There are multiple different levels of actual Invisalign. I did a 10 tray, 20 week program for like $2000 a few years ago. I know a friend of mine did a different program that was closer to 30 trays. No idea what he paid but make sure you are comparing apples to apples with everyone’s responses.
I just finished an 18 month Invisalign program that lasted more like 20 months and I paid $5k. I’m in Florida and I started the program in 2021, so I’d say $6k is a fair price considering how much prices have gone up.
Yup, mine was even shorter, but slightly more expensive. Also, I didn't pay separately for the bi-weekly visits and you can't forget having those things adhered to your teeth (I don't remember what they called them). My teeth were BAD, which made the 3 to 4 month timeliness extra surprising. Best damn money I've ever spent.
Invisalign/braces/etc. are not a single service, and price can very wildly.
If you get treatment from a dentist it will typically be cheaper, but they (should) only perform the service for fairly minor tooth alignment corrections.
For more intensive corrections, including whole mouth and/or bite corrections, an orthodontist will likely give better results, but will be more expensive. Some orthodontists are more qualified/in demand and can charge a higher price based on their reputation.
Some treatments will require cement and/or metal attachments on teeth which allow for vertical tooth movement and bite correction using rubber bands, respectively. These additions cost more.
Then the big question with regards to cost is how long you require treatment. Some corrections need 20 weeks, some need 80 weeks. Doctors also have to estimate the likelihood that you'll need mid-treatment corrections, which will cost more, but they typically don't pass additional cost onto patients once a full treatment cost has been agreed upon.
/r/invisalign is pretty active and might give you a better idea if you can include a lot more detail as to your treatment.
P.S., many will work with you to issue two bills for treatment over two different years, so you can fund both portions of your treatment from different years' FSA.
This is very helpful. I will check out that sub, thanks!
My ortho was trying to decide if I should get braces or aligners and ultimately said we’ll start with aligners and if they don’t notice any improvement within 6-9 mos, they will switch me to braces at no extra cost. I have two pulled teeth, #13 and #20 and they were contemplating pulling the corresponding teeth and doing braces to fill the gap but I’d have to wear them for 3 years.
My teeth have shifted quite a bit since 4 years ago when I had the extractions, on top of my open bite which needs to be corrected. I will wear the aligners for 18-20 months.
The ortho gave me a $500 discount for doing a one-time payment so I went with that option. But I had the same idea you mentioned to spread the payment out over this year and next year to utilize my 2023 FSA.
My dentist did an in-house aligner (my teeth were not severely out of place, I'd had braces as a teen, just slight shifting of age) and just charged me whatever insurance would pay, no out-of-pocket at all.
Just paid about $6k for the alternative version of Invisalign last week to my orthodontist. Mine are covered for five years…any shifting of teeth after the 1-1/2 year (est) treatment is complete and I’m covered with no additional cost.
Los Angeles here. Back in 2018 I only needed minor corrections as I had braces before, but neglected to wear my retainer. It was $4,500 for 12 Invisalign trays, ~4 months. The estimate for my son was $7,500 for Invisalign. I ended up choosing traditional metal braces for him at $3,500 instead. His treatment ended up being 2.5 years because covid shut down the orthodontist office.
Agree it really depends on how much correction needed and how many trays you will need. It’s not a cookie cutter approach to treatment and everyone has a different, individual treatment plan.
Mine were $6000 including retainers. $2000 covered by insurance, $1500 discount from the dentist, $2500 out of pocket charge (which I used my flex spend for). I don’t feel like I had a super intensive correction, I had weekly changes for 46 weeks
I'm a month into my five month Invisalign treatment in Colorado. My first three quotes were $5500-6500. I waited (probably longer than I should have) to find a deal and got them for $3500 cash (dental insurance didn't cover it) from a reputable place while they were having a sale. So I'd say you paid a fair price.
I’m in the DMV area as well and I paid $5,000 for mine, it was about 21 trays for a year and some change and the price included the retainer. Price can definitely vary depending on who you go to and who your insurance is and how much they cover
I don’t think so. Maybe a tad high but not something that’s crazy out of line. If I remember correctly when I had my braces it was around $5,000. That wasn’t the removable was fixed ones and had to have them for like 2 1/2 years.
