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| Author | Message |
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SweetyPie
(abandoned)
| | #1 posted March 14, 2006 at 1:21am (EDT) |
Hey John, how's the Invisalign thing working out for ya? I'm still thinking about getting it but my teeth aren't too bad. This is an approximation of what it looks like:
How long and how much do you think it'll cost? I know that you can't give anything too exact, but if you were to estimate, what would you guess? |
John
  
 
| | #2 posted March 14, 2006 at 11:19am (EDT) |
Well, I'm still going. I'm on aligners #18 of 22. However, a couple of my teeth are not going where they should exactly. A few months ago, we installed a little "button" on one of the teeth to attach an elastic to to try to pull it into position. (Like how traditional braces work.) It hasn't been enough though. On Friday, they are going to do a new mold of my teeth and create some new aligners to finish me up (hopefully). So, I may have to go beyond just 3 more depending on what they figure it takes to move things properly.
This isn't completely uncommon -- most people don't need it -- but, now and then, people need this "mid-course correction" as they call it.
That all being said, except for the annoying "button" and elastic that make my "invisible braces" not so "invisible" any more, it is actually going well. Most of the teeth are going where they should and definitely things look much better than when we started. I'm happy with it.
As for price, I really have no idea for a couple of reasons:
1. From my research before this started, it appears that the cost of Invisialign or even traditional braces seems to vary greatly by location. I see areas where people can't get braces of any kind for less than $3000 and more like $5000 -- that around here might only be $2000-$2500. It's weird how much it fluctuates -- even for Invisialign, who does not charge different rates to their dentists based on area.
2. I traded some networking and other computer work for a significant portion of my treatment. I never really saw a "final number" of what it cost him and would have cost me.
That being said, it doesn't sound like yours would be very extensive. They move the teeth a certain amount per aligner. Maybe you'd only need like 8-10 aligners and it wouldn't be so bad. If you did only need that, I would guess the cost at $1000-$1500 depending on your area. But, I could be completely off.
Also -- are your teeth close together or far apart with spaces in between. Mine are very tight together -- which makes things more difficult. They have to move teeth around to make room to bring the ones out of alignment in. A coworker's teeth are spaced apart -- so his were easy to move into alignment. He needed only half (11) the aligners that I did (22).
You were each aligner for 15 days usually. I've had to do some of mine longer and such because of adjustments. When they take the mold this Friday, it'll be about a month before the new aligners come -- so I'll be in my current set for like 6 weeks total...
- John...
Be sure to check out the new Electronics forum! |
SweetyPie
(abandoned)
| | #3 posted March 14, 2006 at 3:37pm (EDT) |
My teeth are all spaced out pretty evenly. It's just that my front teeth protrude a little, along with a couple on the bottom. It's actually pretty minor, but I'd like the correction done anyway. |
John
| | #4 posted March 14, 2006 at 4:08pm (EDT) |
Like -- if you were to push them back in -- would they hit the teeth that are there -- or just fit right in? If they'd fit, then it really should be fairly trivial. 
- John...
Be sure to check out the new Electronics forum! |
SweetyPie
(abandoned)
| | #5 posted March 14, 2006 at 4:18pm (EDT) |
I think it might be a little snug, but looks like it would go right back in. Do you think that would reduce the amount of time (and cost) of wearing the trays? |
John
| | #6 posted March 14, 2006 at 5:33pm (EDT) |
Yes -- but I was including that in my 8-10 aligners estimate. If you have room to move teeth to, I think you get many fewer aligners. A big part of mine are moving teeth to make room to bring others into alignment, I think.
- John...
Be sure to check out the new Electronics forum! |
SweetyPie
(abandoned)
| | #7 posted March 14, 2006 at 5:53pm (EDT) |
One last question that you probably won't be able to answer.... If I were to move out of state during the straightening period, how would that affect the process? If the dentists/orthodontists charge different amounts, then I'd be restricted to just one practitioner huh? Crap. |
John
| | #8 posted March 14, 2006 at 10:46pm (EDT) |
Well, you generally pay for the entire process -- which includes the aligners and whatever visits you make along the way. They have to make ALL of the aligners up front -- so the dentist is fronting that cost. Some you pay everything up front -- some might let you make payments -- but it is usually a total package not based on how often he has to see you to check the progress.
Therefore, switching in the middle would be weird. He could probably give you all of your aligners when you move -- or send them to your new dentist -- but you'd need to get your progress checked at the new one even if there were no "mid-course adjustments" needed -- so I'd think you'd have to pay him again for those visits since he wasn't paid in the beginning.
Plus, if there was some change needed where your aligners were wrong, it'd be weird to deal with...
- John...
Be sure to check out the new Electronics forum! |
SweetyPie
(abandoned)
| | #9 posted March 14, 2006 at 11:43pm (EDT) |
Yeah, maybe it'd be better to wait until after I move. The only crappy part about that is that it's not a concrete decision, so I could end up waiting for nothing and could have had the whole thing done in the meantime if I just went ahead with it. |
John
| | #10 posted March 15, 2006 at 8:40am (EDT) |
Maybe a local dentist will do a free estimate or something -- take a look and tell you how many trays he thinks it'll be. (Of course, probably won't know for certain until Invisalign does their model -- which he'll definitely not do for free because you have to do a mold and everything.)
- John...
Be sure to check out the new Electronics forum! |
SweetyPie
(abandoned)
| | #11 posted March 15, 2006 at 12:49pm (EDT) |
Sound plan, John. Sound plan. A dentist that I called who's a few blocks from work said that they do free consultations/estimates so I guess I'll try to squeeze an appointment date in here soon. |
John
| | #12 posted March 15, 2006 at 1:23pm (EDT) |
- John...
Be sure to check out the new Electronics forum! |
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