<p>Please tell me if (and why) I am wrong to feel really cranky about the proposed invisalign our dentist just proposed.</p>
<p>All my kids have had both phase I & II ortho work and I was so glad to be done with that. This is the year we get to pay for two sets of wisdom teeth removal, and I have been saving for that.</p>
<p>Now, one of my Ds has a top front tooth that has moved significantly to a cross bite. Her old retainer was outgrown or broken and I had no idea that once she was an adult I needed to find a new ortho and get a new one made (I outgrew mine in my 20s and my teeth are still straight)</p>
<p>Since we live in a new area I cannot go back to the original ortho for a discounted plan and I am being told this phase III is as pricey as if we had never done anything in the past.</p>
<p>I don’t want to pay $5-7,000…not with multiple kids in college and it’s not in the budget, but I don’t want D to have a crooked tooth. That seems a lot more than we paid a few years ago, is it really that much now?</p>
<p>Is it unreasonable to think there could be some discounted, quickie (yes, not perfect, but still better than nothing) method of fixing one crooked tooth?</p>
<p>I don’t want to ask for freebies, but I would sure be okay with a decent rather than perfect fix.</p>
<p>Am I being unreasonable? Am I wrong to ask? Is it even feasible?</p>
<p>Any one who wants to share their price for braces, let me know if these are the going rate.</p>
<p>Any one done any short fixes that were less money?</p>
<p>That is the going rate for Invisalign which is a clear looking “retainer” type method of moving teeth. Invisalign is meant for people that need slight
corrections. Regular braces are needed for cases where a lot of movement needs to occur. In our area, it’s around $6000 for Invisalign (top and bottom), but this figure varies widely from place to place. Some places offer only one arch treatment (usually upper) which may be cheaper.</p>
<p>Did the orthodontist offer an alternate plan with limited (upper only) regular braces? Wouldn’t be popular with your daughter but metal braces are cheaper than Invisalign. You could call back and ask if that is another option for her. If you’re not happy with the recommended treatment plan, check around and get a second opinion. </p>
<p>Retainers need to be worn indefinately and for sure, until a decision is made on wisdom teeth. Many college students stop wearing their retainers, but the fact is that they need to wear as directed by their orthodontist to keep the teeth straight. Teeth tend to want to go back to the way they were! Usually this means wearing the retainer most nights while sleeping.</p>
<p>We are paying $4900 for braces for S. He just got them in Feb., and they are not invisalign. </p>
<p>You’re making me nervous though - I wore braces when I was a kid, and my teeth stayed staight (retainer disappeared when I was about 19). I didn’t outgrow it, I just stopped wearing it. Are you now expected to wear a retainer forever if you want your teeth to stay straight?</p>
<p>^Yup…I have one behind the lower four front teeth. I never even know it’s there. I still have a removable one on the top though (Which I’m wearing right now).</p>
<p>My kids both have a bar on their bottom from teeth, and neither wear their top retains anymore. </p>
<p>I had braces as a kid and again as an adult. I wore both top and bottom retainer for years and then stopped during an illness. My teeth have shifted some, the top more than the bottom. Because my mouth is crowded, unless I keep wearing a retainer, my teeth will never stay straight. I just gave up as they are better than they were before I had the adult braces. I also can not have the permanent bar like the kids as I build up a good bit of tartar and I had too much trouble flossing my teeth with it in.</p>
<p>My kids have the fixed retainer on the lower teeth that audiophile mentioned. My husband and kids have to wear their retainers once or twice a week (after a year of every night) forever if they want to help insure their teeth don’t shift. If their retainer feels tight, they have to wear it every night. So far, no shifting for anyone.</p>
<p>One of mine has the lower front teeth bar and I am going to check into it on top & bottom for all of them!</p>
<p>My retainer no longer fit after my wisdom teeth came in, but my teeth are still “fine” not perfect, some minor shifting on the bottom but “fine”</p>
<p>I don’t get why the same ortho only put a bar on one of my kids, I think i will ask their advice.</p>
<p>This is depressing. When I last saw my D, she mentioned the growing space between her front teeth that was fixed with braces years ago. Are those little wires by the back teeth the permanent retainer? She was done with treatments quite a few years ago, aside from a yearly check, told the plastic retainer unnecessary. Perhaps she needs another removable retainer? Or does this bode another entire treatment? </p>
<p>Somemom, I like your questions. Back when facing orthodontic treatment for 3 kids, I asked some of the same questions as to why my kids with fairly straight, even teeth needed such time consuming and expensive treatment, esp given other priorities for that money. I agree that decent might be preferable to perfect, given the money. This one D was the only one with an asthetic issue. I finally was convinced that if bite issues were corrected, they’d have a far better chance of having teeth for a lifetime, so went with treatment. But my ok, but not bite corrected teeth are well on the way to lasting me for a lifetime, regardless.</p>