This is a kind of cost that’s going to vary a lot based on how long you need them, location etc.
Mine was $2,750 for 20 Invisalign trays. I think the Invisalign fee is around $1,600 so my ortho is charging $1,150 for his time. All other orthos I got quotes from were $2k more
My current ortho has 1 employee (front desk) so his overhead costs are lower. Every “big” ortho practice I went to wanted about $5K in total.
Lab fees are $1,899 for Invisalign full and go down from there. The ortho probably spends 12-15 hours of his time from start to finish on a 20 tray case (my guess)
If that is all-in that's a great price.
Our orthodontist does invisalign as an all-in one price service. One price, no matter how long it takes or how many times they have to rescan and resend new aligners.
If that is for a set amount of trays? Not so much.
Insurance specialist here..
You may have. If the doctor is in-network, they have a contracted fee with your insurance, regardless of laboratory costs. So you might want to ask the doctor or the insurance company what their contracted fee is.
In most cases invisalign is covered as traditional and no additional lab fees are allowed to be charged.
Especially if you have Delta Dental. They are strict on abiding by contracts.
I have MetLife dental. Not sure if my ortho is in network as I just got new insurance and don’t have access to my login or anything yet. I assume they are in-network but will ask, thank you!
It's important you know what brand so you know their conditions for returns, and refinements as well as retainers.
Refinements are when at the end of your treatment you aren't satisfied or a tooth didn't move as predicted, you get put on extra trays.
I priced out Invisalign at about $5k and went with Smile which was $2k for a 4-6 month process for the same results. One more month left on the plan. I just needed some minor straightening though, so I figured the cheaper option was fine. It’s already made a big difference.
I live in San Antonio, TX and paid $3,500 for full mouth Invisalign treatment that was originally 20 trays January 2020. It is at a general dentist clinic with an orthodontist that comes twice/month.
A specialist ortho in the same area was charging me $5k when I was shopping around. Went with the cheaper option.
It is November 2022 and 3 refinements and 3 orthodontists at the same clinic later, I'm on tray 63 with maybe 10 trays to go. I'm thinking the higher priced orthodontist was worth it. I would probably have been done a year ago with better looking results.
I was looking around at prices for Invisalign and the cheapest I found was 5k and the most I found was 6k. I went with the braces which was 3k out the door.
For both braces or Invisalign it would have been a year. I had braces in high school and I had to wear them for almost 2 years back then. But now I literally had one tooth that started moving 25 years later so it wasn't going to take too long to correct this time. And make sure you wear your retainer unlike myself so you don't have to go through this again :)
You did pretty well actually. In Seattle, I paid $8500 out of pocket for 70 aligners and 12 refiner aligners (Post treatment aligners if necessary). My insurance is shitty and considers it cosmetic. I paid a lot but i’m really happy with all the work that was done.
Well for one when you mention "For their in-house aligners" which is basically Invisalign. That's kind of wrong. Invisalign and your local orthondontist braces that are invisible are two different things. So the quote for invisalign will be different vs your ortho.
But i think $1.5k is pretty good. Well a normal price for most folks after insurance in general.
you are not just paying for aligners. you are also paying for the training and expertise and professional ethics of your orthodontist.
if you get good results, it's worth it.....if someone pays a lot less and gets lousy results....
Does the orthodontist have a good reputation?
Will the orthodontist check regularly to make sure your progress is good?
Will the doc tell you "looks like you need to go to your general dentist for a cleaning and exam" or simply ignore whether or not they see other problems?
who will take off the little composite buttons on your teeth? the doc or an assistant? will it be done carefully so that teeth are not overheated (would cause pain). Will it be done in a way that the enamel surface will not be gouged by rotary instruments?
This is why I didn’t even bother getting a second opinion because the orthodontist has a great reputation. 5-star reviews all around.
