Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Braces for 19


"We always have a waiting list."
-Kelly Bates


How do Gil and Kelly Bates afford braces for their super-sized family? As you'll hear in the video below, it's not easy. So far, eight of the Bates children have had them. To avoid becoming bogged down by orthodontist bills, the parents only allow a few to be in braces at a time. Have you or your kids had orthodontic work?



Photo/video courtesy of UP

13 comments:

  1. When my oldest was 10 she had orthodontic work done on her teeth. Our orthodontist was a treasure!

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  2. One child so far, at over $6000. Ugh!

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  3. Why doesn't he just take the months paycheck for the show and pay for it all?

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  4. I was in braces for 5 years and I had 8 teeth pulled before they would put the braces on. I was a mess! I had a really bad underbite and now I have an overbite. Go figure!

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  5. Yes, our daughter had braces 14 years ago that cost $5,000.00 in total. Our insurance covered $1,500.00 only, so we were still on the hook for $3,500.00. Thankfully, our two sons never needed braces. I couldn't imagine $3,500 x 8 kids (so far!), yikes!!!!!

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  6. If Gil is referring to Dr. Beau Myers in Knoxville, he is not an orthodontist, he's a regular dentist. Why does he do orthodontic work?

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  7. Yes I have braces NOW!! ugh! I went to the orthodontist yesterday they put a bracket on one tooth and it's "killing" me!!

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  8. I agree with the poster about taking the UP paycheck and paying for it all. Why do they still pretend that they're living on the tree trimming income like they used to do? We all clearly know that their income has skyrocketed in comparison to before being on TV. It's just not being open about this fact.

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    1. We don't actually know what they are making from the show. It is not on a major network where they pay actors and actresses crazy amounts of money. Also even when you make a lot, the government keeps a big portion of it.

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  9. How would they live and be able to afford all those braces and medical care and insurance on all those vehicles without the UP show? This show has been a Godsend for them.

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  10. Here in the UK you now have to pay for it yourself - my teenage son's teeth are slightly out of alignment & was recommended braces at a cost of approx £4,000/$6,000 - we didn't think it was worth it. Having perfect teeth isn't a priority for us.

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  11. Looking at all the older girls in the family their teeth are perfectly straight and perfectly aligned. for all of them to have teeth like that I would think that they've had some other type of dental work besides orthodontic. I have heard that the network will pay for them to have veneers or other things done to their teeth to make sure they're straight.

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