orthos purposely extending your time

Message

#1 Post by **Babe** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:41 pm

I will be getting invisalign express in a couple of months. I have a few questions.

1. I have read its for 6 months or less although my ortho said I will need them for about a year. does this sound ok for express??

2. For those of you who have paid using a payment plan do you feel the ortho kept you with invisalign longer just so you would finish paying. I know they order them all together but when I take my impressions is the day I pay so the ortho will no what to tell the invisalgn people.

#2 Post by **rsprouse** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:02 pm

Hi,

1. I haven't done any Express cases yet so I cannot remember the exact number of aligners in which it provides. The only difference between Express and the regular thing are the lab fees. He may be having you wear your aligners longer than 2 weeks to get to the year mark.

2. I think you are being paranoid. You are paying your dentist/ortho for a service and their expertise. They are putting up a chunk of change up front to have the aligners processed at a lab (and yes they all come at once). Then the aligners arrive at the office and you start wearing them and come in for regular 6-8 week appointments to checkup. Upon completion of the case they may/may not take more impressions and pictures and have more aligners processed as a "refinement". But extending treatment so you pay is not likely.

Regards,
Rory

#3 Post by **Babe** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:48 am

Hi Rory,

I have heard of an ortho who did do this with regular brace until the payment was complete.... I do not really believe this but I got a little paranoid bc they kept asking me are you paying in full or are you going to use the payment plan, and they do not exactly need to know right now. I am not having the impressions for another month or so.

Thanks for your help!

#4 Post by **Babe** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:13 am

Yeh you are right I forget how many times I had to go back after I had braces.

I am not worried anymore thanks!

#5 Post by **rsprouse** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 4:33 am

And don't forget that Ortho's or GP's live and die by chair time. It behoove's them to have you in the chair as little as possible. You are charged a fixed fee for your treatment whether you are in the chair 10 times or 100 times (unless there are major complications or changes to the tx plan but I digress...). So it is in the ortho's best interest to keep you there a short as possible while still providing proper treatment. Gotta fill the chairs with other bodies to keep the practice growing.

Good Luck,
Rory