Question:
The 5% that I got was strictly through my ortho. I didn't know some places charge by the year, which I think is ridiculous, because they really don't do any work on you. All the aligners are fabricated by Invisalign themselves, and you only show up for appointments so you can get more aligners, and so the ortho can see if everything is going well...about 2minutes worth, every 2 months. $3300 is quite a bargain, if you ask me.
Fawnb2, I asked them about just having top row, because that's how my situation is, but they said it's the same price regardless, because they go thru the same process, bottom row or not. The bulk of their work is at the beginning when they make molds of your teeth. Average price is probably $3500-6000, depending where you go. I don't really know if some places are better than others, because they send your molds out to Invisalign to make the aligners. The nurses are the ones who make your molds, not the orthodontists, so make sure they do a good job.
Here's another update on my experiences, 3 months into it. I've noticed that if I leave the aligners off for a long time, my teeth will start moving back to their old position again...meaning they aligners will fit tighter once I put them back on. But it doesn't cause any pain. I guess the longer into your program, the more it'll do that.
Answer:
Hi Thoe99,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I had a long reply but I lost it when I submitted it (Entered the wrong password).
I think I wasn't clear about what my ortho explained to me about billing. According to my ortho, a case 1 would be a year or less and cost $3300 and a case 2 would be 2 years to 1 year and cost $5500. This includes the $450 for the records (molds of your teeth). I'm quite pleased with $3300 over $5500. I wonder what my ortho is marking the price up. Like you said, there is little involvement with the ortho after the retainers are made. If you went to my ortho, you'd be paying $5500.
Anyway, I'm on my 5th week and 3rd set of aligners. I've noticed some weird things:
My teeth are bright white it seems from brushing 6 times a day. I brush very gently now to avoid receding gums that I've heard about so much on this board.
When I close my mouth without the retainers it seems that my back teeth are barely touching if not touching at all. It is uncomfortable and akward. With the aligners on, I feel normal pressure over all of my teeth. I hope that by the end this will be fixed.
My teeth are moving. Some places are looking better, others look worse. It's probably just because it's a work in progress.
Have you had any odd experiences like these? I'm anxious to see what my ortho thinks about my results so far. I go next week. I'll keep you posted.
Answer:
The same thing happens to me when I take my aligner off! Some teeth don't have the same pressure when biting down, as others. At this point, I slightly see a visual improvement and definitely feel it. My bite isn't the same anymore and it's changing with each aligner. I just find it really a hassle to take them off and put back on, since I eat 5 meals a day (on a workout bulk diet).
Yea, my teeth are bright white too, especially since they gave me a free bleaching while I was waiting for the aligners to be made.
By the way, what have you read about gumline receding and brushing teeth? When you go in next week, can you ask your nurse/orthodontist, what their honest opinion is about replacing aligners quicker than once every 2 weeks. I'm curious to hear other views.
Answer:
Hi,
So let me ask all of you invisalign users, is it really worth it? Or is having braces worth it??
I have the same problem but the crowding is slowly but surely and definately noticable... I was thinking braces though.. Boy, I tell you.,, I am too old for braces
Riceaholic
Answer:
Is it really worth having invisalign? I think so, but that's my opinion. I am 23 so I think I'm at a good age to use Invisalign. If I could have gotten braces when I was a kid then who really cares about the cosmetic appearance? If I was older and had kids I wouldn't care then either. From what my dentist told me, crowded teeth can lead to bad dental health (harder to clean, plaque buildup, etc). The price of Invisalign over standard braces was not that significant of a difference. Ultimately, I want straight healthy teeth. If I wasn't an Invisalign candidate, I would have went with standard braces.