What is The Overall PROCESS and Experience of Invisalign? Financially as well?

I am an 18 year old college student on a tight budget yet have been wanting to close my minor gaps for many years. I went to a dentist who offered to do OrthoClear for $4000 but OrthroClear was recently bought out during a lawsuit with invisalign, no longer and option.





I travelled to many other dentists and the lowest offer I got was $8000 for invisalign; too high for my small budget.





Luckly i contacted the dentist that offered my $4000 for the orthoclear and can perform invisalign for my minor corrections for $4,500. I will still call other offices to see if they can beat that price though this dentist is a good one so i'll most likely stick with him.





Can someone fill me in on the overall process I will have to undergo from the moment I step into the dentists office? Payment plans? (I dont have dental insurance) and such? Will it truly be $4500 or much more if there needs to be other exams and charges? I just dont wanna end up paying more. Thanks! Also the invisalign treatment.

What is The Overall PROCESS and Experience of Invisalign? Financially as well?
Check this out: http://www.invisalign.com/generalapp/us/





After you have your impressions taken, they are scanned into a computer. A virtual model of your teeth is created in the computer. Very small movements are done on this virtual model. From this computer image, a real model of your teeth is made.





Some more very small movements are made on the virtual model, and so on. This keeps up until a whole series of thin plastic appliances is created to guide your teeth to the desired end position. The plastic is thin, but pretty strong. When it first goes in, it feels tight, because it is pressing on the places on your teeth where they have to move. After a few days, the tighness goes away and you know your teeth have moved. You change appliances every two weeks until your case is done.





In my rural Mid-Atlantic general practice, I charge $3,000 for most Invisalign cases, which is less than traditional braces in most cases. I have heard that some charge more for Invisalign than they do for braces, though. The thing is, I am not a specialist and I choose to do only "easy" cases that will not require extra devices to be used in conjunction with Invisalign. This can add to the fee significantly.
Reply:What I know about Invisalign is it is only for certain people. You have to meet certain criteria in order to be able to have it. My dentist priced me for about 3,000. I would have also had to pay 1/2 down on the 1st visit %26amp; the other 1/2 could be made through payments. Price also depends on how many sessions you will have to go through. Sessions typically run 2 weeks at a time in which you change to a new set of invisalign inserts. The more sessions = more $$$$. I am sure you can go in to your dentist and get a console that wouldn't cost much %26amp; he would be able to tell you if you qualify for Invisalign %26amp; how much too.
Reply:The office will take impressions of your teeth, which is a putty like material that firms up around your teeth within a few minutes, they pour up the impression in stone, they send it to a lab along with either an email, or disc describing in great detail what you want done, most offices can show you on the computer what your smile can look like on the monitor. So once the lab gets your models they make firm plastic trays to go over your teeth, you switch out your trays every month or two, maybe weeks depending on what you need. You may go through a series of 6 or more different sets of trays, and take more impressions each visit. So you will need multiple visits, which shouldn't take more than 30 minutes, depending on how chatty the assistant or dentist is. They will bond these pieces on your teeth...I forget what these are for. That process is similar to a filling without having your tooth drilled on. I hear your teeth hurt, ache alot, feels weird to eat. My friend shouldn't do this but he eats with his trays on, because he says it doesn't hurt as much. But his teeth are stained, and nasty looking cause food gets stuck in his tray. As far as cost it depends on how much movement you need, and time involved. I've heard quotes as low as $4500. As far as qualified patients for invisalign it sounds like you are since someone quoted you $8000, but anyway from what I've heard, you cannot have too many crooked and crowded teeth, If you only have a few spaces here and there, Your arch is too wide or narrow, or the edges of your teeth jet out more than you like...are considered minor adjustments that I THINK, may be able to be corrected, from what I've heard.
Reply:YOU FIRST HAVE TO BE CONSULTED BY A DENTIST WHO IS CERTIFIED TO DO INVISALIGN. THE PRICE OF $8000 IS WAY TOO HIGH FOR TAKING TWO IMPRESSIONS OF YOUR MOUTH AND SOME X-RAYS. THE ADVANTAGE OF INVISALIGN IS THAT YOU CAN REMOVE THEM BEFORE YOU EAT, AND YOU CAN EASILY FLOSS, MORE TIME CONSUMING WITH TRADITIONAL BRACES. THE IMPRESSIONS THAT WERE TAKEN ARE SENT TO A LAB WHICH FABRICATES THE ALIGNERS WHICH ARE CHANGES ABOUT EVERY 3 WEEKS. THE RESULTS FOR MOST PEOPLE ARE ABOUT 1 YEAR OF TREATMENT OR LESS. BE PREPARED ON THE FIRST DAY TO HAVE RECORDSTOBE TAKEN. ANY DENTAL PROCEDURES MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE INVISALIGN IS DONE. THE DENTAL OFFICE MUST PAY THE LAB IN FULL BEFORE THE ALIGNERS ARE SENT TO HIM. THE COST LAST TIME I CHECKED WAS ABOUT $1,300 JUST IN LAB FEES. THIS EXPLAINS WHY IT COSTS SO MUCH. TRADITIONAL BRACES ARE MUCH LESS EXPENSIVE, AND CAN TAKE A LONGER TIMETO COMPLETE.