KOB's 2nd treatment at age 28. Won at a silent auction!

[HummerMan3]

Hi all,
First I wanted to say that it is amazing how huge of a resource this site really is. I think it's great that there are so many adults seeking orthodontic treatment and sharing their experiences about it.

I just found out on Monday that I will be getting orthodontic treatment soon! But I am getting a bit ahead of myself... About 12 years ago I had braces for some overcrowding, most notable in my overlapping front teeth. They were on for 2 years, and looked great afterward. I diligently wore my retainers for all of 3 months before becoming lazy. That's when the wisdom teeth came in and moved everything around.
My teeth are still relatively straight, but over the past 4-5 years I've become annoyed with a rather severe open bite between my incisors. It's embarrassing to eat certain foods like pizza and spaghetti because I can't bite it off and end up having to use my hands to manually break it near my mouth. 2 years ago I got decent dental coverage through my new job and started thinking seriously about getting it corrected. The total out-of-pocket cost was still 2 grand, and I decided that financially it wasn't a good option for me at that point.
Fast forward to this past weekend, and I was at a silent auction. I put an embarrassingly low bid on full orthodontic treatment and I won! Picked up the certificate yesterday and scheduled a consultation for next Wednesday the 21st
So now at age 28, I'm going to be starting another round of orthodontic treatment. I really hope that Invisalign is an option for me. As a professional that already looks young for his age, I couldn't imagine getting braced again
I'm still kinda in shock about how quickly this is all coming about, but at the same time incredibly excited to get my teeth fixed. I'll try to figure out how to post pictures, and I'll post an update after my consultation next Wednesday!

-KOB

[JMSmith]

Good luck KOB and welcome to the forum!! And congratulations on winning the auction for your ortho treatment... that is pretty awesome!! Look forward to hearing more about your progress!!

~Jana

[Kipepeo]

That's amazing that you won the auction. Care to tell us just how low your bid was? Sounds to me like you got a steal of a deal!

[HummerMan3]

Thank you both. My bid at the auction was $400.
Visited my dentist yesterday and got a clean bill of health for going forward with teatment. He recently had both Invisalign and braces. He said that if he had to do it over again, he would pick braces over Invisalign on account of the speed of treatment and relative convenience of braces. I remain unconvinced lol
This whole past week I've been really paying attention to people's teeth. The few people I've mentioned starting treatment to all offered words of encouragement.
Getting more excited as the reality of starting treatment sets in. Less than a week until my consultation! Will keep you posted.

[catj1981]

Congrats on the win! $400 is amazing...especially compared to my $5,600 bill! hahaha

Just an FYI. Don't get your hopes up too high on Invisalign. I went to my ortho thinking that I would be able to get Invisalign for about a year and be done. While this was an option for me, it wasn't guaranteed to fix my main issue (crossbite) and wouldn't come close to fixing all of my problems. Plus, it cost $5,100, for the non-guarantee, where I'm paying $5,600 to fix ALL of my problems. Just wanted to throw that out there. When you talk to the professional it will make more sense...and I hope it is an option for you!!!

Look forward to hearing how the consult goes!

[NICURN85]

Congrats on starting your journey as an adult with braces. That was so awesome how you won the auction!!!! I look forward to following your progress!

[GillyWeed]

You won your ortho treatment for $400?!


Soooo awesome!

[45wantsnicesmile]

Congrats on the deal of the century. I wish you good luck on your 2nd adventure in braces.

[Kipepeo]

Hah! I wonder if your insurance will cover any of that, and you could possibly get your treatment for free! Don't forget to run it through your medical...you may have a 10% discount or something.

[Can you tell? I'm trying to help you work this deal down to $0!]

[HummerMan3]

Kipepeo wrote:
> Hah! I wonder if your insurance will cover any of that, and you could possibly get
> your treatment for free! Don't forget to run it through your medical...you may have
> a 10% discount or something.
>
> [Can you tell? I'm trying to help you work this deal down to $0!]

I wish I could whittle it down even more. Unfortunately, my medical insurance is pathetic (ironic, since I work in healthcare) and I have no dental insurance. The $400 went to a local charity; as far as I know, the orthodontist is providing this treatment gratis.

NICURN85 wrote:
> Congrats on starting your journey as an adult with braces. That was so awesome how
> you won the auction!!!! I look forward to following your progress!

Thanks, Kimmie. Looking at your story, your teeth prior to starting treatment looked remarkably similar to what mine currently look like. (Unfortunately I can't post pictures yet.) Your 24 month sentence is a long time for treatment! At least you're making the best of it and rocking it out with colored ligatures. I was hoping for something more along the lines of 1 year or less. I guess I'll find out at my consultation appointment in 2 short days

[NICURN85]

Hi Hummerman!!
Hopefully your treatment time will not be as long as mine. I think one reason mine is so long is my ortho will be closing up 2 gaps on my upper arch on both sides where I had teeth pulled. Instead of having to spend thousands of dollars on 2 implants he will be closing them up with braces!! Also to get everything lined up in the best position he had to extract my lower premolars. So, I imagine that will be the bulk of my treatment. I love rocking the colored ligs because it brings out my inner teen. I was suppose to have braces in high school, but could not afford them then so I'm making up for it now!!! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that your time in braces will be less than mine. Make sure to keep us updated!!

[coda]

So cool that you "won" your treatments. Good luck!

[Angel269]

What an awesome prize and an amazing cost!

I have single arch treatment and have ceramic uppers with coated archwire. I was going to go for Clearstep (UK Invisalign basically) but decided against it, as it was going to cost me more and take twice as long-I'm glad I picked the fixed as it allows for any fine tuning too and the powerchains have enabled my gaps to close quicker than aligners would have done, besides some people still haven't noticed I'm going through Ortho treatment due to the discreet appearance

[HummerMan3]

BIG update.

Well I went to my consultation today. Office was modern, staff was all really friendly. After x-rays, the orthodontist saw me and told me that I would benefit from about 18 months of treatment and that we could even start today. After that though, they sat down with me to talk finances. I was confused, because I was under the impression that my treatment that I won for $400 was inclusive of the entire orthodontic treatment (there was no indication to suggest otherwise either at the auction or on the certificate that I won). They said that what I actually bid on was $2000 off treatment, and that I would still need to pay them $1500 on top of the $400 that I bid at the auction
Needless to say, I was very pissed off. They did offer to buy back the certificate for what I won it for, and I took them up on the offer. Still, I can't help but feel like this was a terrible bait-and-switch. Although I'm not out any money, I won't be getting the orthodontic treatment I had been planning on getting

[Kipepeo]

Oh man, that totally bites. Did the certificate state all this on it?

But still, $1900 for treatment is a great deal. Too bad you couldn't do it.

So were you going to be able to get Invisalign? You said your insurance would have picked up some. Would it have helped? I'm sad that you won't be getting treatment.