. . . to know what results I'd get before paying Invisalign deposit?

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Hi everyone,

Feeling very low at the moment so decided to look into doing something I've been wanting to do for years - sorting my wonky teeth out.

Went for a consultation today for Invisalign and it turns out that I have to pay £300 before they'll show me images of what the expected end results would look like (they send my x-rays and photos off to Invisalign who then return some images showing what they can do).

I understand that the consultation and x-rays cost the practice money, and it's good that they offer this "free consultation", but what if the predicted results that come back aren't great and it's not worth proceeding? I'll have lost £300.

Also, they were advertising Invisalign at "£1000 off" but it's still going to cost £3500 for the treatment. Is Invisalign normally £4500?!

It just all seems a bit off . . .

I paid a non refundable £200 which is taken off total if you go ahead. Mine is about £3000 for just the top teeth.

YANBU. I'd expect an X-ray and a summary report and costings for that amount. Not saying they can guarantee results as you might not expect that, but I'd expect more than a vague idea. If you have an NHS dentist is it worth asking them what they charge for an assessment?

Sounds a bit dodgy to me. I would enquire with other practitioners.

Interestingly, I currently have a clear fixed brace ("Six Month Smile" is the trade name) which is only costing me around £850 for both upper and lower teeth, through a local Groupon offer. I am so far very happy with how my teeth are moving into place. I could not have justified the cost of Invisalign. (I will have to pay extra for retainers at the end of my treatment).

They have to pay Invisalign in America to do the computer simulation that shows how your teeth will move and how long it'll take. I had it done eight years ago and don't regret a single penny of the £6,000 it cost to have upper and lower done. I still wear my retainers three nights a week and my teeth have stayed straight, unlike when I had metal tramtracks and a metal retainer, where they moved back to where they started from over two years.

My daughter is currently undergoing the 6 month smile course, only got 1 month to go. She paid around £1200. She had quite wonky teeth and the change in them is incredible. She did pay something upfront and the video she got shows how the teeth will move from week to week.

I think the price depends on how many aligners you'll need OP, so for some people it may only be £2,500 because the treatment will be shorter. It does work though, no doubt! I'm on my 12th out if 14 aligners. I had to wear the first 7 for 10 days each and then the second 7 for a week each, so only about 17 weeks to perfectly straight teeth. The £300 you pay will probably be deducted from the treatment cost and you have a virtual week by week image sent to your phone to you can see the end result and how your teeth move week to week.

I looked into Invisalign but apparently the results can be a bit unpredictable and less effective than with fixed races. Of course it depends on position and wonkyness of the teeth- i went with clear fixed braces in the end and 6 months later am very happy with the way it’s going. Paid £4.8k for both upper and lower jaw, your price seems rather high, is it just upper teeth?
And just like you i would not be happy paying £300 when still unsure whether i will commit to it. Once you pay that, there’s no way back unless of course you can afford to lose that amount.

This sounds like more of a con than the usual Invisalign one. I saw my computer generated results straight away, but frankly it doesn't help much, it's fiction. I had a two year treatment but had to stop at the seventh correction because it kept my jaws open and caused a huge issue with my TMJ. My Invisalign orthodontist said I had to see a jaw specialist before he could continue further...that was the same guy who two months earlier had promised that Invisalign would fix all my TMJ problems.

My DH had an equally rubbish experience. He had a 14 corrector treatment but at the end his teeth were still very crooked. He was told he needed 'a small adjustment' an de given another 14 correctors! At the end of that treatment his teeth were still a bit crooked but by now he had run out of time for free adjustments.

My mum and brother had better results but their teeth and moving back again.

My dd's teeth/jaw needed more correction than something like Invisalign could offer so she had fixed braces, a spring and an expander fitted over two years. The orthodontist showed us videos with animations showing how each orthodontic treatment worked and with a number of before and after pictures of children who had had the same treatment. dd's treatment was primarily functional as her maloclusion meant she was gradually wearing away her teeth, but unless invisilign is offering some sort of guarantee that your teeth will look like the images they are expecting you to pay for then you are really just paying for their marketing material.

I had Invisaligns and didn't have to pay anything upfront. I had a free consultation to see if they'd be any good and just paid a monthly sum, they were around £2,400 for 14 aligners and then I got a further 12 for free as they hadn't straightened fully so a few corrections were needed. I then had to pay a further £300 for my retainers (3 sets).

I had to pay a £50 upfront fee that I got back if I decided not to go ahead or deducted out of my final treatment. I got to see the whole visual projection of what the changes will be like week by week before I paid and confirmed.

I'm only a quarter of the way through the process and can't tell the difference but I know from the imaging/visuals they gave me that my big changes come further down the line. If you're in London/Watford or Essex area, try Finest Dental as mine only cost £2995 and I'm having 38 trays done but upper and lower.

Typo- that should say "both upper and lower"

Hmm . . . it does seem like a lot of money to pay before it's even confirmed that I'm a suitable candidate. I'm concerned that there might not be enough room in my mouth for the teeth to turn the way they should; I'm pretty sure my dentist said years ago that if I ever did get braces that at least one tooth would have to come out and they didn't say anything about that at this consultation.

I think I'm going to get a second opinion . . . ! Thanks for responses everyone, you've been really helpful.

Go to an orthodontist who does different types of braces, they will be more honest with you. I went for an Invisalign consultation and was told that I could straighten my teeth but it wouldn’t fix my (significant) overjet. I decided on fixed braces instead. My sister went for 6 month smiles, while her teeth were amazing afterwards, her overjet is still there. And her teeth have moved a bit since, mine have not.