shinshan904

10/4/11- Getting Invisalign Soon! I have been wanting braces for a long time and have finally decided to go through with it. My consultation appointment is on 10/11.

10/17/11- So I went for my first consultation last Tuesday. I went to my old dentist who does Invisalign since I was familiar with him...let's just say I now know why he's my OLD dentist. He was very short with me and when I had one of his staff members ask how many cases he's treated he wouldn't answer and just told her to tell me he was one of the first dentists in the city to become certified by Invisalign. He seemed irritated by my question. If I'm going to be spending all this money on treatment I want it to be done somewhere with a friendly and patient dentist who is willing to answer any question I have. I have an appointment with another dentist this Thursday who is actually an Invisalign preferred provider. I was able to find out that it will cost me approximately $4500. We'll see how Thursday goes. In the meanwhile, I'm going to make a few more consultation appointments with other dentists so I can have some options to choose from.

10/19/11- Ok, I went to the Orthodontist this morning and was able to get wayyyy more information than I got from the dentist. They took photos and x-rays and were very detailed. The ortho said that invisalign would work but I will need to wear a special appliance for 3-6 months to fix a cross bite I have before I can start my invisalign treatment. I was pretty disappointed with that. I'm so ready to see results! She also talked to me about Damon Clear braces which would fix my cross bite while straightening my teeth without the need of the special appliance. So now I'm not sure what to do. She said the treatment time would be the same with the Damon Clear vs Invisalign Braces but I would see results faster as far as the crowdedness of my teeth goes since it fixes that aspect before fixing your bite. I wanted invisalign because I thought the treatment time would be shorter, but she said it would be 2 years either way. I guess I have to weigh the pros and cons and make a decision. The price is exactly the same. She explained I would probably get a better result with the Damon Clear braces since she has more control over how they move my teeth. I'm really just not that sure what to do. I posted a question and pics in the Q&A section asking how necessary it is to correct my cross bite. It's not noticeable at all. I'm not sure what the problem with this is. But it is what makes my treatment time the same with invisalign as it is with the Damon Clear Braces. But I really like the ortho I visited. They were just sooo detailed and seemed to really know what would be best for me but didn't try to pressure me into making a decision right away. I'd like to go to another ortho so that I will have something to compare their prices to since she was like $1,000 more than the general dentist I went to about Invisalign, but this quote included the retainers and the general dentists' didn't. Not sure how much retainers normally are.
One last thing. My dad mentioned the local University does orthodontics for like 40% cheaper obviously because they are still in training. I'm not sure I feel comfortable with someone practicing on my teeth ya know. But they did mention the instruction oversees all of the work and he is some kind of award winning orthodontist.

11/11/2011- So I've decided to go with ceramic braces instead of Invisalign. After going to a few consultations I've determined Invisalign isn't for me. I'm going to be going to my local Orthodontics School for treatment and will get my Radiance Clear Braces by American Orthodontics on 1/5/12. I read when people get ceramic braces they only get them on the top front teeth and get metal ones on the sides and bottom. I have also seen people get them on the top and bottom , which is how I want mine.