is R680. Dr Essop examines you personally, and if treatment is indicated he will ask to proceed with records, which brings the total to R4 240 for the consultation, records, diagnosis, treatment planning and a second appointment where every option is explained to you.
Because treatment length and complexity vary enormously. A minor correction and a complex case treated over two to three years are different pieces of work. We publish honest ranges so you know what to expect, and you receive a firm written quote after your diagnosis.
Book a consultation and you will leave with three things: an honest assessment of whether treatment is needed, a written plan, and a firm quote with the medical aid and payment options set out plainly.
No pressure. No vague numbers. Just enough clarity to make a calm decision for your family.