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Originally posted by MC:
i just went in for my invisalign consultation last week. I had the impressions done and am paying $4500 for them. I am getting the top and bottom set. The doctor says my case isnt as severe as others and it will take under a year.

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I hear ya man! That's exactly what I was wondering. I know I'm goin to Cancun pretty soon here and I'm thinkin I just wanna leave my aligners at home because I'll be indulging all day long for 7 days.

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Originally posted by kjcag:
I know there has been a lot of talk on here about drinking coffee, and I haven't gotten to read the whole thread, but what about drinking beer? On the weekends I will probably be at a bar from about 9:30 to 1, should I leave my aligners on and just brush my teeth when I get home? I don't want to leave them off for that long of a time.

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I hear ya man! That's exactly what I was wondering. I know I'm goin to Cancun pretty soon here and I'm thinkin I just wanna leave my aligners at home because I'll be indulging all day long for 7 days.

My main problem is an incredibly uncomfortable sensation between my aligners and teeth. It seems as if saliva and/or water gets inside the aligners and then, whenever they are shifted slightly by my teeth or tongue, squish around between my teeth. The compulsion to grind my teeth to rid myself of this liquid is intense, and does no good.

So, every two or three hours, I'm popping out my aligners, drying them off, them popping them right back in. This helps a little, but pretty soon the liquid has returned.

Any tips on how to keep the liquid accumulation down? Or to somehow distract myself from the compulsion? I know this sounds weird but it's driving me absolutely insane. Maybe I'm just sensitive? Thanks.

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Originally posted by Karen:
I am on my fourth week of Invisalign. My experience here in the Denver metro region is as follows: total cost of services for both upper and lower aligners less than $4000. Dentist can do teeth whitening, if I choose, at additional cost, by using same aligners. Even the dental staff agree my aligners are about the tightest fit they have seen in their practice but even given that, I can get them on and off. Granted, the first couple days of each aligner have been the hardest but I have managed to figure out how best to tackle it for me. Removing is a tad longer than popping them in and it sometimes feels like I am going to pull my teeth out! I brush, floss and rinse religiously. I wear them 22ish hours or more. I eat pretty quickly and schedule meals and special outings so as to not interfere with the timing as best as I can. Had 2 buttons applied and one minor shaving- feels odd but not a show stopper. I do NOT have high correction but do have crowding and small off bite that is causing the teeth to begin rotating in a way I don't want to worsen as I get older. My dentist said that Invisalign would not necessarily be the correction of choice for all cases but was confident it would work for my case. I am 53 and never wore braces before and have noticed the change in teeth over the past 10 years. I am committed to making this work - a quality I think everyone needs who commits to Invisalign or even conventional braces. As for side effects, the biggest problem I am having is incredibly dry mouth but generally while at work only or when in lengthly social conversation. I talk to the public constantly and the dryness is very annoying. My lisping is improving and I seldom spit at people any more (for which they are VERY grateful!). To you women, for me the first 2 weeks felt like a very tight bra you squiggled in and could not wait to get off. That feeling is reducing. Actually, at home they are pretty much problem-free and after the first 2 weeks have become comfortable - it is ONLY at work (or long social get togethers), with all the talking, that they have been annoying. I have found that removing them for just a few minutes, chewing on something hard or crusty, then cleaning my teeth and getting the aligners back in to be VERY helpful. I have also bit both my inside cheeks 3 times now, which has been very painful and can add to the overall discomfort. Once a small piece of plastic bent and it was a day before I realized that was the cause of some further discomfort (I was able to bend it back in shape, with some strength). It is my hope that as my mouth becomes further desensitized to the plastic they will become more comfortable at work and the dryness problem will diminish. Yes, I had been shown the digitized version of the change in teeth - it was pretty cool. I hope this info helps anyone else experiencing similar. Another patient was leaving as I came in for my last appointment who had just finished her Invisalign. When asked is she was satisfied, I overheard her to say yes, very much so, and that she admitted she was skeptical at first but and was happy to see it work. Finally, there ARE some side benefits to Invisalign which may be of interest to some: I am incredibly well-hydrated (with all the water I am drinking), I am saving at least $70 a month that otherwise went to support by Starbucks habit (I was a 5-7 day regular for the past 10+ years - a real addict) and I have not had any withdrawal symptoms, AND I have lost almost 4 pounds (no more in-between meal snacking and I now eat a small breakfast to make sure I have energy to get me thru until lunch). Good luck to all of you!