<p>somemom-regarding the retainer on the top, I was told that the reason they can’t do it on the top is because the bottom teeth will often rub against the bar, causing wear in the bottom teeth. But it’s worth asking, as your child’s bone structure may be different and they may be able to do it!</p>
<p>great lakes mom…definitely look into another retainer. That may fix the problem.</p>
<p>Our dentist actually said she has a space between her two front teeth and she does have room for a bar so finally did that- apparently the space between front teeth is very sneaky & peristent about coming back and the bar can help if your bottom teeth do not hit it. We’ll be checking that on all the kids</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t mind a little irregularity in teeth. My son was finally fired by our orthodontist. He kept breaking wires and not getting them fixed. The orthodontist felt his teeth were never going to get perfect, because my son wasn’t with the agenda. The braces came off, and as far as I could tell his teeth are perfect. He never wore his top retainer. Still has a bar on his bottom teeth. </p>
<p>Meanwhile my younger son who had the world’s snaggliest teeth in middle school, seems to have straightened out completely on his own.</p>
<p>I have very current cost information; see below. First, some history.</p>
<p>I am dismayed to learn that orthodontics are a lifetime treatment! I did not have braces. My top teeth are perfectly straight and I have plenty of room. In fact, I still have my wisdom teeth. My bottom teeth are almost straight. My older son wore regular braces for 2 years, starting at age 12, with monthly visits, rubber bands, etc., and now has upper and lower retainers that he never wears (despite my nagging). So far his teeth have not moved. The cost for all of this was $6,000, including everything. He is still going in periodically. I’m not sure when those visits will stop, or stop being covered. I did NOT know that he was going to have to deal with a retainer forever. And until I read this thread I did not know that there was such a thing as a permanent retainer.</p>
<p>I took my 9-year-old son in today to discuss his treatment, which will start Monday. Three of his 4 top front teeth are crooked - they don’t look bad, but both the dentist and the orthodontist feel that treatment is necessary now. He will have braces on his top teeth for 6 months, and then wear a retainer for 6 months (at least, that’s what I was told today!) There is a chance that he will not need more treatment later. The total cost for this was about $2,250 (can’t remember the exact figure, even though I saw it only this morning). The price seems consistent with the $6k for my older son, since S2 will have braces only on the top and his treatment will be shorter.</p>
<p>NYMom, that’s what I want to fix a barely shifted front area tooth for a smaller than full braces amount. Hopefully it is only the “invisalign” thing that makes it cost more.</p>
<p>After a PM, I have contacted our old ortho and will see what they suggest!</p>
<p>Wow. The amazing stuff we learn on CC!! I had braces when I was in middle school. Wore a retainer for a year or two, but definitely done before I left high school. Haven’t thought about it since. I’m now old enough to be a grandmother and my teeth haven’t budged. I guess every situation is different. Luckily all of my kids inherited their father’s teeth.</p>
<p>I’m an adult brace face – just got them off a few months ago. Our ortho gave me a price for Invisilign on top & bottom teeth, Invisilign on top + regular braces on bottom, and for regular braces on top & bottom. Choice 3 was the least expensive but a wide margin, Plus, he said the Invisilign would only move the teeth up to a certain point, but for doing the final adjustments, he’d probably have to put the regular braces on at the end. So, I opted for regular braces. He estimated 9 months, but it was almost 2 years. On the positive side, I lost over 15 pounds since I couldn’t eat much for quite a while! I wear top & bottom retainers at night, and plan to keep wearing them. D has retainers, and is pretty good about wearing them, especially since her annual check-up last summer. She told the ortho she wasn’t wearing the retainers much since they hurt when she put them on. He “yelled” at her, and we told her if her teeth were out of line again, the fix was on her dime. She put up w/ the discomfort for a few nights, and now the retainers don’t hurt. S still has braces – he’s had them for 3+ years and has had other work done, too. With our ortho, we paid one all-inclusive price that continues to cover follow-up visits. He said he gave me a “quantity discount” price after D & S, but it was still about $3K.</p>
<p>We haven’t any problems with our kids wearing their retainer once or twice a week. We told them that the first set of braces was on our dime, any addtional ortho due to them not wearing their retainer would on be theirs.</p>
I still have a removable one on the top though (Which I’m wearing right now).</p>