It is the question everyone wants answered first and almost nobody answers on the phone: what will this cost?
There is a reason for that, and it is not evasion.
Orthodontic treatment is not a product with a shelf price. It is eighteen months or so of clinical time, and how much of that time your case needs cannot be known until someone has examined your teeth and looked at a radiograph. Two people walking into the same clinic on the same morning can be quoted very different figures, both of them correct.
What you can do before that appointment is understand what moves the number, and what a quote has to contain before it can be compared with another one. That is what this page is for.
The six things that move the price
Notice that five of the six are decided by clinical need rather than by preference. The one you genuinely choose is the appliance, and even there, some cases are only suited to one.
What a complete quote contains
This is the part that makes two figures comparable. A quote that covers everything below is describing the whole treatment. One that does not is describing a starting price.
| Item | Ask specifically |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic records | Are photographs, X-rays and scans included, or billed separately? |
| All adjustment visits | Every routine visit for the full duration, or a set number? |
| Emergency visits | A loose bracket or a poking wire — covered, or charged each time? |
| Refinements | If the finish needs extra aligners or extra months, is that included? |
| Retainers | First set included? What does a replacement cost later? |
| Review visits after removal | Retention checks in the first year — included or extra? |
| If treatment runs long | Does the fee change if the case takes longer than estimated? |
Why the lowest quote is often not the lowest cost
A figure can be made smaller by moving things out of it. Records billed at the first visit, emergency appointments charged per occurrence, retainers invoiced at the end, and review visits treated as separate consultations all sit outside the headline number while remaining entirely necessary.
Put two quotes side by side with the table above and the gap frequently narrows, sometimes reversing. This is not a reason to assume the cheaper clinic is being deceptive; many price this way as standard. It is a reason to compare the same scope on both sides.
The question worth asking plainly: "Is there anything I will be billed for between today and the day my retainers are fitted?" The answer tells you more than the quoted figure does.
Paying across the treatment
Orthodontics is rarely paid in a single sum. Most practices in Pune spread the fee across the treatment, commonly aligned to adjustment visits, so the cost arrives in instalments alongside the appointments. Worth establishing before you commit: what is due at the start, how the remainder is scheduled, and whether retainers fall inside that schedule or arrive as a separate bill at the end.
Dental treatment is not usually covered by health insurance in India unless it follows an accident, so most patients plan for it directly.
Four questions to take to the consultation
Any practice treating you well will answer all four without hesitation. Our guide on how to choose an orthodontist covers what else to verify before starting, and the braces and aligner comparison explains where the price difference between appliances comes from.
Frequently asked questions
Get a written quote for your case
Dr. Hemlata Tanwani (MDS – Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopaedics) will examine your case, explain what it needs and why, and set out the fee and what it covers in writing. In-house OPG imaging means diagnosis happens in the same visit. Serving Wakad, Hinjewadi, Pimple Saudagar, Tathawade, Punawale and Ravet.
Dr. Tanwani's Braces & Dental Clinic — Office 303, 57 Avenue, Shivraj Nagar Road, Shankar Kalat Nagar, Wakad, Pimpri-Chinchwad 411057. Five minutes from Hinjawadi Phase 1.
In-house OPG imaging available for same-visit diagnosis.