get invisilgn from dentist or ortho

[GRILLZ]

our dentist told my 22 year old daugjhter she needs invisilgn to correct 2 teeth in the front, which are causing some of her upper teeth to wear excessively (she has a small chip in one and she says she has sensitivity)

should i get the invisilgn at our dentist or should i take her to my ortho? i see on their website that they are certified etc for invisilgn.....i'm wondering if they can do just a good a job or if i would need to take her to my ortho. i've just taken on a 7200 committment for my braces and the next week i get the news about my daughter! yikes! i want to help her too, but i do want to minimize cost if possible. any feedback would be appreciated.

[DrJasonKTam]

Being Invisalign certified means that the doctor has taken a one day course on how to submit materials to Align. It says nothing about their ability to move teeth with aligners. Remember that Invisalign is an orthodontic technique directed by the doctor, not simply a magic treatment created with computer simulations.

Invisalign experience is the most important. It is difficult, however, to determine experience level in some cases, since certain providers may only treat patients who need minor tooth alignment, while others are working with extractions, elastics, open bites, surgery, etc. Both doctors could be "experienced" in the number of cases, yet treat a very different group of patients.

That being said, if all else is equal between the GP and specialist (whether new or well-versed with Invisalign), the orthodontists generally look at the occlusion and alignment in a more detailed manner, and have other methods of moving the teeth should certain teeth require auxiliaries.

[sammywantstraightteeth]

I have gone with a dentist for my invisalign, since the cost difference was huge. For me it was basically a case of going with the dentist or not doing it at all - and I figured it was unlikely that the dentist could make my teeth worse. I have no idea if invisalign was the best choice for what I needed, because I never saw an ortho. Obviously my dentist would recommend the treatment he was 'qualified' to provide because he wants the business.

My experience with the dentist is that he certainly talked like he knew what he was doing (whether he does or not remains to be seen). He answered all my questions promptly and explained everything to me in as much detail as I wanted. I also knew that he had been offering invisalign at his surgery for 2 years prior to my starting. I am 5 and a half months into my treatment and so far I haven't had any problems. I am happy with the proposed final position of the teeth, and so far my teeth are following the plan so I am hopeful for a satisfactory result at the end.

Sadly there is never going to be an unbiased opinion on this subject. An ortho will always say that you should go to a trained orthodontist for teeth movement, and the invisalign dentists will say they are perfectly capable!

I would suggest you ask the dentist if you could talk to one of their invisalign patients who has completed treatment, and see before/after images to get an idea of their experience. Also take her for a consult at the ortho. Get an opinion on her treatment requirements from both of them and take it from there.

[DrJasonKTam]

Sadly there is never going to be an unbiased opinion on this subject. An ortho will always say that you should go to a trained orthodontist for teeth movement, and the invisalign dentists will say they are perfectly capable!

My post above states that Invisalign experience is the key... not whether your doctor is an orthodontist or a general dentist. That being said, the best Invisalign doctors around are still orthodontists. There is no debate about that. I have a very unbiased page written about how to choose an Invisalign doctor here:

http://www.torontoinvisalign.com/choosingadoctor/