invisalign

CasioTech

Diamond Member
Oct 1, 2000
7,145
9
0
I was thinking of perfecting my smile, braces or invisalign? I would of course prefer invisalign, but dentists offering braces say its 4x as expensive, and those offering invisalign say that it is more affordable than braces... :confused:
 

moshquerade

No Lifer
Nov 1, 2001
61,504
12
56
Originally posted by: CasioTech
I was thinking of perfecting my smile, braces or invisalign? I would of course prefer invisalign, but dentists offering braces say its 4x as expensive, and those offering invisalign say that it is more affordable than braces... :confused:
there is no way it is 4x more expensive. it may cost more than regular braces, but that depends. go to a reputable dentist and get his/her opinion.

 

CasioTech

Diamond Member
Oct 1, 2000
7,145
9
0
Originally posted by: moshquerade
Originally posted by: CasioTech
I was thinking of perfecting my smile, braces or invisalign? I would of course prefer invisalign, but dentists offering braces say its 4x as expensive, and those offering invisalign say that it is more affordable than braces... :confused:
there is no way it is 4x more expensive. it may cost more than regular braces, but that depends. go to a reputable dentist and get his/her opinion.




I'm planning on a consultation. They are all liars. Thought i'd get the skinny from at members.

 

mwmorph

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2004
8,877
1
81
i wnt to a orthodontist that did both and he told me invisalign was a hassle. frequent molds had to be made and cost much more(4k for braces 6k for invisalign). also, it wasnt as durable and he just didnt recommend it.
 
L

Lola

in all honesty, if i had to "fix" or prefect my teeth at my age i would seriously consider spending more to get the invisalign instead of braces. Like it or not, its hard to be an adult with braces. thats just me though.
I remember how horrible braces were, although it was the best thing i have ever done.
 

Amdiggidy

Senior member
Jan 26, 2005
911
0
76
invisalign is not really that much of a hassle compared to regular ortho. The cost of invisalign is dependant upon the doc. Invisalign has a higher lab cost for the doc, but actually requires much less work in the office. Most ortho and GP's charge more for invisalign because they can. The market dictates that esthetically pleasing and invisable is worth more than shiny metal.
 

Reckoner

Lifer
Jun 11, 2004
10,851
1
81
Invisalign costed me $4,000. What I like about invisalign in my case is you take the aligners out for eating or drinking, and you don't have to go into the orthodontist to get them tightened. My Ortho visits are usually less than 45 minutes (sometimes as little as 5 minutes to hand you your next 2-3 aligners). The visits that ended up taking around 30-45 minutes usually consisted of making some space between teeth so the invisalign could help with the crowding I had. My teeth went from being crowded and all over the place to almost completely straight. My bottom teeth were in bad shape, and are close to perfect now. My top teeth there is one tooth that sticks out just a little, but you can barely notice. They look great, and it was well worth the money.

Things to remember (in my case anyways):

1) They hurt like a bitch the first few days, this is normal and becomes less of a problem after you start wearing more aligners.

2) I wore each aligner for 2 weeks, then went onto the next one. I had 52 aligners I had to wear for the top teeth. I can't remember how many for the bottom, but it was in the range of 25-35. Obviously, the number aligners will differ in each case.

3) You really don't have anything to lose by at least going for the consultation, my ortho gave me a computer readout of the results I could expect. Now that I'm reaching the end, I'd have to say they're 95% of the computer generated results.
 

Mojoed

Diamond Member
Jul 20, 2004
4,473
1
81
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Invisalign costed me $4,000. What I like about invisalign in my case is you take the aligners out for eating or drinking, and you don't have to go into the orthodontist to get them tightened. My Ortho visits are usually less than 45 minutes (sometimes as little as 5 minutes to hand you your next 2-3 aligners). The visits that ended up taking around 30-45 minutes usually consisted of making some space between teeth so the invisalign could help with the crowding I had. My teeth went from being crowded and all over the place to almost completely straight. My bottom teeth were in bad shape, and are close to perfect now. My top teeth there is one tooth that sticks out just a little, but you can barely notice. They look great, and it was well worth the money.

Things to remember (in my case anyways):

1) They hurt like a bitch the first few days, this is normal and becomes less of a problem after you start wearing more aligners.

2) I wore each aligner for 2 weeks, then went onto the next one. I had 52 aligners I had to wear for the top teeth. I can't remember how many for the bottom, but it was in the range of 25-35. Obviously, the number aligners will differ in each case.

3) You really don't have anything to lose by at least going for the consultation, my ortho gave me a computer readout of the results I could expect. Now that I'm reaching the end, I'd have to say they're 95% of the computer generated results.

