Lingual braces and Invisalign are both popular options for dental treatment. As with any dental treatment, these methods are an investment, but in order to understand how much they cost and how they compare with each other, it is important to understand what they have to offer. The following article is a brief understanding of lingual braces vs Invisalign and how much they cost.
All You Need to Know about Invisalign
The following is a brief description and analysis of Invisalign so you can fully understand what the costs entail and how orthopedics arrive at that cost for an Invisalign treatment plan. Let’s start at the basics:
What Is Invisalign?
Invisalign treatment is when you wear a clear, removable aligner to treat the alignment of your teeth. These aligners do not require any wires and can hardly be seen unless someone comes close and pays special attention to your mouth.
How Does Invisalign Work?
Invisalign are clear, transparent aligners that are made of a flexible variety of plastic. The clear aligners are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and do not contain bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), gluten or latex. They are custom made to fit your teeth snugly and are meant to be practically invisible.
Your orthodontist will make a map of your teeth and figure out which parts require more work. The Invisalign are designed such that they apply pressure on your teeth where it is needed and provides support. You can remove the aligners whenever you want though you also need to allow the aligners enough time to treat your teeth.
How Is the Plan Made?
When you show interest in getting Invisalign, your doctor will do an evaluation of your needs. It typically starts with a scan of your smile which prints up a 3D image for your doctors to work on. A digital plan will be drawn out for you which lays out, step-by-step, how your jawline will change. The plan typically involves wearing a set of aligners for at least 20 to 22 hours in a day and you will have to change out to a new pair every one or two weeks for the entire duration of your treatment plan or as directed by your doctor. The aligners will help apply pressure on the areas that need to be aligned with the rest of your teeth. The length of your treatment plan can vary depending on the amount of work required.
How Much Does It Cost?
Finally, the cost of your Invisalign treatment plan differs according to the duration of the plan, how many clear aligners you require, how often you need to consult your doctor, etc. On average, the cost of Invisalign could be anywhere between $3,000 – $7,000, the Consumer Guide to Dentistry finds.
How much out-of-pocket expenditure you have will also depend on how much your insurance covers. Among some of the examples the manufacturer cites, customers can opt for a variety of plans like $200/month for 24 months, $50/month for 36 months, etc. These, of course, are only specific examples and your actual payment plan will be determined by several unique factors.
All You Need to Know about Lingual Braces
The following is a brief description and analysis of lingual braces so you can fully understand what the costs entail and how orthopedics arrive at that cost for an Invisalign treatment plan. Let’s start at the basics:
What Are Lingual Braces?
When you hear the word braces, you may immediately conjure up the image of metal wires underlining your smile. Lingual braces, however, do all the work of traditional braces but a lot more aesthetically. These braces are placed behind the teeth so that they work on correcting the alignment of the teeth but without casting a shadow on your smile. These braces are practically invisible.
How Do Lingual Braces Work?
These type of braces are so called because they are placed on the tongue (or lingual) side of the mouth. The braces use individual brackets that are custom made to fit your mouth after scanning and taking impressions of your teeth. Each bracket is placed on individual teeth and is then connected with a metal wire, which is also customized. These type of braces are also harder to get right as accessing the back of your teeth is trickier than simply placing the braces in the front.
How Is a Plan Made?
The plan for your lingual braces are made after doing the due diligence of getting X-rays of your mouth and taking impressions to make a customized plan. Once the scans are in, a set of braces with the precise measurement of each bracket is made. Since lingual braces are slightly more complex to put in place than traditional braces, your doctor will use the help of a customized tray to place all the individual brackets at the same time. This is in stark contrast to traditional braces, where each individual bracket is placed, one at a time.
How Much Do They Cost?
Finally, when it comes to payment, lingual braces are bound to be more expensive than traditional braces as they require a lot more expertise than normal braces. Besides, they are made to custom fit your mouth entirely. Since all these factors do considerably mark up the price of lingual braces, the average cost may be between $8,000 and $10,000, a lot more than clear aligners or Invisalign. But, in the end, the final estimate depends on how much work your teeth require, the duration of your treatment plan and how much personal labor the doctor needs to invest on your case.
Cost of Lingual Braces Compared to the Cost of Invisalign
Finally, let’s take a look at how the costs compare between the two types of braces. Invisalign costs around $3,000 to $7,000 while Lingual Braces cost around $8,000 to $10,000.
This makes the cost difference between them tally up to around $3,000 – $5,000 on average. It’s quite significant and can definitely have an impact on your choice.
Wrap-Up
Aligning your teeth often brings with it the daunting idea of wearing braces or not being able to eat what you want to. For looks conscious teenagers and adults, to find a way to align your teeth without wearing a distracting pair of metal braces can mean the world.
The American Association of Orthodontists claims that one in four orthodontic patients are adults – which means that more and more people would prefer to wear invisible braces instead of going to a professional board meeting with metal wires in their mouth if that can be helped. Both lingual braces and Invisalign are great options to deal with that.