Having lower incisor removed for Invisalign? Experiences?

[KathleenIsAwesome]

Hi, everyone!

So my dentist suggested I get my teeth aligned back in December of 2012 because I grind my teeth in my sleep and it's causing severe sensitivity to sugar on my back teeth. He said getting them realigned properly will likely help this problem a lot.

I go to my new orthodontist and after discussing it, I decided to get Invisalign over the ceramic braces because I am graduating college at the end of April 2013 and will be out looking for a job by May 2013. I ultimately decided I didn't want to be wearing braces for my job hunt, plus the invisalign is only $1,000 extra and if its needed the ceramics can be put on after the invisalign treatment any ways, at no additional cost. So might as well, right?

Now it is March 2013 and I just went to a consultation and to see how my teeth will look after invisalign. To my horror, as they pressed the "play" button to start the animation of how my teeth will change, a tooth suddenly flew off the screen and the rest of the teeth realigned. The assistant and I both were not aware that I would need to get one of my central lower incisors removed.

The orthodontist then came in and explained that he had discussed it at length with Dr. so-and-so over at Invisalign, and that the extraction really cannot be avoided. Plus my insurance that I have with my mom's work is no longer valid once I am out of school (which will again be this April), so he suggested that I should have the tooth extracted before graduation because it will be an additional cost over at my dentist's office, and I will want insurance to cover it. I reluctantly agreed, scheduled my next appointment to actually get the Invisaligns 3 weeks from now, and left the office.

It was only as I was walking home that it occurred to me that if I get this tooth extracted before graduation, that means I will have a rather large tooth gap in the front of my lower teeth while I am out trying to get interviews. I am not sure how much this will effect my chances at a job (I would like to say it wouldn't effect them at all, but I'm being realistic here). However, if I wait until a couple months after graduation when I will have a job, I won't be covered by my mother's insurance any more and the tooth extraction will have to be paid out of my own pocket (my very, very empty pockets).

I know every situation is different and that the gap left from this tooth will eventually close, and I am not concerned about how it looks after I already obtain a job, just during the process of it. So I am asking what somebody's opinion on this is. Do you feel the tooth gap will be very noticeable? Should I just suck it up and get it done while I have the insurance? Or should I wait a few months until after I am employed and pay the cost myself? Does anyone know how much the tooth extraction will likely cost?

[brooke3390]

Talk to your orthodontist about getting a pontic (fake tooth) put into the Invisalign trays to fill in the gap area. It's a really common, easy thing to do with Invisalign and no one will be able to tell you're missing that tooth when you have the trays in! I have two pontics where my upper lateral incisors have been missing since childhood (adult teeth never came in), and they look pretty natural as I await finishing up ortho treatment and get permanent implants.