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Originally posted by Wholesale Cost of Aligner:
I thought I'd share some pricing knowledge I've gained with the rest of you, as the info this site has already shared with me has been super helpful.
I spent the past year thinking about Invisalign and in that time I lived in the DC area and Colorado. In going to orthos and dentists in both places for quotes, I got prices that ranged from $2995 to $6500 and everywhere in between. The intesting part was that the variance was not regional, so much as it was from provider to provider. Also, the other interesting thing I discovered was that the wholesale cost of Invisalign for the whole treatment is $1995 as of 4/06. This is regardless of the number of trays you require.

I chose to go with a dentist who is marking up Invisalign an even $1000 and thus far I'm happy. The office isn't very nice, and it's in a mediocre location, but I'm cheap and chose it to save the $$.

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Originally posted by Wholesale Cost of Aligner:
I thought I'd share some pricing knowledge I've gained with the rest of you, as the info this site has already shared with me has been super helpful.
I spent the past year thinking about Invisalign and in that time I lived in the DC area and Colorado. In going to orthos and dentists in both places for quotes, I got prices that ranged from $2995 to $6500 and everywhere in between. The intesting part was that the variance was not regional, so much as it was from provider to provider. Also, the other interesting thing I discovered was that the wholesale cost of Invisalign for the whole treatment is $1995 as of 4/06. This is regardless of the number of trays you require.

I chose to go with a dentist who is marking up Invisalign an even $1000 and thus far I'm happy. The office isn't very nice, and it's in a mediocre location, but I'm cheap and chose it to save the $$.

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I have an attachment comment/problem: I've started with my first set of aligners this week, and today an attachment in my lower incisive came off, so I guess i have to call the ortho tomorrow first thing.

Thing is, it came off just by eating an omelette (pretty soft), which is odd. I did notice that I can't "bite" with it on- my upper teeth hit it as soon as i close my mouth, way before my molars meet so its impossible to chew with it..I'm a little concerned about this, I do need to be able to chew!

For reference, I'm never able to bite properly because my upper and lower front teeth meet before my molars do- which is a problem that i hope is corrected during treatment. So I'm used to not chewing all the way. But with this attachment, not even my front teeth get to meet. I can't be more careful with it, do you think it will keep on falling? I really can't give up on food.

Apart from that, I've had no problems other than a few blisters on my tongue the first few days.

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Originally posted by DK:
I've had my Invisalign aligners in for a couple days. They are a tight fit and hurt a bit coming out, but there is almost no pain involved overall.

My main problem is an incredibly uncomfortable sensation between my aligners and teeth. It seems as if saliva and/or water gets inside the aligners and then, whenever they are shifted slightly by my teeth or tongue, squish around between my teeth. The compulsion to grind my teeth to rid myself of this liquid is intense, and does no good.

So, every two or three hours, I'm popping out my aligners, drying them off, them popping them right back in. This helps a little, but pretty soon the liquid has returned.

Any tips on how to keep the liquid accumulation down? Or to somehow distract myself from the compulsion? I know this sounds weird but it's driving me absolutely insane. Maybe I'm just sensitive? Thanks.

(this was initially posted in the wrong forum. apologies. like i said, i'm going nuts.)

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I have four buttons on the top row of teeth. I have a gap between front teeth and one of my insiscors is twisted in. My bottom teeth are ok, but the ortho threw aligner's in for bottom because its the same price.

I was a little concerned after reading this board about-

the buttons falling off. They are sturdy, but these are the pressure points when you remove the tray, so you have to be careful and work from left to right side when removing. I haven't had any prooblem removing the tray so far.

A lisp. You definatley notice yourself talking differnt, but its no big deal. I hope it improves in a couple of days.

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Originally posted by LC:
Is it possible that this was more your orthodontist's fault than Invisalign's? It seems like a good orthodontist would notice that your teeth were tipping and adjust the procedure they were using to straighten your teeth before the problem became severe.

