Metal Mouth Message Board

Hi everyone,

I am starting invisalign in the next month and I can't begin to tell you how fast I've gotten to this point. I feel as though I am on the fast track and don't really have all the info i need to feel completely comfy with my decision. My fault, I know, but the thing is, I am extremely happy about my decision to get braces, I just didn't realize the extent to which I would need treatment or the true cost associated with said treatment.

Heres the situation:
it was only 3 weeks ago that my general dentist told me that I would benefit from having my teeth straigtened and my bite corrected. I immediately got a consultation with an ortho scheduled (this was last week). All my life I labored under the impression that I didn't need them b/c my sister had terrible teeth...she needed them and since I wasn't nearly that bad, I thought that meant mine were fine.

So the ortho tells me I need comprehensive treatment and that's one thing to adjust to in and of itself, she describes in an offhand way that I need my bite corrected for function, and then I learn the bill is $7500 for 12-18months of treatment. Okay, thats a lot, especially since I live in east TN (not a very high cost of living). Without getting a second opinion from another ortho I went ahead and pd $1300 down and the rest is due in payments over 18 months. So I already goofed b/c I moved too fast and didn't get a second opinion, but now I am wondering if I even understand everything.

I know why I did this; it's because I've always wanted this for cosmetic reasons. Even though I dealt with my smile, it didn't mean I was happy with it. I finally had a dental professional validate what I've always felt so I jumped feet first.

Now Im wondering what to do to slow this train down so that going into my first set of aligners I have a good solid idea of whats happening or about to. I had to learn about ClinCheck via blogs and such...my ortho has made no mention of it. She just sent my records off Friday and I have an appt for 4 weeks from now to get my first set of aligners. I'm guessing she's just going to approve it without my signing off in it?? Is that normal? Help! How should I proceed? Is she leaving me out of the loop or did I fail to ask the right questions or all of the above? Help please!

Btw, sorry for the typos, I'm typing on an iPad and well, you know...

Most providers don’t ask the patients to sign off on the Clincheck treatment plan. That takes time and time is money. Most of them are willing to do so upon asking, especially if the patients ask before paying anything.

You could call your ortho and ask her to review your final Clincheck treatment plan with you before she accepts your case. Just tell her that you want to get a good understanding of your treatment before you proceed.

Your ortho approves your case by clicking on an “Accept Case” button on the Clincheck planning screen. Once accepted, Invisalign will start to charge your doctor and manufacture all your trays. So if you want to have any input, you have to see it before she accepts it.

During the review, you can find out the details of your treatment (i.e. # of trays, # of attachments, how much & timing of IPRs, her approach if your teeth don’t move according to plan, etc.) You could also see a computer simulation of the projected final results. It’s useful to write down all your specific treatment goals and concerns beforehand so you can make sure your ortho addresses them during treatment and her vision of your final results is the same as yours.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

-Some offices will take impressions and send them in without any fees before the case is accepted. We take a preparation fee to cover the cost of impressions and some of my time planning the treatment, plus the cost of the lab fee before the ClinCheck is accepted. Some offices, such as the one in the OP, take all of this because simply charging for records does not pay for the time planning the treatment, and doctors do not want patients deciding to leave after impressions are taken. This is similar to the way fixed braces payment plans are also structured.

-We do not show our patients the ClinCheck before acceptance unless there is something very specific, such as setting up for future veneers, the possibility of doing IPR instead of exos, etc. I used to show our patients prior to acceptance, but found that they could not really provide much input, and there was inevitably a delay in hearing back. The latter was a problem because we try to have as small a time period as possible between impressions and initial insertion. The key was to find out exactly what our patients wanted before any impressions were done, so that we could set up the proper expectations.

Okay, thanks so much.

That makes me feel a lot better. I called my ortho and asked for the review of the ClinCheck and was told that they were under the impression that I wanted to skip that part. I asked them why and she told me that when they asked me if I wanted them to go ahead and order the trays, I said yes. I replied that I had no idea I was eliminating a stage in the process. They hadn’t clearly informed me of what was next. If you ask me a yes or no question, as a novice in this game, I don’t know that there are options other than answering ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Anywho, we scheduled a consult appointment for two weeks from now to go over the file, even though as you say, Dr. Tam, I won't have much input. I'd just like to at least 'know' what's about to happen to my teeth. Also, according to the receptionist, this will push me from receiving my trays out another week or two (which makes no sense to me…if the ortho has to approve the trays anyway, how much further will my coming in to review and discuss things push it back? One day?), but oh well. I’d rather know what’s going on than rush the process any more than I already have!

Thanks for the comments. They helped tremendously to give me more faith in the operation/procedure of this particular orthodontist.

Sciencegirl007 wrote:
Also, according to the receptionist, this will push me from receiving my trays out another week or two (which makes no sense to me…if the ortho has to approve the trays anyway, how much further will my coming in to review and discuss things push it back? One day?), but oh well. I’d rather know what’s going on than rush the process any more than I already have!

Thanks for the comments. They helped tremendously to give me more faith in the operation/procedure of this particular orthodontist.

Glad you feel better. The reason for the length of the delay is because there will be a time lapse between the time the ClinCheck is ready to be reviewed and when there is an appointment free to get you in the office. Also, if there are any changes required, then that may set you back again, and require another visit to review.

That makes sense. Thanks Dr. Tam for giving me clarity!