Got invisalign express, paid for full invisalign

[jwr09]

My orthodontist quoted my invisalign at $5900 and I paid up front. I'm on my 5th aligner set out of 10. I got a look at the aligner tray bag today and it turns out I've got Invisalign Express. I feel way overcharged. The prices I see for invisalign express are usually much less (roughly $2000). I'd like to confront my doc about this but I know it will be a pretty unconfortable situation.

Has this happened to anyone else or heard of a similar case? I'd like to get as much info as I can before I call my doc up next week.

[Sunny]

Hi Jwr and welcome to this forum!

You do need to talk to your ortho as there are differences between Invisalign and Invisalign express and you need to know what you've paid for. Possibly the best way to begin your conversation will be with ... "I saw the tray bag my aligners came in and it had invisalign express printed on it. I thought I was paying for the full invisalign treatment ..." This gives your ortho a chance to talk about what has happened. Hopefully it can be sorted easily.

Did your ortho ever mention how long your treatment was to last and if you had the option of refinements at the end of your treatment? Invisalign Express is usually six months or less (as it's for minor movement) and doesn't include refinements ... so that may help you to distinguish between the two.

Cost - this is something that's difficult to comment on, as this often depends on where you're getting treatment, the level of experience of the person treating you as well as the type of treatment you're having.

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

It may be that your orthodontist is planning on refinement or detailing sets for you. This is an added cost to Express but allows for additional sets of aligners. Otherwise, this situation could go either way unless you have documentation stating that you have paid for a full Invisalign treatment rather than Express.

Unfortunately, the fee itself is not a good indicator of which treatment you were supposed to receive. As mentioned above, a number of factors go into the fee, such as experience, customer service, and geographical location. Around Toronto, Canada, while on the higher end, $5900 could very well be an Express fee for treatment by a Premier or Elite Provider orthodontist. $2000 sounds extremely low, given the lab cost of Express alone.

It is a good idea to bring this up now, to make sure that you will be ensured enough sets of trays to get the result you want. Whether it is Express or Full Invisalign, the aligners are the same and you should still end up with a wonderful smile.

Good luck!

[snaggletooth]

Sorry but you never pay a doctor upfront, especially a hospital. I have near perfect credit and always wait till last minute to pay doctors. I often dispute what insurance doesn't pay and win 3 out of 4 times, or it is waived if your polite.

Lately I get childrens medical bills that are estimates in disguise to see if you pay them. I'd go contact Invisalign directly and make sure you got your facts straight. They may not talk to you however. I treat doctors just like I treat construction contractors at this point.

[Zoso]

Whilst I always work on a "bill me later" basis with most doctors, I'd observe that many other health care professionals seem to work on a "payment is due at the time of service" basis. And of course many orthodontists offer a discount for payment in full up front.

That said, though I generally feel that it is a bad practice to tar an entire profession with the same brush (and accept there are good - and bad - seeds in every single profession) I do agree that when dealing with a large institution like a hospital, it is often best to be billed and pay in arrears there.

I think the main thing is always to know what you are getting into when you agree to a course of treatment and a payment plan (be it up front, in arrears, in installments, or whatever) associated with that - make sure you know exactly what is and is not covered, and what recourse you have if you change your mind. Make sure that if there is anything that matters a lot to you, you get that in writing as part of the contract. And, above all, for elective work, do your homework and ask your questions before signing on the dotted line and handing over the cash.

With regard to the situation at hand, Invisalign are not going to be able to help, I'd say - their contracts are between them and the prescribing doctor, and I doubt they have mandated practices around patient fees and billing - I should think this is conisdered to be purely between the prescribing doctor and the patient.

