Canceling after first set of trays?

Hello chasingtime,Your dentist has already incurred many hard costs to provide the trays/aligners you are wearing to straighten your teeth.  There is the fee they have paid to Invisalign to create the computer model and aligners of each stage of your treatment from the prescription and impressions or scans your dentist took.  The material and equipment the dentist used to obtain impressions or scans have costs associated with them, as do the payroll for the staff the dentist has paid for scheduling your appointments and making all the financial arrangements, setting up the treatment room, assisting the doctor at your appointments, cleaning the treatment room, shipping your impressions to and from the Invisalign facility. This is all before calculating any fee the doctor needs for the time he or she has spent studying and planning your case before creating the prescription.   Once the prescription is followed to create the computer model of your case, your doctor studied that carefully and submitted changes until the model was exactly like the doctor wanted it. There are also costs of leasing an office and paying the utilities to provide your care.  Unfortunately in a situation like yours, by the time aligners have been shipped and the patient has had them delivered, there has been an enormous amount of overhead paid for the time spent treating the patient.  The amount of time needed to complete the case at the point you are now at is minimal, so the fee billed has mostly been earned.  I guess the fee for the retainers could be refunded since those will not be needed if you do not complete treatment.(that is if your doctor includes retainers in their Invisalign fee, some don't.) Any other amount you would be hoping for would probably be very minimal. Sorry to hear of your hardship. Since both you and your dental office are already so far invested in your care, I would encourage you to complete your therapy and enjoy all of the health and social benefits of a straight, healthy, attractive smile. I hope your hardship is very brief for you.  Douglas Jopling, DDSDallas, TX area

Sorry to hear about your financial setback. Each dentist has their own philosophy on refunds. One thing to know is that your dentist has incurred expenses for materials, time and lab fees. These are up front hard costs. You may have only started treatment but the dentist has already paid these costs. Talk to your dentist and explain the circumstances. I'm sure they will be sympathetic, but the refund may not be as large as you expect.

Hi there,Unfortunately the way that Invisalign works is that following acceptance of your Clin-check/treatment plan, all of the trays are manufactured by Invisalign and sent to the dentist. Invisalign charges the dentist all of the laboratory fees up front, so the dentist has already paid in full for your treatment. There may be payment plan opportunities for you within the practice, so you should contact the office and see what they can do to work with you.Best of luck!