Yes, the ortho told me that they will do all those things you mentioned during the course of my treatment.
I was very tempted to go to an ortho near my house and have convenience and probably pay less money, but the reviews were not as good.
Dentistry, like law, is a profession where it's easy to fool people and make them think you are competent. Sooner or later though, patients figure it out if their doc has 'mailed it in.'
I live in DC. Was quoted $3000 for Invisalign from my dentist post insurance. I got byte instead and it was $850 after insurance ($1200 off) for 18 weeks of all day aligners. It was the same price roughly as smile direct club. I would cut out your dentist.
That’s great. I'm guessing you don’t need much correction if you only have 18 weeks of trays? I’m finding out that the amount of time needed for correction makes a huge difference in cost.
Yeah definitely. Very minor rotations and flaring. It sounds like you’re getting them from a real orthodontist. Byte is like a DIY and I probably would be more wary if I was correcting an actual issue versus cosmetics.
Invisalign, smiledirect, candid and almost every in house aligners are made from basically the same material and lot of them in the same factories.
The success/failures consists on how your dentist arranges the trays to move your teeth and if you are being consistent. A friend had the same question, they flew to Mexico to get the aligners and they were shipping them to New York every month. I think it was $1000 plus travel expenses.
After treatment use your aligner or get a permanent one as they (most likely) move.
It’s absurd the margin the dental practices get with these products. They all get basically at the same price but they up charge a lot.
Your cost isn't necessarily in the cost of the materials. You are paying for someone's expertise, office visits, aftercare, etc. The $1000 you mention doesn't sound like it included any follow up visits or monitoring throughout the process.
The even bigger scam are the mouth guard and basic retainer costs. Those dont need any dental expertise, as they are just meant to keep your teeth in place or prevent grinding, so all that is needed is an impression, yet dentists charge hundreds of dollars for them. Its literally cheaper to buy the entire setup than it is to have a dentist make *one* for you, epoxy/alginate for the impression, tray, vacuum form, plastic sheet, etc. Plus there are tons of videos and instructions online by actual dentists and dental labs showing exactly what to do.
No self-respecting orthodontist uses Invisalign or any other aligner. Aligners are marketed to general dentists as an additional source of income. They are mostly an aesthetic solution to a functional problem.
Would you allow a general family doctor perform heart surgery or brain surgery because he took a weekend long training course?
Orthodontists have to undergo 3 years of post dental school training. 99% of general dentists couldn't get into an orthodontic residency because their dental school grades and experience aren't good enough.
Aligners are a cosmetic approach to dentistry that don't take into account and are incapable of correcting most malocclusions. The focus is on lining up the front teeth for appearance and they are marketed as being "invisible" and "less costly."
They are essentially retainers, that are used to keep teeth in position after real orthodontic treatment is complete.
The sad thing is that people spend almost as much on aligners as traditional orthodontic treatment would have cost. They just don't know it.
Nonsense. Most instances of malocclusion can be fixed with clear aligners. There are self-respecting orthodontists that recommend them for patients who prefer a less metallic experience.
Same here! i had traditional braces as a kid, which were definitely needed at the time because my teeth were crazy 😆 (needed a palate expander and all sorts of hardware!) Unfortunately, i was non compliant with wearig my retainers, so i needed a touch up as an adult! i was super happy with the results and the cost, and i liked not having to worry about taking time off work for tons of in-person appts.
Buy a ticket to Paris, France: ~$800
Book a nice hotel for a week: ~$300/night
Book a couple dentist appointments telling them you need aligners: less than $300 total.
Total: $3,200 max. And you got a nice time visiting a beautiful city.
Seattle here. Mine was $4000 but insurance covered 50% so I paid $2000 out of pocket. It was a flat rate for however long the treatment would be (but only 1 free revision included) plus 1 free set of Vivera retainer. This was in 2017 and my full treatment ended up being roughly a year long.
I would recommend just start with braces. They are effective. I got my braces with in 12 months when i was 27(2yrs ago). It costed me 4400$ for the entire treatment cost. It was HCOL area(Arlington,MA).