[munson]

I also paid for "full" Invisalign and when I got my first trays, it said Invisalign Express. My trays say 1 of 10, 2 of 10, etc. I called my Orthodontist immediately and he acted like my worries were unfounded. He explained that he has no control over how many trays Invisalign gives him and that after the 10 trays we would take impressions of my teeth again and get more adjustment trays. I brought this up again during my next visit and he he said the same thing. I think it has something to do with the way he's ordering the Invisalign. From what I gather from reading online, he seems to be ordering Express and then doing adjustments, then maybe more adjustments, etc. A lot of people are writing that they have 20+ trays. My Ortho acted like that's not the way it works. Only a few at a time. He assured me that we will keep doing adjustments until it's perfect. I'm not worried anymore, but it is upsetting that I have no idea how many trays I'll have in the end. Right now I'm on my 10th tray and waiting for the next set of aligners - which could be 10 more, 20 more or zero. Who knows. The Ortho certainly doesn't have a clue.

[telleki]

Munson - Have you seen your clincheck? I think of adjustments/refinements as something to accept as a possibiltiy, not necessarily to plan on. I'd be curious to know if your clincheck shows your treatment as being complete after 10 trays. It's good to know your ortho is committed to staying with it until the treatment is complete regardless of the number of trays, though. I have 16 trays myself, I guess your ortho just follows a different process for some reason....but, even though I know my initial treatement is 16 trays, I also know that there's a chance I'll have to do refinements, and from what I've read of other's experiences, the number of refinements can be a real wildcard. In that way, we're in the same boat on the numbers game.

[selfmadetool]

As you're already aware, Munson, an express case is ten aligners or less. I believe a refinement is available for purchase, but is limited to ten aligners or less.

[Sunny]

Munson if your ortho doesn't know what type of treatment or the number of aligners you need, then you have a problem because the computer used to make your aligners will not be doing this without expert advice, which should be coming from your ortho, as this is the person who needs to assess your needs and make the recommendations for your treatment.

My recommendation is check with your ortho about how your treatment plan is being done ... if this person doesn't know, then please see someone who does. It may cost more, but your teeth are worth more than the risk of having someone treating them who doesn't know how to do it.

Good luck!

[Invizzle Rizzle]

Not meaning to hijack, but I was originally going to have the top done..express treatment. But things changed and I ended up getting top and bottom, so it's considered 'full treatment', I paid 5200. Question is, since I have full treatment, is refinements standard for this?

[Phantom Muse]

From my understanding, Full Invisalign includes refinements - whether or not you need them. My payment ($5050.00 US) included three series of refinements as well as a mid-course correction. I didn't need any of them, but they were available if needed. My dentist wanted to treat me and was asking only $2300.00 for Invisalign Express (he only does Express cases - no refinements), and although I did end-up falling into the Express category (12U/7L), it was important to me to have the security of knowing that whatever I needed to have done, could be done. So, I paid extra for it (clearly!), but I never have felt that it was a bad decision.

By the way, Invisalign Express is determined by the number of trays in the initial series (around 10) rather than having only one arch treated.

[myhollywoodsmile]

Hi there,

Ok, when you say you paid for full but got express do you mean that your contract states full? Or that your ortho told you you were getting full? Or that you just assumed that because of the price.

If you signed a contract you should check it to see what it includes, and whether refinements are included in the cost. Costs vary massively throughout the world and the price you quote could easily be an express price depending on where you live. I have never heard of anyone paying $2k to be honest.

What I would do if I were you is go to your provider and ask (assuming it's not in the contract) what is included in your Invisalign price. You should ask whether refinements, mid course corrections, lost aligners, moulding, retention etc is included. Make sure that you are comfortable with exactly what you pay for and exactly what you don't. Explain that you thought you were getting something different. Of course if you don't need refinements it makes little difference anyway, but if you do you want to make sure you don't have to pay for them.

Good Luck.

[myhollywoodsmile]

Invizzle rizzle I think it depends both where you are in the world and on your provider. Some providers offer 3 refinements included, others only offer one. Speak to your provider and ask what yours includes.

[Invizzle Rizzle]

By the way, Invisalign Express is determined by the number of trays in the initial series (around 10) rather than having only one arch treated.

I'm aware of that, my treatment includes 12 upper and 25 lower. That should have been thrown in there in the first place...

Invizzle rizzle I think it depends both where you are in the world and on your provider. Some providers offer 3 refinements included, others only offer one. Speak to your provider and ask what yours includes.

