I finally have my
retainers, which means that I have reached the final destination of my
Invisalign journey. And I have to tell you - I
am relieved that it is all done and over with. Compared to how
excitingly I was raving about my Lasik experience, I am not happy with the
Invisalign experience at all.
And although the reason is likely multi-fold, it
probably has no direct relation to Invisalign itself. I think the primary
reason for my dissatisfaction is the
fact that I have been getting too much conflicting information from the
dentist, the staff at the office, and poor customer service overall. Adding to
that, the perceived value that I received from this treatment is low.
- There are a lot of hidden costs that I was not told about in the beginning.
- In addition to paying for extra-cleanings, the cost of in-office whitening treatment (Philips Zoom!) is not included in the total. There is a possibility that the take-home kit that was included. But you will very likely need the in-office treatment. At least, I did. My teeth were horribly stained - not only because of the residue collecting around the attachments, but also because the movement of the teeth revealed old stains that were not visible before. I am a severe coffee drinker. After years of drinking 4-5 cups a day, there were dark, practically black stains everywhere. My mouth looked absolutely awful, once the braces were off. To be honest, I don't care too much about how white my teeth are (although they do say that whiter teeth make you look younger). A couple of months from now, they will probably go back to their usual shade of "coffee obsession" anyway. But I do want my teeth to look presentable, so I had to make sure all the stains were gone. Also, be careful about the cost. I was originally quoted $575 for this, but after asking for a discount several times I paid only $425. That is a huge difference! Better yet - check out the Groupon and get it done elsewhere.
- The cost of retainers is not included in the total, which to me makes no sense at all. The retainers cost $395 a pair. You have to replace them about once a year. First of all, why make retainers optional after going through months of trying to straighten the teeth? And why does no one tell you that this is an additional cost before you start the process? Also, keep in mind that there are no discounts on the retainers. This is what is charged by Invisalign.
- Invisalign is overrated. Kind of like with luxury cars, you are paying for the brand. Surprise surprise - there are other clear braces out there that are much less expensive, but just as effective.
- The Invisalign treatment is not as effective as regular braces. For some reason no one thought to explain that difference. I still have one tooth that is very much not aligned, but likely would have rotated into proper place with regular braces. Regular braces also take less time to work. And don't forget - some of the cost of regular braces would be covered by my insurance. I think they would cost me about half of what I paid for the Invisalign treatment.
- All the lack of communication and wrong information that I received has literally made me hate my dental office. For example, I was told about a Zoom rebate. However, the web address I was given was messed up, no one called me back about it, as I was promised, I had to put in multiple requests for documentation, in the end wasting tons of my time to get the entire thing figured out - all for the $50 that I probably will not even get. I may not write a starless Yelp review, but I am definitely not getting anything else major like this Invisalign affair done at that office. Actually, I will be switching to a different practice. Maybe the experience, expertise, specialization, and fame are not worth it. While at the Infiniti of SLC I was given roses for my business, at "the Cadillac of dental services" my time and money are not valued at all.
BOTTOM LINE:
Do your research. Ask
a lot of questions. Seek out all available information that you need to figure out the most appropriate option and what you are comfortable with. I hope my
experience will help you make the decision that is right for you. And of
course, I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.
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