Is Invisalign Expensive?

Dr. Kathleen Pale

A Board Certified Orthodontist and a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics, Dr. Charles Gemmi has been a practicing orthodontist with Orthodontics Limited since 2000 and is a member of the teaching staff at Einstein Medical Center. Orthodontics Limited is a Diamond+ Provider of Invisalign in Philadelphia and Hatboro, PA.

One of the most major roadblocks most people encounter when choosing between Invisalign and traditional braces is price. It is a common misconception than Invisalign is more expensive than other straightening treatments. This is only one of many questions that new patients might have about Invisalign. Is Invisalign expensive? Is it effective? Is it as effective as metal braces? When it comes to picking the right treatment for you, you should be primarily concerned with which treatment is going to provide you with the better results. You will be more pleased with the treatment that ultimately looks better, even if it was a little more expensive.

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There are many different factors to consider when it comes to determining how expensive Invisalign is going to be. These include how compliant the patient is with the treatment, how effective Invisalign will be for that patient, and whether or not your insurance company is going to pay for all or part of the treatment. When it comes to answering the question, “Is Invisalign expensive?” all of these factors have to be properly factored into the discussion.

Patient Compliance

Does it really matter how complaint the patient is with the treatment? Invisalign’s efficacy depends almost entirely on whether or not the patient actually wears their aligners. The treatment itself recommends that the aligners be worn all day, every day. The patient really only should take them out to eat, clean their teeth, or clean the aligners. In some instances, patients cannot leave their trays in because of an activity like playing a sport or playing an instrument.

Other times, patients simply choose not to or forget to wear their aligners. In these situations, the teeth are not going to move as quickly as they would if the patient was wearing their aligners for the recommended number of hours a day. This means that the treatment will take much longer than originally planned, which could make the entire treatment more expensive than it needs to be.

When compared to metal braces, which cannot be removed from the mouth, this could make Invisalign comparatively more expensive. This doesn’t mean, however, that there is nothing that a patient can do to prolong their treatment when they have metal braces, just that if the patient is not complaint with the orthodontist’s instructions, it usually has a much weightier effect on patients who have Invisalign.

Patient’s Treatment Needs

There are some issues with alignment that cannot be solved with Invisalign or which can be solved much, much faster by traditional metal braces. For example, Invisalign does not currently have a good method of treating a narrowed arch. If a patient needs their entire arch widened, a bridge is usually the most effective and fastest way to do just that. This is why it is so important to talk to an orthodontist before getting any kind of teeth straightening treatment. You do not want to pay for one type of treatment that does not have the capability to solve all of the issues you have with your teeth. On the other hand, you also do not want to deal with a more painful and noticeable treatment if Invisalign would do.

The cost of your treatment will usually be affected by how long and how intensive that treatment needs to be. For example, someone who just needs a few teeth adjusted to have a perfectly straight smile will usually pay less for their treatment than someone who needs every single tooth moved, using Invisalign’s most advanced methods. The same, of course, goes for just about every other treatment that straightens teeth. Metal braces will be more expensive if the patient needs more extensive treatment.

Insurance

The last factor that affects the cost of an Invisalign treatment is whether or not your insurance will cover the treatment. When Invisalign was first introduced, it was covered by no insurance companies, making it a very expensive option for anyone who wanted it. Today, it is covered by a wide variety of companies and plans. The average cost for Invisalign treatment and metal braces today is about the same, especially if you have a flexible spending account that you can use to devote towards your Invisalign treatment.

The average cost of Invisalign or Invisalign Teen is around $5000. Some patients will actually pay nothing for their treatment while others may end up paying upwards of $10,000. This may sound like a very expensive treatment for your crooked teeth, but it is unlikely to actually be more expensive than any other treatment you would choose. If your insurance covers metal braces, it likely also covers Invisalign, usually up to around $3,500. Your orthodontist will likely be able to tell you how much of the treatment your plan covers and what you costs would then be. Some offices also offer payment plans, so that you can pay off your treatment over time, instead of having to pay it in one lump sum. This makes Invisalign much more affordable.