I’ve seen ads on TV for these things and they look appealing to me. My lower front teeth are a bit crooked and I think that this type of alignment method would work pretty well for me.
Does anyone here use InvisAlign for their teeth? If so, how much does it cost and how effective has it been for you?
If I’m going to pay 3 grand for some braces then I want everybody to know I’m wearing em’.
That’s my mother’s philosophy which accounts for the mouth full of metal that my brother’s have.
http://www.atlantadentist.com/clear_cost.html
Invisalign cost varies between $5800 and $6800 but can sometimes be as low as $4000 depending on the difficulty of treatment.
Most adults require both upper and lower arch orthodontic treatment. The Invisalign cost for these cases is usually between $6200 and $6800.
Some adult cases only require minor tooth movements and the Invisalign cost for these cases can be significantly less and as low as $4000. A case can often be limited to the upper and lower front teeth. The Invisalign cost and treatment time for these cases is reduced.
However if you join a dental discount plan maybe you can get 20-25% taken off your bill. A dental discount plan is roughly $10 a month and offers about 50-60% off general dentistry work and 20-25% off specialist work. The catch is you have to pay all at once, and 25% off of 6k is still $4500 in one lump sum.
Not necessarily – I’m getting onto one of those plans at the beginning of the month because I’ve got to get a crown. My dentist told me that as long as I come up with an first payment of $150, I can work out payments with them after that. Since my cost for the crown will be about $300, I’ll probably pay it over two or three months. Always find out if the office will negotiate payments.
My wife has them. She’s about halfway through the process, both upper & lower. She’s very happy with the whole experience.
Cost. For her, conventional metal braces were going to cost about $4K. The invisalign program cost $4.5K. The cost increment is/was only 10% in her case. That’s pure payout from us, no insurance or discount or anything. The orthodontist does have a no-interest spread payment plan, so we’re paying half up front and the other half as we go.
Appearance: They’re truly invisible when they’re in. If you have real big teeth and a very open-mouth style they might be detectable, but for 90% of folks, no. When she talks I can detect a very slight lisp, but most folks who don’t know her voice as well can’t tell whether she’s wearing them or not.
Comfort. You wear each disposable unit for 2 or 3 weeks. For the first 2 or 3 days with a new one your teeth are distinctly sore, but the rest of the time it’s almost imperceptable. Because you get a new set every couple of weeks, unlike traditional metal units where you get adjusted only every 4 or 6 weeks, the incremental change is much smaller and hence easier to take.
You can also take them out completely for a couple of days if necessary, such as when you’re already miserable from the flu or a wicked hangover. progress depends on total hours of wear, so the idea is to wear them 22 hours a day and only remove them for meals.
A handy side effect is they reduce snacking since you really need to take them out to eat. You can chew just fine with them in, but food particles gets under them and dig into your gums and that’s uncomfortable. They pop in and out readily, but now you’ve got these spit-soaked things to store someplace while you snack. For planned meals it’s not such a big deal, just pop 'em out, rinse 'em off and put 'em in their case.
Overall, she’s very happy with the experience. For her at least, the cost difference is modest and the results are, so far, better than the alternative. One of our similar-aged neighbors has the old fashioned kind and they look pretty silly on an late 40’s woman. Wife hasn’t had the heart to tell her she’s doing the same thing without the appearance hit.
I was too much of a jerk as a kid to accept braces, so I’ve got very non-straight teeth too. Once she’s done I’m definitely going to get them too. The only reason I’m waiting even now is budgetary.
That is one helluva cost! I’ve never gone out and done any kind of pricing for orthodontia, so that’s probably the reason for my sudden case of sticker shock. Maybe I’ll have to go with the “mouth full of metal” route.
If you do do you think you’d be willing to get a general dentist to do it? According to this dental plan
http://www.ameriplanusa.com/FeeSchedule.asp?zip=46142
You can get full braces for $2250, while this site
http://www.bracesinfo.com/cgi-bin/costs1
Says average costs are $5000 for comprehensive orthodontics. If you can find a general dentist willing to do invisible or invisalign braces maybe you can get them done for under 3k.
That should be this site
http://www.bracesinfo.com/dentalcosts/
But since most dental plans get you a 50-60% discount with general dentists, maybe a general dentist who has invisalign or invisible braces or whatever else they use can do the work for half price. Only catch is you’d need to see a GD instead of a specialist. But i saw a GD for my root canal instead of specialists and i haven’t had any problems with it.