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Originally posted by Katrina:
Hey--

I'm supposed to be going in to make the molds in the next few weeks. My treatment is only supposed to be 13 months, and I only have minor problems (really slight overbit, little gaps in the front top 4 teeth, and a slight crossbite on the lower left canine). Anyway, what is all this about shaving down teeth? Like is it noticeable when you don't have the trays in? My ortho didn't say anything about it. Also, I'm slightly concerned about the lisping situation, because I already have a slight lisp (no one ever pointed it out to me until my sophomore year of high school when my cohir director asked me about it...twice--ouch).

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Originally posted by lucas:
i live in new york city. i'm a graduate student and the cost of invisalign is really intimidating. i've been quoted 6500. paying $50 per consult is rather annoying too. does anyone know of a cheaper fee in nyc?

best,
lucas

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HI, i am getting invisalign in NYC for $5000. Dr. Alan Wasserman @ 550 park ave. He is great!!

It's day four and the pressure and annoyance is really starting to subside; I can hardly feel the top one at all. The only thing that makes them uncomfortable right now is that my lips are chapping like crazy. Does this go away at all like everything else or do I just deal with it for the next year?

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Originally posted by yzer007:
The only thing that makes them uncomfortable right now is that my lips are chapping like crazy. Does this go away at all like everything else or do I just deal with it for the next year?

Do you all leave them in to run/go to the gym? I don't bite them or anything, but the dryness doesn't help the dehydration...

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I have chapped lips as well. I keep tubes of Blistex all over the place where I can easily get to them. I drink lots of water, but that hasn't helped me much.

I exercise all the time with my aligners in, from running, to aerobics, to weight training. It's never been a problem for me. Just keep drinking lots of water- the dryness in the mouth will ease up over time.

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Originally posted by DK:
I've had my Invisalign aligners in for a couple days. They are a tight fit and hurt a bit coming out, but there is almost no pain involved overall.

My main problem is an incredibly uncomfortable sensation between my aligners and teeth. It seems as if saliva and/or water gets inside the aligners and then, whenever they are shifted slightly by my teeth or tongue, squish around between my teeth. The compulsion to grind my teeth to rid myself of this liquid is intense, and does no good.

So, every two or three hours, I'm popping out my aligners, drying them off, them popping them right back in. This helps a little, but pretty soon the liquid has returned.

Any tips on how to keep the liquid ac***ulation down? Or to somehow distract myself from the compulsion? I know this sounds weird but it's driving me absolutely insane. Maybe I'm just sensitive? Thanks.

(this was initially posted in the wrong forum. apologies. like i said, i'm going nuts.)

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i have a baby tooth in the front where a perm never grew in. i'll be getting an implant this summer.

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Originally posted by Shelley:
Does invisalign help create spaces for future implants.

When I was younger my baby tooth never grew in and I had to have my baby and perm. tooth removed. I now need to get a space there and get my teeth fixed.

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Originally posted by BlondeChick84:
Did anyone pay less than $3000? $3500 even? Anywhere?

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i'm in college and was originally told that treatment would take 12 months, but just started my treatment and invisialign is estimating 21 months! i'll graduate before then and plan on moving.

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Originally posted by smithla:
I have the same problem. I am about 4 days in and I feel like I've gotta "slurp" the liquid out....have you found a solution yet??? I am desparate.

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Originally posted by Kimbo:
Well I have had my first tray only a week and have not really had any major problems. I have a tooth that sticks out in front on the top. My aligner was cutting my lip so I filed it down. I had to go back to my ortho. this morning because it was not fitting right on the attachment. He just cut off the attachment part of my aligner. Has anyone else had this to happen.

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Originally posted by ChristinaK:
Hey everyone,
Im thinking about getting Invisalign but I have a few questions.
I have a minor case of crooked teeth in my upper and lower jaw, and a few of my molders have been extracted because I was going to get the regular ceramic braces. However I changed my mind and now have gaps in the back of my jaw and I would like to know if Invisalign is still an option for me because I have missing teeth? Also, can anyone recommend a good ortho in the Miami area?

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