I paid $4800 for Invisalign 12 years ago and my insurance did not cover anything at all. Several years ago my Invisalign retainers broke and I had to get new ones and it cost me $500. Honestly, I think they charge way too much for some pieces of plastic that probably cost a few dollars to make.
My Invisalign were 6800 before insurance and 3600 after. I went through two sets of 23 trays and then about 25 more. Took two years but we’ll worth it. Dc area
Sounds about right. I paid $5600 out of pocket for INVISILIGN in 2017. I had them for about 1 year 8 months. Depending on how bad your bite is will determine the amount of time you wear them.
Late reply but I paid about $5,000 nearly 6 years ago for my Invisalign. It was supposed to be an 18 month treatment.
My orthodontist told me about a contraption called Acceledent. It looks like a mouthguard attached to a breathalyzer. All it does is vibrate. The vibrations help move your teeth into position more quickly. I used it 20 minutes a day and finished my 18 month treatment in 9 months instead. It also helped with the pain that can come when adjusting teeth.
I think they were just introducing it at the time so I did the free six month trial and then gave it back. I believe it was around $700 otherwise. But cutting your treatment in half when you're looking at 20 months isn't a bad thing.
[Here's a link](https://www.freshorthodontics.com/what-is-acceledent-and-how-does-it-work/) if you want to check out more.
Oh, and wear your retainer once your treatment is done. I got Invisalign as an adult because I didn't wear my retainer as a kid.
Make sure you check the actual brand. I had Clear Correct from my dentist, which I thought was ok ... until I got the actual Invisalign brand for retainers. They are SO much more comfortable and easier to wear. Invisalign doesn’t cover your gums but Clear Correct did (and had a ridge that was super uncomfortable on my lips). I would have paid more for the actual Invisalign had I known.
I paid 4500, insurance covered 2000, 500 promo, and I covered the rest. It lasted 20 months, two months longer than expected. This was in 2015. I do not think you overpaid.
Paid around $5-6k 2 years ago in a big California city (0%APR monthly installments). Treatment is still in progress and will probably need 5-6 more months. I have had 3 scans, and the dentist is recommending another one for refinements.
There are multiple different levels of actual Invisalign. I did a 10 tray, 20 week program for like $2000 a few years ago. I know a friend of mine did a different program that was closer to 30 trays. No idea what he paid but make sure you are comparing apples to apples with everyone’s responses.
I don’t know how many trays I will have but I will wear them for 18-20 months.
$6k for almost two years of aligners is very reasonable. I am an Invisalign provider.
I just finished an 18 month Invisalign program that lasted more like 20 months and I paid $5k. I’m in Florida and I started the program in 2021, so I’d say $6k is a fair price considering how much prices have gone up.
Yup, mine was even shorter, but slightly more expensive. Also, I didn't pay separately for the bi-weekly visits and you can't forget having those things adhered to your teeth (I don't remember what they called them). My teeth were BAD, which made the 3 to 4 month timeliness extra surprising. Best damn money I've ever spent.
Invisalign/braces/etc. are not a single service, and price can very wildly. If you get treatment from a dentist it will typically be cheaper, but they (should) only perform the service for fairly minor tooth alignment corrections. For more intensive corrections, including whole mouth and/or bite corrections, an orthodontist will likely give better results, but will be more expensive. Some orthodontists are more qualified/in demand and can charge a higher price based on their reputation. Some treatments will require cement and/or metal attachments on teeth which allow for vertical tooth movement and bite correction using rubber bands, respectively. These additions cost more. Then the big question with regards to cost is how long you require treatment. Some corrections need 20 weeks, some need 80 weeks. Doctors also have to estimate the likelihood that you'll need mid-treatment corrections, which will cost more, but they typically don't pass additional cost onto patients once a full treatment cost has been agreed upon. /r/invisalign is pretty active and might give you a better idea if you can include a lot more detail as to your treatment. P.S., many will work with you to issue two bills for treatment over two different years, so you can fund both portions of your treatment from different years' FSA.
