It has been recommended by the orthodontist that our 12 year old daughter should get braces. When the idea first came up about a year ago (when she still had her baby teeth) he was receptive and indicated that he would be willing to pay 50% of the costs. We do have a court order that includes dental for section 7 expenses. As it stands now he would be responsible for paying 67.8% and I would pay 32.2%.
Now that the time has come for the braces to get put on, he has sent me an email indicating that the braces are "not medically necessary" and would be for cosmetic purposes only and, as such he is not willing to agree to them. He is also claiming that he is not in a position to be able to afford to pay for them (he makes $105k/year and his spouse makes $60k per year - they travel to Disney to participate in marathons 4-5 times per year).
Can he really block our daughter from getting braces? She may not have a medical condition that would necessitate them, but it could impact her future dental health and I think her self confidence would benefit from having the work done. Her teeth aren't massively crooked, but her father and I both had extensive orthodontic work done as teenagers, so I think that genetically, she is probably looking at the same thing. This way we are catching it early and the repair should only take up to 15 months, according to the Orthodontist. Thank you.
Now that the time has come for the braces to get put on, he has sent me an email indicating that the braces are "not medically necessary" and would be for cosmetic purposes only and, as such he is not willing to agree to them. He is also claiming that he is not in a position to be able to afford to pay for them (he makes $105k/year and his spouse makes $60k per year - they travel to Disney to participate in marathons 4-5 times per year).
Can he really block our daughter from getting braces? She may not have a medical condition that would necessitate them, but it could impact her future dental health and I think her self confidence would benefit from having the work done. Her teeth aren't massively crooked, but her father and I both had extensive orthodontic work done as teenagers, so I think that genetically, she is probably looking at the same thing. This way we are catching it early and the repair should only take up to 15 months, according to the Orthodontist. Thank you.
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