Jeffrey J. Eberting, DMD, MS

Only you can determine the importance of your smile.  If you aren't happy with your smile, then you can always schedule a consultation with an orthodontist to evaluate what your treatment options are.  There is no upper age limit as to when one should get orthodontic treatment.  I have a few patients in their 60's and even a few in their 70's in active orthodontic treatment.

The beauty of clear aligner systems such as Invisalign is that more adult patients are willing to seek orthodontic treatment to obtain healthier smiles without having to resort to braces.

Pretty much all orthodontic offices offer payment plans for braces.  The most common is in-office financing (usually with 0 per cent).  Usually a down payment is required, and then the patient is billed on a monthly basis.  Other options include paying the treatment fee in full (usually with a 5-10% discount), or using a third-party financing option such as CareCredit.

Yes, you are allowed to refuse rubber bands as a part of your treatment.  As long as you understand that you will not have an ideal orthodontic treatment outcome, you may elect not to have elastics ("rubber bands") as a part of your treatment.

The final Invisalign aligner can usually be used as the retainer when treatment is complete.  There are factors where there are exceptions to the rule.  If a patient initially presented with severe crowding or a gap between the upper front teeth, then I usually elect to have a fixed retainer bonded to the tongue-side of the teeth.  After that, I have a clear, plastic, Invisalign-style retainer made to go over the fixed retainers and teeth.  This way, should the fixed retainers "break", the patient always has a backup.

One of the great things about Invisalign Full Treatment is that the patient's case remains open for five years.  I have had patients do a year of Invisalign, go into retention, and come back two years later with some relapse.  Since the case is still active, all I have to do is submit new photos and a new digital intraoral scan, and new aligners are fabricated...AT NO COST TO ME OR THE PATIENT!  That's a really nice feature.

Ideally, when wearing your aligners, you should not drink anything other than water.  There a few reasons for this.  First, hot beverages might actually distort the plastic aligner material.  Second, if drinking sugary liquids, the liquid/sugar might get trapped between the aligner and the teeth, and without the saliva to wash away the sugar, increases the incidence of tooth decay.  Third, continued consumption of certain colored beverages might stain the aligners over time.  Given that one changes the aligners weekly, I do not see how this third reason plays a major role.

Bottom line, just drink water with your aligners in place.  Why take the risk of anything going awry by not following instructions?  Having your aligners out for the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee will not upset the apple cart.  Now, if you are drinking coffee over a prolonged period of time, then I would take the aligners out each time you drink it.