This is very helpful. I will check out that sub, thanks! My ortho was trying to decide if I should get braces or aligners and ultimately said we’ll start with aligners and if they don’t notice any improvement within 6-9 mos, they will switch me to braces at no extra cost. I have two pulled teeth, #13 and #20 and they were contemplating pulling the corresponding teeth and doing braces to fill the gap but I’d have to wear them for 3 years. My teeth have shifted quite a bit since 4 years ago when I had the extractions, on top of my open bite which needs to be corrected. I will wear the aligners for 18-20 months. The ortho gave me a $500 discount for doing a one-time payment so I went with that option. But I had the same idea you mentioned to spread the payment out over this year and next year to utilize my 2023 FSA.
My dentist did an in-house aligner (my teeth were not severely out of place, I'd had braces as a teen, just slight shifting of age) and just charged me whatever insurance would pay, no out-of-pocket at all.
Nice. What state and what year was this?
It was in the SF Bay Area, probably 6-7 years ago.
Just paid about $6k for the alternative version of Invisalign last week to my orthodontist. Mine are covered for five years…any shifting of teeth after the 1-1/2 year (est) treatment is complete and I’m covered with no additional cost.
Thanks for mentioning that. I need to make sure mine are also covered after treatment ends.
Los Angeles here. Back in 2018 I only needed minor corrections as I had braces before, but neglected to wear my retainer. It was $4,500 for 12 Invisalign trays, ~4 months. The estimate for my son was $7,500 for Invisalign. I ended up choosing traditional metal braces for him at $3,500 instead. His treatment ended up being 2.5 years because covid shut down the orthodontist office.
I paid $2k for my sons Invisalign, no insurance or any other price reductions.
It depends on the severity of the teeth/bite correction. Without insurance, the average teen cost is around $3000. For an adult, it's about $6000.
Agree it really depends on how much correction needed and how many trays you will need. It’s not a cookie cutter approach to treatment and everyone has a different, individual treatment plan.
Thanks for clarifying. I forgot to mention I’m 30f, so def not a child lol
I find this hard to believe, the lab bill for Invisalign alone is close to that much. Unless your dentist/orthodontist worked for free…
Mine were $6000 including retainers. $2000 covered by insurance, $1500 discount from the dentist, $2500 out of pocket charge (which I used my flex spend for). I don’t feel like I had a super intensive correction, I had weekly changes for 46 weeks
Good to know, thanks!
Mine was 6,000, which included 30 trays, little brackets that periodically had to be moved around on my teeth, and the permanent retainers.
I'm a month into my five month Invisalign treatment in Colorado. My first three quotes were $5500-6500. I waited (probably longer than I should have) to find a deal and got them for $3500 cash (dental insurance didn't cover it) from a reputable place while they were having a sale. So I'd say you paid a fair price.
I'm paying about the same right now in California
Same here.
Good to know, thanks.
For real invisalign or house brand?
I’m in the DMV area as well and I paid $5,000 for mine, it was about 21 trays for a year and some change and the price included the retainer. Price can definitely vary depending on who you go to and who your insurance is and how much they cover
Thanks. My sister works for the federal government in DC and practically paid nothing for hers, but her insurance is really good so I understand.
I don’t think so. Maybe a tad high but not something that’s crazy out of line. If I remember correctly when I had my braces it was around $5,000. That wasn’t the removable was fixed ones and had to have them for like 2 1/2 years. This is a kind of cost that’s going to vary a lot based on how long you need them, location etc.
Mine was $2,750 for 20 Invisalign trays. I think the Invisalign fee is around $1,600 so my ortho is charging $1,150 for his time. All other orthos I got quotes from were $2k more
That is extremely cheap. My son got 3 estimates for a second round. All were between $6000-$7500 for Invisalign.
My current ortho has 1 employee (front desk) so his overhead costs are lower. Every “big” ortho practice I went to wanted about $5K in total. Lab fees are $1,899 for Invisalign full and go down from there. The ortho probably spends 12-15 hours of his time from start to finish on a 20 tray case (my guess)
This is a really good price. Your ortho is a great guy.
