Now that I have taken you through my laser eye journey, I am now excited to bring you along my experience with Invisalign. If you are unfamiliar with Invisalign, it is essentially a brand which provides clear braces. Having already had braces before, apparently 80% of Invisalign customers have had braces previously, I was not sure whether to take the plunge. However, it was at my Invisalign consultation where I was able to see before and after scans which swayed me. I will share these with you below and talk you through my key takeaways, including cost.
Table of Contents
Why I wanted to get Invisalign
As mentioned above, I already had braces in my teenage years. I was one of many who did not wear my retainers resulting in my teeth moving. However, this was not actually the key issue for me or the reason why I wanted to go ahead with Invisalign. The issues I had which you may notice in the photos below are:
- My top teeth stuck out and would slant outwards (worse from the right side)
- My top and bottom teeth did not align in the middle
My previous experience with braces as a teenager left me disappointed when my braces came off. This is because my top teeth were rounded and aligned but had not been pulled back in. As the braces had come off, I could not get them put back on. I do not think my teeth aligned in the middle following braces either but I am not completely sure on that or if they had moved since. Therefore, if I did go ahead with Invisalign I really wanted to make sure it addressed both these points.
Benefit of Invisalign: You can take the aligners off and see what your teeth look like, avoiding surprises like the above.
The Provider I Chose for Invisalign
You may be in the same boat where you constantly see companies stating they will give you a free consultation. There are a lot of companies to choose from and the decision definitely is not easy. For me, I was making the decision between MiSmile Birmingham and Smile Direct Club. I did have a few other recommendations but MiSmile was the most convenient for me, located in Birmingham city centre. My friend had also been with MiSmile for months prior and had a positive experience.
Smile Direct Club is a cheaper alternative and I did look into this. However, the reason I went against this provider was due to some of the reviews I had read online. I eventually decided against this and went with MiSmile for the consultation. I booked online and was all set to go following a phone call to discuss my decision further and to agree to the £25 deposit.
What to Expect at the Initial Consultation
My initial consultation was meant to be 2 October 2019 but with me there always seem to be complications. Long story short, I missed the first appointment and rescheduled for 8 October 2019. After sitting my first 12 ACA exams within one year, I thought I could potentially reward myself. The appointment was with a lovely lady called Parm who made me feel at ease.
The initial consultation consisted of:
- Discussing why I was considering getting Invisalign
- An inspection of my teeth
- The free scan of my teeth worth £300
- Conversation regarding next steps
Free Digital Before and After Scan worth £300
The scan is essentially a digital scanner that can create a 3D image of your teeth. The scanner is a small camera lens that is run slowly across all of your teeth. You also need to bite together and images are captured from the side so the scanner can align your teeth. An image of this digital scanner can be seen here. It is not painful at all so it is nothing to worry about.
I had my scan taken at the initial consultation. This scan is actually very impressive because it gives you a visual of what your teeth could look like after treatment. This was also emailed to me so I was able to review it afterwards and assess it further in my own time. You will see in the images below it did for some reason add an extra tooth to my bottom teeth but if go ahead this will be redone for the treatment plan.
Before Scans
Notice the extra tooth blip
After Scans
Again, that is not my real tooth 
Not sure what happened here
As you can see from these images, my teeth seem as though they will be pulled back and will align. This is however a rough guide.
Following the initial consultation, I had to go back in for an oral health assessment. This involved an x-ray where they could further assess my gums and teeth. From this appointment, this is where an accurate final cost is given and an accurate treatment plan could be put together. Join my journey to find out exactly how my initial treatment plan went. This was not as smooth sailing as I had hoped.
Deciding on getting Invisalign
As with all my big life decisions, asking my friends via Instagram on their thoughts seems to always be a must. I really did not want to rush into any decisions. Although my teeth look quite bent in the before photos in this blog, when smiling front on without the exaggerated expression, they did not actually look too bad. I was definitely quite paranoid and insecure about the fact that they stuck out but I did know they were not the worst teeth in the world. Therefore, I shared this on Instagram to ask others for their opinion on the matter given the high cost.
As you can see, the majority of people voted no but here we are. Admittedly my teeth look quite good in that photo but this is what I mean by front on. My family also did not think I needed to get Invisalign at the time although they do admit now that my teeth did stick out (typical). Even with all this opposition to the idea given the high cost, I still decided to go with my gut and take the plunge.
Invisalign Package and Cost
Getting Invisalign is definitely not cheap. For me I found it harder to justify paying for this treatment knowing my teeth were not too bad. Seeing the after scan did really sway me and so to me, the cost was worth it. Additionally, the day of the payment was the day I found out I had passed the final three ACA Professional Level exams – I was clearly feeling good and did decide to treat myself!
The initial cost I was quoted was £3,495. What made the cost more justifiable was that it did not only cover the cost of the clear braces. The Invisalign full moderate plan itself cost £2,800. If your teeth required less treatment then it could be cheaper than this. Here is what else was included in the package:
- Bonded retainers for both top and bottom teeth (worth £500)
- Vivera retainers by Invisalign (worth £500)
- Teeth whitening kit – 2 sets of gels (worth £300) – this will be needed as my teeth have gotten noticabely more yellow over the course of my treatment
- Free hygiene cleaning session (worth £54)
- MiSmile oral health care pack (worth £35) – this includes cleaning tablets
- 12 month orthodontic aftercare
- Oral health assessment exam and x-ray with iTERO Element digital scan (worth £395) – as mentioned above already
- All orthodontic brace treatment and any brace emergency appointments
Clearly this package seems to include great savings so I would definitely suggest going somewhere with a good package! What is also brilliant about MiSmile Birmingham is that they constantly work on refinements and your teeth for as long as you need; even if you decide to finish the treatment you can later change your mind and restart it. I do think this lasts up to five years but I am not 100% sure on that. To summarise, this is not a promotion but a personal recommendation as I am glad I chose this provider.
As stated, I was quoted £3,495. However, I did have a £50 referral voucher from my friend who already went to MiSmile Birmingham. This meant my whole treatment was due to cost £3,445. If you too would like £50 off, feel free to state Jag referred you. Please give me a heads up first! Additionally, I paid up front in full for the treatment and was able to receive a small discount for this. You can of course get a payment plan instead too.
Invisalign Decision and Consultation Wrap Up
To summarise, it is not an easy decision whether to get Invisalign but it is a personal decision. Being 1.5 years in, although it has taken longer than I expected, I am still glad I went ahead with the treatment. I have noticed clear changes in my teeth and I am excited for the final result.
Regarding the provider you choose, ensure they do have a good package included. I personally would recommend treatments that include dentists being onboard physically throughout rather than virtually.
If you would like to find out more about my treatment, join my journey. I will be sharing the complications I faced, what to expect pain wise, discuss refinements and much more!
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