A few months ago I mentioned that I was looking into getting something done to my teeth. Essentially, I was (and still am) looking to straighten them, as well as align my jaw just slightly.
I got some quotes and second/third opinions on what would work best for me. All of the quotes came in at around the sameprice – about $6,000, and they’d be on for a year.
I decided to get Invisalign instead of traditional braces for two reasons:
1) they cost the same amount as wire braces and,
2) I was told that they would work just as effectively and have to be on for just as long.
Who would consider wire braces over invisible ones after getting that news? Nobody.
The Financials
They may cost $6,000, but I won’t be paying $6,000. I pay for about half of them, because my benefits through my job cover the rest.
While I have more than enough cash sitting around to pay for them upfront, I opted into monthly payments (at 0%, of course). This allows my money to remain in my savings account, accruing interest.
The payments will be done within a year, meaning I won’t be paying for the Invisalign once I don’t have it anymore.
The Invisalign Diet
A couple of people have told me that once they had braces or Invisalign on, they lost a bit of weight. Teeth tend to get tender when you are forcing them to move, so eating is less desirable. With traditional braces, there are some things you need to stay away from.
With Invisalign, you can eat anything you want, because you take the aligners out when you eat. You must wear them over 22 hours per day for the aligners to be effective. Believe it or not, you probably do take longer than 2 hours a day to eat all of your meals. You don’t scarf them down, you eat slowly while doing other things. I was surprised as to how long it was taking me to finish my meals when I first got them in.
Snacking is pretty much impossible with Invisalign, not just because you don’t have time to snack and still have your aligners in for 22 hours per day, but because it’s high maintenance. You have to wrestle the aligners out of your mouth every single time you want to eat (not an easy task) and then you have to go and brush your teeth before you put them back in.
You also can’t drink anything that’s not clear with aligners in. So you can pretty much enjoy a tall glass of H20, or vodka. Your choice.
Pain and Effectiveness
The first few days I had my aligners in, my teeth were definitely sore. They feel tender every time I switch them for the newest aligners (which is every two weeks) but the soreness goes away fairly quickly.
I’m sure those who have more movement in their teeth feel more soreness.
I can’t comment on effectiveness just yet, since I’ve only had them in for 5 weeks, but I will hopefully be able to post before/after photos (of my teeth, NOT my face) when they’ve done their job.
Have you ever had orthodontics?
I got braces about a year ago. I did get the wire braces because my orthodontist told me invasalign was not an option. I already see significant progress. My braces cost $5500. My insurance covers $2000, and I’m paying $3500 through monthly payments. I can’t wait till my braces are off so I can have a perfect smile! My gums are always tender and sore. 🙁
I’m interested to see what you think once the whole process is done! I considered invisalign but then my dentist ruled it out because I needed to wear elastics to move my jaw. However, I also got to wear traditional wire braces a way shorter time than expected — originally I was quoted 18 to 24 months to fix my teeth and it took only 10 months (sadly, they didn’t give me a proportional discount on the price), which wouldn’t have been possible if I had chosen invisalign. Good luck! You’ll be so happy when it’s all done =)
Oh, mercy me, Daisy! I am far too much a coward for braces just as was the case as a young lad! Invisalign or not! But you offer such excellent info for the heartier folks. You always do. Have a laughter filled weekend!!!
No one i know has braces but i do know they are costly as you point out and many people simply can’t afford them so if you can get your benefits company to pay for a portion of the cost you are well ahead of the game.
I got my regular braces off last year and I had them on for 2 years. I lost weight during the time because it hurt to eat and while I ate very very slowly, my food got cold and I’d lose my appetite.
I’m not 100% happy with the result. I’ll probably get invisalign later, maybe 5 years later. But mine costed $5000. I used flexible spending money and no debt after, so I’m happy with that part.
I’ve been crushing on invisalign for like 10 year now. I love the idea of no one seeing them and the fact that you can take them out to eat, despite the inconvenience. They waited too long to take out my wisdom teeth, so I have a little bit of crowding on the bottom. The price has been holding me back, though. The problem’s mostly on the bottom, and those teeth don’t really show on me with my natural smile. Plus it’s not really effecting me “medically.” But maybe someday…
I wore Invisalign for a year and will have to get back to regular braces (Damon) to finish my treatment. In my case Invisalign wasn’t successful. The good part is I didn’t pay for the treatment, I had a barter with the clinic. Anyway, if you have a less complicated case than me, it should work out nicely.
The soreness will subside in few days after changing the aligners, so you’ll be able to eat normally once again.
Best of luck with the treatment 😉
I would love to get invisalign for my lower teeth that are sort of crooked. Thanks for the review!
People I know who have gotten braces before say they’re totally worth it. Hope to see some before and after photos Daisy 🙂 I’m thinking about getting orthodontics myself but will need to build up some savings first. Good to know the soreness goes away relatively quickly.
I had real-deal braces for four years in my teens, but I had a root canal in one of my front top teeth a few years ago, and the tooth has now slipped back out of alignment with the other teeth. It’s especially noticeable in pictures, as the tooth is shadowed and is all I see in pictures. I’m very interested in getting some kind of treatment, but ouch! That’s expensive!!
(ps it’s probably safe to take the footer off your reader updates – google Reader has been gone for months now but you’re still telling us how to find your blog once Reader is gone!)
That’s weird. I took that footer off a few weeks ago once I realized it was still on there, but I guess it’s just still showing up! I’ll try to see if I can fix it.
That’s so frustrating, I’m sorry that happened to your tooth. It’s definitely expensive!
Thanks for this! If I ever do get braces, I would be doing these too. I’ve sort of decided that the little overlap on my front teeth is cute or at least not that noticeable, and I put off braces for the last 20 years…
I had braces when I was 12. I got them pretty much before everyone else did, so I got teased quite a bit. They didn’t have Invisalign back then, so I got stuck with train tracks over my teeth.
I had a tooth growing in my gum (!), so the dentist said it was either I get braces or have surgery to get it removed. I don’t remember why I chose braces, because it was a painful 1.5 years. I even had some weird bridge thing (it looked like a turkey wishbone) on the roof of my mouth too.
At least I didn’t have to wear headgear. 😛
Ooo..I feel for you Daisy. Both my sisters had wire braces when they were in highschool, but my younger sister had them from elementary to end of highschool. I still remember the days they came back from the dentist and all they could have was soup!
It’s great that you have benefits to cover for 1/2 of it and monthly payments for 0%, that’s even better!
I think you may still need to wear a retainer after the removal of the invisalign to maintain your teeth? I believe my younger sister had to continually wear the retainer to prevent her teeth from shifting again.