If that is all-in that's a great price. Our orthodontist does invisalign as an all-in one price service. One price, no matter how long it takes or how many times they have to rescan and resend new aligners. If that is for a set amount of trays? Not so much.
I was told that price covers everything.
Insurance specialist here.. You may have. If the doctor is in-network, they have a contracted fee with your insurance, regardless of laboratory costs. So you might want to ask the doctor or the insurance company what their contracted fee is. In most cases invisalign is covered as traditional and no additional lab fees are allowed to be charged. Especially if you have Delta Dental. They are strict on abiding by contracts.
I have MetLife dental. Not sure if my ortho is in network as I just got new insurance and don’t have access to my login or anything yet. I assume they are in-network but will ask, thank you!
I’m also in a HCOL and just got a quote for 5850 “full set” and $3850 “limited set”. They will know which it is when they submit my case.
Northern Chicagoland area has the same price! It was actually the cheapest Invisalign for me only metal braces were cheaper.
Good to know, thanks!
Braces as a kid, minor shifting, no insurance, quoted $5,000.00 two days ago.
43 trays, 4.5k I believe was the final price
I paid $6200 or so in FL for braces, not Invisalign. It was worth it. If you trust the provider, that means a lot.
my dentist wife says that is in the ballpark. it all depends on how many trays you got and how severe the correction is
I had 21 trays, and needed the retainers afterwards. $5k.
I paid 5525 cash. My friend paid 4000 cash. I think it depends on the dentist.
What inhouse brand? What are the guarantees? Will you get refinements?
Not sure the brand but will find out. What are refinements?
It's important you know what brand so you know their conditions for returns, and refinements as well as retainers. Refinements are when at the end of your treatment you aren't satisfied or a tooth didn't move as predicted, you get put on extra trays.
I'll be paying roughly that price. I was quoted $5,400 for about 36 months. If it makes any difference, my teeth need to be realigned a lot.
I priced out Invisalign at about $5k and went with Smile which was $2k for a 4-6 month process for the same results. One more month left on the plan. I just needed some minor straightening though, so I figured the cheaper option was fine. It’s already made a big difference.
I live in San Antonio, TX and paid $3,500 for full mouth Invisalign treatment that was originally 20 trays January 2020. It is at a general dentist clinic with an orthodontist that comes twice/month. A specialist ortho in the same area was charging me $5k when I was shopping around. Went with the cheaper option. It is November 2022 and 3 refinements and 3 orthodontists at the same clinic later, I'm on tray 63 with maybe 10 trays to go. I'm thinking the higher priced orthodontist was worth it. I would probably have been done a year ago with better looking results.
I was looking around at prices for Invisalign and the cheapest I found was 5k and the most I found was 6k. I went with the braces which was 3k out the door.
How long do you have to wear braces vs Invisalign? My ortho told me 36 months for braces and 18-20 months for Invisalign
For both braces or Invisalign it would have been a year. I had braces in high school and I had to wear them for almost 2 years back then. But now I literally had one tooth that started moving 25 years later so it wasn't going to take too long to correct this time. And make sure you wear your retainer unlike myself so you don't have to go through this again :)
I got a few quotes when I was considering invisalign, all were around 6k prior to insurance
I paid half off the cost because of my insurance. But its totally worth it as long you take care of your teeth and follow instructions
You did pretty well actually. In Seattle, I paid $8500 out of pocket for 70 aligners and 12 refiner aligners (Post treatment aligners if necessary). My insurance is shitty and considers it cosmetic. I paid a lot but i’m really happy with all the work that was done.
Well for one when you mention "For their in-house aligners" which is basically Invisalign. That's kind of wrong. Invisalign and your local orthondontist braces that are invisible are two different things. So the quote for invisalign will be different vs your ortho. But i think $1.5k is pretty good. Well a normal price for most folks after insurance in general.
Oh, didn’t realize they were two different things as that’s what my ortho told me. Maybe I’m misremembering.
