Braces: which kind would you pick?

[daisymommy]

I had silver on top and bottom in highschool.
I also worked in two dental offices. Everyone was always told that they did not work as well for crooked teeth as well as metal, AND they get stained and yellowed after awhile (especially if you drink soda and coffee). That right there was a reason I didn't get them.

[kijip]

Originally Posted by Toba

I'm curious why you *can't* do Invisaline. Both DH and I need braces (his are more important because he works in upper administration and I'm just a SAHM) and for him especially I would think Invisaline would work the best. Was it just length of time that turned you away from them (I've heard you have to wear them longer)? Also, not to be nosy, do you remember how much you were quoted for Invisaline?

I am not a good fit for Invisalign. 3 of 4 providers (all of who are top Invisalign providers in the area) said they were not ideal, 2 of those saying that they could make improvements with them but that I would only get 75-80% there with them and they would only do them if I simply refused conventional braces. 1 insisted that I could have them, the second guy I saw, but his explaination did not convince me of that. The ortho I did choose really explained in great detail everything that was going on with my teeth so I had more confidence in her and the others explanations. The reasons I am a bad canidate:

-I have several teeth that need to be rotated more than 30 degrees.
-I have a huge space to fill from an extracted first molar that will require moving the crooked premolars back and the 2nd molar forwards. It would not be possible to do all that with Invisalign. The tooth that was removed causing that gap was broken as a child and the free kids dental clinic repair from when I was 12 was done in such a way that the tooth was decaying but not in sight and it broke again. My new dentist did not want to do a root canal and crown there because he felt like there was not enough natural tooth to support the work and that since I have a tiny jaw and crowded teeth, saving a tooth when one of the molars on that side needed to come out anyways would be silly and expensive.
-on top of those issues, I have many others...asymmetrical, needing to make space around a freakishly small tooth for a veneer or composite fill in so it matches the other side, cross bite, overbite and more. These things could be dealt with by Invisalign but it all adds up to a lot. Braces would get it all done a bit faster and do more than the Invisalign could.

We were quoted between 6700-7500 for Invisalign (keep in mind that that was for a full treatment estimated for 2.5 years, less complicated cases can be less). The Invisalign was always about $500 more than the regular braces in metal option at each of the places. There was roughly a $1000 spread between the lowest and the highest cost offices. I went with the person I liked the best and who got the most personal and geeky on the explainations and high praise from other patients. Luckily enough, she was one of the least expensive options, yay. I mostly shopped around to find someone I would be comfortable with not for price but that was a nice bonus. My insurance will pay $1500 and then I pay the rest.

[pinkmomagain]

I had braces as an adult (a couple of years ago, in fact) and I got the clear ones. I do think they look a bit better than the silver. And if you do public speaking, I would definitely go with clear.