Good information there PaulNEPats. Just one question. How old are you?
 

TGS

Golden Member
May 3, 2005
1,849
0
0
I was intiially quoted at ~4000, and my ortho coverage should take care of about half of that. I'm going in for a consultation on the 14th.
 

Originally posted by: CasioTech
I was thinking of perfecting my smile, braces or invisalign? I would of course prefer invisalign, but dentists offering braces say its 4x as expensive, and those offering invisalign say that it is more affordable than braces... :confused:
In my area, it is just about the same price as braces if you aren't using insurance. If you're using insurance, it's about twice as expensive as braces because braces is much cheaper with insurance. It's about the price range of $4,000+ without insurance.

P.S. Invisalign is good for you if you just have a minor adjustment/space to close. However, if your teeth have more issues, including wider spacing, you should consider braces.
 

JTalbain

Senior member
Jan 17, 2005
279
0
71
damn those prices for braces seem so high. mine cost around $1500 altogether (x-rays, retainer, etc.) but then again that was only for a period of 13 months.

anyway if ur an adult and can afford it go for invisalign. i got my braces on when i was 15 and even then people thought i was late in getting them. im now 18 and couldn't imagine having to get braces again at this point in my life so i can only assume the feeling is the same as adults.



this reminds me of family guy.

adult - aren't you a little young to be in the airport by yourself?
stewie - aren't you a little too old to be wearing braces?
 

Reckoner

Lifer
Jun 11, 2004
10,851
1
81
Originally posted by: Mojoed
Originally posted by: PaulNEPats
Invisalign costed me $4,000. What I like about invisalign in my case is you take the aligners out for eating or drinking, and you don't have to go into the orthodontist to get them tightened. My Ortho visits are usually less than 45 minutes (sometimes as little as 5 minutes to hand you your next 2-3 aligners). The visits that ended up taking around 30-45 minutes usually consisted of making some space between teeth so the invisalign could help with the crowding I had. My teeth went from being crowded and all over the place to almost completely straight. My bottom teeth were in bad shape, and are close to perfect now. My top teeth there is one tooth that sticks out just a little, but you can barely notice. They look great, and it was well worth the money.

Things to remember (in my case anyways):

1) They hurt like a bitch the first few days, this is normal and becomes less of a problem after you start wearing more aligners.

2) I wore each aligner for 2 weeks, then went onto the next one. I had 52 aligners I had to wear for the top teeth. I can't remember how many for the bottom, but it was in the range of 25-35. Obviously, the number aligners will differ in each case.

3) You really don't have anything to lose by at least going for the consultation, my ortho gave me a computer readout of the results I could expect. Now that I'm reaching the end, I'd have to say they're 95% of the computer generated results.

Good information there PaulNEPats. Just one question. How old are you?



I'm 23.

They did take X-Rays in my case. I think it was to make sure that there were no cavities before proceeding with Invisalign. Once you decide to go forward, they take an impression of your teeth and send it out to the invisalign labs, so they can make your aligners. I had really bad teeth before I started out on this. Hook tooth, crowding, etc. It's nice being able to open your mouth to smile now that it's over :p

I think the only thing that somewhat bothers me is the wire they put in behind my bottom teeth to keep them in place after I was done with my last aligner. It's a minor annoyance.
I'm going for my final (should be anyways) appointment next week, so I may ask my dentist if I can just have the wire taken out and wear my last aligners while I sleep at night. He'll probably make me do both though ;)
 

NakaNaka

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2000
6,304
1
0
Very good if you are willing to spend the dough. Make sure you do it with someone who has a lot of invisalign experience.
 

dsfunk

Golden Member
May 28, 2004
1,246
0
0
invisalign was about $500 more at my dentist...well worth it

not easily noticed, can take them out to eat and brush your teeth, office visits were 10 minutes tops, no difference in treatment length

I would have paid much more for them...I had regular braces at about 14-15 years old

get an experienced ortho who knows how to use them, they will tell you the truth, seems like you're hearing a lot of bullsh1t from others
 

dsfunk

Golden Member
May 28, 2004
1,246
0
0
btw, I think you can get $100 off for a reference from an existing or former customer, or there were coupons on invisalign.com

not sure, mine are done and paid for, but pm me if it just so happens that I could get you 100 bucks off for being a former customer
 

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Had them -- they worked great. I only had to have minor corrections because I had braces before, but lack of wearing a retainer screwed me. I think I paid about 3k, and that included all visits, the trays, a veneer for a mal-formed tooth, and retainers. I wear my retainers religiously now.