Will do. This will take some stress away just in case things don't according to plan.

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

I've done a cut and paste of this information from Toronto Invisalign | What is Invisalign? . This information is correct for North America, but is what Align Technology makes available to the doctor. As stated above, it is each individual doctor's choice to determine what they include as a part of their treatment, and how much they charge for it.

Invisalign
-release world-wide in 1999
-mid-course correction and up to 3 refinements available
-torquing ridges made available in early 2010

Invisalign Teen
-release world-wide in 2009
-torquing ridges, compliance indicators, eruption tabs, up to 6 free replacement aligners (note that due to these features, many orthodontists may be using Teen for adult patients as well)
-mid-course correction, 3 sets of refinement
-lab fee slightly more than traditional Invisalign

Invisalign Express
-treatment of extremely minor nature using 10 aligners or less (very few patients qualify)
-criteria as follows for acceptance by Align, but treatment may still not progress as other factors should be considered
-maximum extrusion of 0.5mm
-maximum IPR of 2 mm per arch
-maximum posterior intrusion of 0.5mm
-no sagittal (A/P) corrections required
-1 refinement available, not included in original lab free, 1 detailing set, not included in lab fee and no new clincheck possible

[paulmerc]

I recently have fallen into a similar issue. I went ahead and did one of the many groupon offers that have been flowing around major metro markets for invisalign. They are billed as "FULL INVISALIGN TREATMENT PLAN" and go into some details about treatment but not too many. The one I did said "up to 20 SETS of aligners" The plans generally run from 2600-2900$, mine was 2899$ I think.

There WAS much confusion and many buyers including myself asked the appropriate question of "what IS a SET" Is that TWO to a set, or is it ONE to set? Of course it was never fully described, but the detail was that 90% of cases were covered with 20 SETS of aligners and then further someone made the comment that if it was 20 SETS, meaning 40 aligners total then that would most likely fall into the FULL category, covering nearly 10+ MONTHS of treatment (which is the invisalgin normal expectation) and so it should be more than EXPRESS.

The "retail value" of the groupon was for 6800$ which is CLEARLY not express pricing and nowhere was it indicated at all that this was for invisalign EXPRESS.

I personally was told that my treatment would take between 6-9 months and would be covered by this plan. In my mind of course assuming there was 20 SETS of aligners (40 in total) that would fit with the model of a PAIR/SET per two week period, 20 periods, 40 weeks that's 10 months! The dentist went on to say that they had "in their pocket" additional SIX aligners from invisalign, meaning that if they had to put in for a few more it would be covered beyond the "20 SETS" it was written as "up to 23 sets total" (assuming total of 46)

Well, you can imagine what has now happened. Most participants have received an EXPRESS setup which means that is 10 PAIRS for top and bottom and basically a run rate of SIX MONTHS.

My clinicheck DID show the movement I was expecting and the dentist said that invisalign wouldn't approve EXPRESS if it didn't qualify, they would require FULL (which dammit is WHAT I PAID FOR!) but we decided to proceed regardless.

I am certain that I - (with the help of my attorney if necessary) - will not have any problem working out the details of any extension I might need in the end of the current treatment plan if any further adjustments or additional aligners are required in order to achieve the expected result.

The point is, get details, get more details, get them in writing, confirm everything twice, etc...

(this was an elite premier provider - so 500+ treatments)

[ChicagoB]

Maybe I need to read paul's post again because I'm confused.
But I think the issue seems to be the number of aligners you think you're going to get. Unless your ortho says otherwise, the number on the bag x of 10 is just the number ordered for that period. When you pick up your 10th aligner, the doc will make sure it fits. If it does, they'll go ahead and order the next set (up to 10 aligners).

The number of aligners you'll have are based on your clincheck. If clincheck says 30, then your aligners will be ordered in 3 batches.

In my case, I had 25U/L. The first bags always had x/10. When I picked up the 10th one, they ordered more, which read x of 20.... then x of 25.

No need to call a lawyer or freak out. Just ask your ortho.