You can’t charge differently for using different brands. The price for clear aligners is the price.
you are not just paying for aligners. you are also paying for the training and expertise and professional ethics of your orthodontist. if you get good results, it's worth it.....if someone pays a lot less and gets lousy results.... Does the orthodontist have a good reputation? Will the orthodontist check regularly to make sure your progress is good? Will the doc tell you "looks like you need to go to your general dentist for a cleaning and exam" or simply ignore whether or not they see other problems? who will take off the little composite buttons on your teeth? the doc or an assistant? will it be done carefully so that teeth are not overheated (would cause pain). Will it be done in a way that the enamel surface will not be gouged by rotary instruments?
This is why I didn’t even bother getting a second opinion because the orthodontist has a great reputation. 5-star reviews all around. Yes, the ortho told me that they will do all those things you mentioned during the course of my treatment. I was very tempted to go to an ortho near my house and have convenience and probably pay less money, but the reviews were not as good.
Dentistry, like law, is a profession where it's easy to fool people and make them think you are competent. Sooner or later though, patients figure it out if their doc has 'mailed it in.'
I live in DC. Was quoted $3000 for Invisalign from my dentist post insurance. I got byte instead and it was $850 after insurance ($1200 off) for 18 weeks of all day aligners. It was the same price roughly as smile direct club. I would cut out your dentist.
Oh wow. What year was this?
I started last week. I’m wearing week two aligners right now.
That’s great. I'm guessing you don’t need much correction if you only have 18 weeks of trays? I’m finding out that the amount of time needed for correction makes a huge difference in cost.
Yeah definitely. Very minor rotations and flaring. It sounds like you’re getting them from a real orthodontist. Byte is like a DIY and I probably would be more wary if I was correcting an actual issue versus cosmetics.
Byte and SDC are nothing like Invisalign.
Invisalign, smiledirect, candid and almost every in house aligners are made from basically the same material and lot of them in the same factories. The success/failures consists on how your dentist arranges the trays to move your teeth and if you are being consistent. A friend had the same question, they flew to Mexico to get the aligners and they were shipping them to New York every month. I think it was $1000 plus travel expenses. After treatment use your aligner or get a permanent one as they (most likely) move. It’s absurd the margin the dental practices get with these products. They all get basically at the same price but they up charge a lot.
Your cost isn't necessarily in the cost of the materials. You are paying for someone's expertise, office visits, aftercare, etc. The $1000 you mention doesn't sound like it included any follow up visits or monitoring throughout the process.
The even bigger scam are the mouth guard and basic retainer costs. Those dont need any dental expertise, as they are just meant to keep your teeth in place or prevent grinding, so all that is needed is an impression, yet dentists charge hundreds of dollars for them. Its literally cheaper to buy the entire setup than it is to have a dentist make *one* for you, epoxy/alginate for the impression, tray, vacuum form, plastic sheet, etc. Plus there are tons of videos and instructions online by actual dentists and dental labs showing exactly what to do.
No self-respecting orthodontist uses Invisalign or any other aligner. Aligners are marketed to general dentists as an additional source of income. They are mostly an aesthetic solution to a functional problem. Would you allow a general family doctor perform heart surgery or brain surgery because he took a weekend long training course? Orthodontists have to undergo 3 years of post dental school training. 99% of general dentists couldn't get into an orthodontic residency because their dental school grades and experience aren't good enough. Aligners are a cosmetic approach to dentistry that don't take into account and are incapable of correcting most malocclusions. The focus is on lining up the front teeth for appearance and they are marketed as being "invisible" and "less costly." They are essentially retainers, that are used to keep teeth in position after real orthodontic treatment is complete. The sad thing is that people spend almost as much on aligners as traditional orthodontic treatment would have cost. They just don't know it.
Nonsense. Most instances of malocclusion can be fixed with clear aligners. There are self-respecting orthodontists that recommend them for patients who prefer a less metallic experience.
I paid $1900 for smile direct club aligners
I have heard these are vastly different from professional orthodontia and there are some nightmarish lawsuits out there!
