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POSTED UNDER Invisalign REVIEWS

Now or Never

ORIGINAL POST

I'm a 35 years old male who never had braces. I...

ace11June 16, 2013
WORTH IT$5,000
I'm a 35 years old male who never had braces. I decided to finally get it over with after talking to my ortho. So far so good. I'm actually seeing results after the 2nd tray. The first week of treatment was the worst because of irritation in my mouth, but now I'm totally fine with them. I can honestly say nobody really noticed them on or they just don't care. I had a lisp for the first week or so but believe it's now gone. I have an overbite with some flaring of my front teeth that I wanted corrected. The treatment has already pushed them in a little... enough for me to notice. My teeth actually looks better with my trays on than off. Eating out has been a pain, but I know it will be worth it in the end. I paid $5000 with insurance paying $2000, so $3000 out of pocket.

Replies (7)

RME83
June 17, 2013
Hey! Seems you and I are on the same boat. I am a 30 year old female who never had braces. I decided to get Invisalign to correct a crooked tooth. I'm on my second week of my first tray...so far so good. I've actually seen a bit of progress. I wasn't as lucky though, I am on tray 1 out of 34 :/ The journey should be interesting LOL Best of luck to you!! Keep us update.
ace11
June 17, 2013
Hang in there, we'll be done before we know it!
JacelynTan
June 21, 2013
Hi!! The condition of my teeth is exactly the same as yours, it's actually fine when it is view from the front. However, when view from side, it is protruding which I really dislike it. Come to think of it, I feel it is a bit not worth the money for a little adjustment. But I will still consider to put if I can get it at a cheaper price. Can I check with you, the 5k you paid, is it already under discount or promotions?
ace11
June 22, 2013
There was no discount or promotion. Luckily, my insurance paid 2K of it so it's only 3K out of pocket. I had called another orthodontics and that person was 5K also. My dentist was only $4200, but I decided with an Orth as I hear they can provide more expertise and better results.
JacelynTan
June 22, 2013
I'm not sure if my insurance covers that, I will check with them. My dentist charged 6k, but she's telling me that there's a promotion of 1k if I do now. Total will be 5k then. Do they charged according to the number of trays required? Btw, did you extract any tooth?
ace11
June 22, 2013
I would ask around as most places might be willing to tell you their cost over the phone. I don't think they charge by the amount of trays. If you get the full treatment you could do refinements and end up with more trays if you're not happy. I did not have to get any extractions. I would talk to a few dentist and orth before deciding.
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Russell Sutliff DDS MS
June 22, 2013
Hey there guys! I am an orthodontist of 29 years and will address a very general aspect regarding Invisalign and who delivers your treatment. Sorry....Invisalign is not magic, this brace system or that brace system is not magic... the ability to reposition teeth in the jaw bone is magic. It's all about applying appropriate pressure, direction of the pressure and what the expected outcome should be. It takes years and years to comprehend how the surrounding bone and soft-tissues respond to these pressures...what is feasible or not, what is correct for the patients' face and how long it will take to accomplish that particular movement. Please don't get me wrong, but even after 29 years I am still amazed by the response or at times lack of response we receive from the supporting bone. The provider takes the impressions or scans the patient, sends the info off to Costa Rica where a lab tech generates a proposed treatment that includes how many aligner the lab tech and the software come up with to resolve the case. I look over these proposals from everfy angle, request modifications and wait for the response from Costa Rica. I am surprised what is sometimes proposed as a treatment approach and I wonder how many hungry general dentists are simply accepting these treatment approaches without full comprehension of the limitations that the teeth and supporting structures present???? Yes, you may require refinement at the end but why go second class when orthodontist's will deliver a more complete approach for relatively the same cost? Why hire a handy-man when a professional is really only 10% more? Just my thoughts. It is not about the number of aligners...it is all, and I mean ALL ABOUT the Clincheck in the world of Invisalign. Good luck to you all. Dr. S
UPDATED FROM ace11
1 month post

Tray 3

ace11June 28, 2013
So up until now, I have been following the rules completely. I have worn my trays 22.5 hour a day and only have them out 30 minutes at a time. Tonight I went out with friends and decided to have a few drinks and eat. I ended up leaving my trays out for about hour and a half. I don't think I'll do that again since I think my teeth regressed some. I'm hoping by tomorrow, it'll move back into place. This will be the toughest part of this journey. I also need to find a drink that I can have with my tray's in. I'm thinking that vodka and tonic might be safe.

Replies (3)

Sarah S
June 28, 2013
My drink of choice with invisalign is vodka and sprite zero.
PD_invisalign
July 9, 2013
Hello. Ive never had braces either and I am moving on to my second tray of 32 in 2 days. How was your experience moving onto your second tray? Was it as painful as the first week? I had a night out of drinking on Friday that has just passed and I just drank vodka lime & soda. I think drinking clear drinks are fine, I hear even white wine is fine. :)
ace11
July 13, 2013
Tray 2 was not bad. So far, tray 4 was the worst as I was sore for 2 full days. I kind of miss the soreness as the day goes by cause I don't feel like it's doing much during the 2nd week.
UPDATED FROM ace11
5 months post

Tray 11

ace11October 26, 2013
Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but been real busy. I recently got back from a 2 weeks business trip abroad to a poor country. I knew it would be difficult to keep my invisalign in the entire time consistently. I talked to my orth and he recommend that I complete a full 2 weeks and can wear the same tray only at night for the 2 weeks I'm gone. I did a lot better and averaged about 18 hours a day compared to my 22 hours when I'm at home. I had it off for about 9 hours on one of the days, but everything seems ok. I'm over half way done now and seen good improvements. Hope everyone can hang tough. I get IPR in week 12.

Replies (4)

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TwoPlusOne
October 26, 2013

Thanks for posting an update!  Glad to hear that things are continuing to progress for you :)  I'm curious as to what it was about your trip that made it difficult to keep the trays in?  I never did any significant traveling while I was in aligners.

ace11
October 26, 2013
It was the lack of clean water and meeting with clients for lunch and dinner was the most difficult. I have a good routine at home which gets thrown out when traveling.
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TwoPlusOne
October 26, 2013

Ohhh, that makes sense!  It's great that you had the foresight to talk to your dentist about it, so you could get a plan for surviving the trip without losing your progress on your teeth!  Thanks for sharing all of that--maybe others will think of these possibilities now and also avoid pitfalls when traveling!

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CrackerJack007
October 28, 2013
Great progress so far! Same thing happened to me with work, so I'm about 2 trays behind. But my teeth look great so I'm happy! I have a lot of IPR done too. Going in for round 3 in December. I hate it simply because the concept grosses me out but the process is quick and I never feel a thing.
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