<p>Do you have a regular dentist when you’re away at school? My college is in a good-sized college town so lots of the dentists around here cater to college kids. A few of them even offer free teeth whitening, COMPLETE WITH FREE INVISALIGN-TYPE TRAY THAT CAN/SHOULD BE USED AS A RETAINER, for new patients.</p>
<p>I’d never heard of this type of offer before, but friends in other college towns were familiar with it too–maybe it’s in your area too. Might be worth a call to a few local dentists, assuming your ortho agrees that Invisalign would work (and hasn’t prescribed it before because of the cost issue you mention), and you can talk him into “just” a retainer. It would probably be a good idea to establish care with a local dentist anyway, and getting a free retainer out of it would probably make it more attractive to you and your family.</p>
<p>You’re not at all out of line for asking him why he wants you to have this positioner thing. Just don’t be rude about it! Good luck!</p>
<p>To kristin5792, I haven’t been seeing a dentist while I’m at school. I guess it is a good idea to have a dentist at school. But I go to school in Nashville, and the deals are not as good as the ones at your college town. ;)</p>
<p>I wish I could convince my orthodontist to just give me my retainers instead (preferably the clear type), but he’s not even willing to talk about it!</p>
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I also have to wear it at night. Not only is my orthodontist unwilling to even discuss other options, he also does not appear to have a back up plan should sleep problems or other complications occur. (I kind of want to throttle him right now.)</p>