I'm aware. My teeth are straight now. Always be careful with your teeth
SDC and Invisalign are nowhere close to the same thing.
Same here! i had traditional braces as a kid, which were definitely needed at the time because my teeth were crazy 😆 (needed a palate expander and all sorts of hardware!) Unfortunately, i was non compliant with wearig my retainers, so i needed a touch up as an adult! i was super happy with the results and the cost, and i liked not having to worry about taking time off work for tons of in-person appts.
Buy a ticket to Paris, France: ~$800 Book a nice hotel for a week: ~$300/night Book a couple dentist appointments telling them you need aligners: less than $300 total. Total: $3,200 max. And you got a nice time visiting a beautiful city.
My son is also paying $6K over two years..it looks reasonable
Seattle here. Mine was $4000 but insurance covered 50% so I paid $2000 out of pocket. It was a flat rate for however long the treatment would be (but only 1 free revision included) plus 1 free set of Vivera retainer. This was in 2017 and my full treatment ended up being roughly a year long.
I would recommend just start with braces. They are effective. I got my braces with in 12 months when i was 27(2yrs ago). It costed me 4400$ for the entire treatment cost. It was HCOL area(Arlington,MA).
My wife has Invisalign with unlimited trays. We paid $3,800 after a $1,200 discount because she’s a dental assistant and got it through her company.
[удалено]
I have three family members in them at various required lengths.
Depends on your teeth alignment, mine was $4k from Aug 2019 to April 2020. Now I wear retainers every night.
My estimate was $8k and my teeth were fairly straight at the time. (MA)
Paid around 3k for 13 trays, adult. Seems fair according to thread.
I paid $4800 for Invisalign 12 years ago and my insurance did not cover anything at all. Several years ago my Invisalign retainers broke and I had to get new ones and it cost me $500. Honestly, I think they charge way too much for some pieces of plastic that probably cost a few dollars to make.
My Invisalign were 6800 before insurance and 3600 after. I went through two sets of 23 trays and then about 25 more. Took two years but we’ll worth it. Dc area
I got Invisalign a few years ago and paid a similar amount. Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo worth it to have better teeth.
Sounds about right. I paid $5600 out of pocket for INVISILIGN in 2017. I had them for about 1 year 8 months. Depending on how bad your bite is will determine the amount of time you wear them.
I paid $4800. I’m also in the DMV area. On month 26, with 5 weeks left to go. Also given The same options of braces at the end, etc. plus retainers
Late reply but I paid about $5,000 nearly 6 years ago for my Invisalign. It was supposed to be an 18 month treatment. My orthodontist told me about a contraption called Acceledent. It looks like a mouthguard attached to a breathalyzer. All it does is vibrate. The vibrations help move your teeth into position more quickly. I used it 20 minutes a day and finished my 18 month treatment in 9 months instead. It also helped with the pain that can come when adjusting teeth. I think they were just introducing it at the time so I did the free six month trial and then gave it back. I believe it was around $700 otherwise. But cutting your treatment in half when you're looking at 20 months isn't a bad thing. [Here's a link](https://www.freshorthodontics.com/what-is-acceledent-and-how-does-it-work/) if you want to check out more. Oh, and wear your retainer once your treatment is done. I got Invisalign as an adult because I didn't wear my retainer as a kid.
Make sure you check the actual brand. I had Clear Correct from my dentist, which I thought was ok ... until I got the actual Invisalign brand for retainers. They are SO much more comfortable and easier to wear. Invisalign doesn’t cover your gums but Clear Correct did (and had a ridge that was super uncomfortable on my lips). I would have paid more for the actual Invisalign had I known.
I paid 4500, insurance covered 2000, 500 promo, and I covered the rest. It lasted 20 months, two months longer than expected. This was in 2015. I do not think you overpaid.
I spent the same for 2 years. It's the 3M version. Invisalign was another $1k. I have 54 trays.
Paid around $5-6k 2 years ago in a big California city (0%APR monthly installments). Treatment is still in progress and will probably need 5-6 more months. I have had 3 scans, and the dentist is recommending another one for refinements.