[paulmerc]

For sure I'll be talking to my dentist about this, but my understanding is that I have 10 (which is what the clinicheck said was required) and that's that. We'll see.

I just leaves a bad taste in my mouth - to go with the dryness ;-)

[ChicagoB]

For sure I'll be talking to my dentist about this, but my understanding is that I have 10 (which is what the clinicheck said was required) and that's that. We'll see.

I just leaves a bad taste in my mouth - to go with the dryness ;-)

HAHA.

If the Clincheck says you only need 10 aligners, then consider yourself lucky that your teeth were not that bad. If 'set' meant an individual tray, then it was just strategic marketing. Not saying if it's right or wrong, but the only people who would gain are the express cases since express is only up to 10 pairs. If you needed like 16 or 23 pairs, I bet he would say they will apply a credit or something and have you pay the difference.

Don't let FULL be your legal stance - all that means is they're going to give you the full treatment of the product you qualified for. Also, I doubt the 'retail value' means much. Most dentists have different prices based on location and invisalign level. That's just the MSRP that no one ever pays.

[ChicagoB]

duplicate post

[paulmerc]

Don't let FULL be your legal stance - all that means is they're going to give you the full treatment of the product you qualified for. Also, I doubt the 'retail value' means much. Most dentists have different prices based on location and invisalign level. That's just the MSRP that no one ever pays.

indeed, but I simply can't imagine that an MSRP of 6800$ could be for any express service. I've never heard of express numbers anywhere near that.

[ChicagoB]

Since you've paid for your product and have started treatment, let's hope your treatment is a success and you don't have to pay more than originally planned. The biggest mistake I sometimes make after a major purchase is comparing - sometimes, it's smart, other times it's downright silly.

I remember after I had paid for my treatment, taken the impressions and waiting for the first aligners, I started reading some posts about ortho vs. dentist, what my dentist should have done/said, and all this silliness. I spent hours that first day and even came up with a long list of questions for my dentist.

Let's ignore the fact that I liked the office, that he was really pleasant, that his staff was great, that my fillings (intention of visit) went great, that I thought he was the best dentist I've ever had... after a few hours on the site and comparing dumb things, I almost had myself convinced I just got ripped off. I even had a dream that they'd take my money and after treatment begun, they'll say there's only so much science can do for my jacked-up grill.

10 months later and I'm so glad I stuck with him. My teeth are night and day and my smile is bigger and brighter than it ever was.

[ChicagoB]

indeed, but I simply can't imagine that an MSRP of 6800$ could be for any express service. I've never heard of express numbers anywhere near that.

Actually... I just compared my doctor with a couple invisalign premier elites in Chicago and it's kind of interesting.

Chicago Invisalign - Invisible Braces - Chicago Smile Design has a web special for invisalign from $2,995(a 6,000 value). My doctor's prices are 2995-3995. My guess is 2995 is the express and 3995 is the full. When I got mine last year, I paid the higher end my doc offered as they said the lower price was for the express. I paid 3495, but ended up getting another $450 discount due to a mix up.

Either way, they dentist needs to do a full disclosure - they can't change the price after you've been accepted and treatment had begun. You still have some leeway for refinements, right?

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

It's too bad Invisalign services have been on Groupon. It is not endorsed by Align, is a way for providers to "pump up" their numbers to make statuses such as Premier and Elite, and has spawned a lot of "dishonesty". I have heard that Align may soon begin going after doctors that use Invisalign in this manner.

While it is true that certain cases may be rejected as Express, if the doctor has to let Align reject it, that would be a red flag to me. A truly experienced and knowledgable Invisalign doctor should be able to determine this. Perhaps there are a lot of patients in Chicago with very minor orthodontic work needed compared to around Toronto, as you say most people got Express. I have not used Express in years...

"20 sets" can refer to 10 upper and lower or 20 upper and lower. With express, there is is a "6 set" (3 upper and 3 lower) detailing set which is completely different from refinement.

The value of the Groupon is completely arbitrary. Prices can be raised so that it appears that there is a larger discount. The truth is, if you are paying $2899 for your aligner treatment, in almost every situation, you will be getting Express.