Anyone ever have Invisalign Braces?

[Angel7]

I'm debating getting them (clear braces vs the old fashion metal ones)
The cost on these is not cheap and my insurance doesn't cover them.

Has anyone had and experiences, good or bad? Please share. Also, did your insurance cover it?

Thanks!!

 

[pebbles]

One of my girlfriends has them. They are hardly noticable, except for a slight lisp when she talks.

Since she is in her mid 30s, her insurance didn''t cover them so she is using her flexible spending account for it. She had regular braces as a teenager and never wore her retainer thus her teeth started to shift. She said they don''t hurt like the regular braces did. The one pain is that you have to take them out of your mouth to eat, like a retainer, and once she misplaced them.

 

[Angel7]

Hmm, I should look into that Flex spending. Have no idea how it works but I know we have it! I would probably only get it for my top teeth since that''s where the problem is. I wasn''t sure if they would actually work.

Thanks Pebbles!

 

[diamondlil]

I was seriously considering them a year or so ago. But since then, I''ve put my son in braces, and my daughter will be next. I guess old Mom will have to wait. Thankfully, my teeth are not really crooked. They have shifted with age, so I can live with it.

My insurance would not cover them either unfortunately. I liked the idea of the clear better than metal though. I feel silly at 41 having a metal mouth. It probably is a pain to have to remove them to eat, but at least if you don''t want to wear them for an evening out or something, you can remove them.

 

[Angel7]

I never had braces as a kid and my teeth have begun to kinda crowd since I waited SO long to get my wisdom teeth removed.

I wear a whitening tray and you can''t even notice them besides the obvious lisp so I thought this would be much better than the metal ones. The cost is killer though! I''m looking into the possiblity of a flex account like pepples mentioned but it''s so confusing! Hopefully HR will get back to me soon!

 

[AndyRosse]

Definitely go with the invisalign. I don''t think it''s a big deal to have to remove it when you are eating. To me, I would way prefer that over having to pick food out of metal braces!! Thankfully though, I didn''t need braces as a child.

My FI had braces as a child and did not wear his retainer after they were removed. So now he is looking into getting the invisalign. At last check, our insurance would cover up to a $ amount for the braces, basically a one time deal. We would still end up paying $$, but I''ll take any discount I can get!

 

[Angel7]

Date: 10/26/2005 6:16:30 PM
Author: Rascal49
Definitely go with the invisalign. I don''t think it''s a big deal to have to remove it when you are eating. To me, I would way prefer that over having to pick food out of metal braces!! Thankfully though, I didn''t need braces as a child.

My FI had braces as a child and did not wear his retainer after they were removed. So now he is looking into getting the invisalign. At last check, our insurance would cover up to a $ amount for the braces, basically a one time deal. We would still end up paying $$, but I''ll take any discount I can get!

Rascal-If you don''t mind me asking. What dental insurance do you have?

 

[AndyRosse]

Angel, I PM''d you the info.

 

[curlygirl]

Ah, how timely, my fiance just started the Invisalign 3 weeks ago!! He never had braces as a kid and his teeth are really crowded and I think he wants to look good in our wedding photos! It''s definitely expensive--I think the whole thing will end up being around $5000-6000. Insurance doesn''t cover it for him but the dentist he''s going to has kind of a private insurance plan that reduces the costs a bit.

As someone who had regular metal braces as a child, I''m completely intrigued by the Invisalign. I can''t even tell when he has them in--completely unnoticable to the eye. His speech has been slightly altered but it''s really not that obvious. He had severe pain the first week because they did have to put a couple of clear brackets on some of his teeth to hold on the plastic tray thingies (I don''t know the technical lingo) and the brackets cut into his cheeks so he was miserable for almost a week. But now he has adjusted to having them and it''s been fine. He just started on his second set--you change them every 2 weeks. And I guess each time you put the new ones in there is a little bit of soreness as the teeth are moving but it''s not so bad. His whole process will last about a year and then I think he''ll probably have retainers or something after so the teeth don''t move again.

You should defnitely check into it. I think the cost is the biggest drawback but other than that, it''s a great alternative to the traditional braces.

 

[Angel7]

Thanks curlygirl. You are exactly right, the cost is the biggest drawback. Ahh I could spend $6K in so many prettier ways!

I''m still debating. Thanks for the info. Glad your fiances are working well!

 

[ame]

Ohh using the FSA is a great idea.

OK..I had REAL braces 3 times and then got these as "retainers" and for holding my jaw in better alignment. I grind right through them within a week. I have had 2x as many as a normal person should ever need because I destroy them. heh.

They are great though, though disgusting with the drool and what not. I had to wash them every single time I Removed it from my mouth because Id gag.

 

[tawn]

I wore just the bottom one at nights for a few months to correct one tooth that was starting to turn a bit. It was much less painful than regular braces, but my experience was just a quick little correction. I sounded like a cartoon character though!

I heard that it doesn''t work well for major straightening though?

 

[fisiogrl]

Yes,
I wore them last year and they were great. And I can''t say enough about my dentist who was WAY more of a perfectionist than I was. I had worn traditional braces when I was a kid, but since then my teeth drifted... especially one of my front teeth.

They were much cheaper for me than you guys have been quoted. About $3200 CAN - so approx. $2700 US. Weird, eh? Glad to see that there are some things that are cheaper for us Canadians for a change!

Another bonus, I was able to use my work insurance for about 1/2 the cost and the rest I was able to use as a tax deduction. so they really didn''t cost me that much in the end. Wish that I had done them sooner!