Invisalign is one of the best solutions for people who don’t want to wear “regular” braces and would like to have a clear smile for certain occasions. The system is based on a series of “aligners” made of clear plastic, that can be removed from the teeth and than placed back again. A very elegant solution, that’s for sure. (You can find out how they make Invisalign: click here!)

I’ve used Invisalign too, so I can really vouch for its qualities. Instead of having metal braces or anything on my teeth, I’d just wear “the plastics” and it wasn’t a huge deal. Here were some of the things that really made me enjoy my Invisalign treatment:

• no more metal braces
• less discomfort
• better hygiene. I just took the trays out, cleaned my teeth, put them back in.
• better looks – if I had to appear in a pic for instance, I’d take my trays off and then put them back on, when it was all done.
• better diction – as a radio DJ, having a lisp was not permitted. Invisalign gave me the freedom to be “normal” for 1 hour (my show was 1 hour) and then talk as I could.

The biggest problems I encountered were:

• it doesn’t work as fast as a metal braces system. What Damon did in 4 weeks, Invisalign took at least double the time
• it had to rely solely on my self-control and discipline.

And I think this is the most important aspect we need to discuss in this article: DISCIPLINE!

You asked me how many hours a day should you wear your trays. My orthodontist told me I need to wear the Invisalign AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. It should stay on my teeth at least 20-22 hours. This means I can take it out to eat and clean my teeth and then put it back on.

I have personally done stupid things too, since discipline is not my strong trait. I had days when I forgot to put my Invisalign or wore the trays for 5-6 hours only. This didn’t entirely ruin my treatment, but it put a brake on it. And, when I put the trays after HOURS of not wearing them, I’d feel pain.

So, the best solution is to have it on as much as possible. Keeping my Invisalign on for as much as I could (small 3-4 minute breaks to brush my teeth and few minutes to eat), made my treatment super-easy and pleasant. My teeth got so used to the “plastic” that, when changing the tray every 2 weeks with a new one, made me pass the moment with little to no discomfort at all. Instead of being sore for at least 2 hours, I’d just pop the new one and have a big smile on my face.

If you have enough discipline, you’ll be just fine with Invisalign. Don’t forget, IT DEPENDS ON YOU. The longest time you can wear the trays in a given day, the better.

It is possible.

Still many of them decide to go for the treatment and do the worrying afterwards. In the end it’s about their own wellfare and this should be their priority. Here are some tips to go through all these months and maybe even not stop dating.

1. You are not suffering from a terminal disease. You don’t have Ebola. There’s no reason to cut of your socal life.

Many orthodontics patients feel bad about their braces/Invisalign aligners. They are self-conscious about their teeth and smile and realize the braces don’t look that amazing.

And still those braces don’t look that bad either. You should start from this. Don’t feel bad about your braces. Why should you? You are taking care of your teeth, you’ll have healthy and nice teeth in months, you are improving yourself and there are only positive things to come from these months of hardwork.

You are not disabled, you are not ugly, you are in a treatment, but this doesn’t make you less attractive.

FEEL GOOD about yourself and you’ll see the change in how others perceive you.

2. Don’t stop smiling and be ready to do some explanation if needed.

Many people dread what they don’t know anything about. Most people who might stare at you are people who have no idea about this entire orthodontics treatment. I had coleagues who didn’t know anything about braces. I was happy to clue them in, show them before/after pictures and even answer any questions.

And you know what their reaction was when they found out all about braces? THEY WERE AMAZED!

The orthodontics treatment is fascinating, so many things happening, teeth getting aligned. It’s interesting and my coleagues were impressed. Needless to say some do consider orthodontics treatment for them.

People will stare at you, people will ask questions. Remember point 1 (you’re not diseased) and feel good about this things happening to you. In the end you’ll have an amazing smile, why be ashamed?

Another thing many people feel when starting wearing braces is confidence. I know how my teeth will look at the end and I see improvements. Even if I am 1 year far from the end, I feel like having a Hollywood smile already. I smile more and I feel excellent.

3. Make sure your teeth are clean.

Maybe the dates you have won’t have anything against your braces, but they’d surely hate seeing suff tangled in the braces or some “yucky” teeth. Make sure your teeth and braces are clean and there is nothing more there of “organic matter”. Try to notice if the other is interested in such topics, if not, keep the braces stories to a minimun. My boyfriend for instance dreads all dentist related stories. He’s not pleased I got braces, but he’s not trying to force me out of the treatment since he knows it’s important to me. But he’s not too interested in hearing too many details either, so I force myself to not bore him with them.

4. If he/she can’t be supportive,  maybe it’s a good idea to find about this NOW!

Having braces is not the end of the world. It’s something important for your overall health and a temporary issues. Have you ever thought what kind of a person wouldn’t date a braced one? What would keep them distant when it’s clear the treatment won’t last too long?

Seeing how many people supported me in this “battle” and how few there were to dislike the “new me”, I came to know the ones I wouldn’t like in my life anymore. The only ones who were shocked to see “how I destroyed my teeth” are older and lived all their life in the countryside. I don’t say such people are stupid, but my relatives from there, way less informed in all this did have some nasty comments to make.

All the others though have been very supportive. My coleagues from the radio station, my boss, who understood my small talking issues after being braces, close friends, most of the relatives and other people I know.

If you’re dating someone who’s willing to give you up because of a set of metal braces, maybe it’s a good idea to part ways. This shouldn’t pose any threat for you in your social or even intimate life. A person who cannot deal with your braces, would surely have issues dealing with other things that matter in your life, but he/she dislikes it. I wouldn’t like to get to attached to such a person.

As a conclusion … many people who were braced also found partners to date. They expected to be alone for all the time and still some of them were able to find ‘the love of their life’. The secret is to be RELAXED and positive about this. Just keep on beeing a nice funny person, dress nicely and be a pleasant presence. People will notice this and good dates will surely come from this. It’s all in the attitude in the end.

Three weeks ago I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom, after taking a shower. Even if I am pretty careful with the Invisalign aligners, this time I let them on the sink. And then one fell. My sink is very close to the wallk, creating a very narrow space, enough to have the tray go all the way down to the ground and still enough to not leave me any possibility to retrieve it.

Now what?

The first thing you should do is call your orthodontist to tell him about the problem. Sure, right that moment there’s nothing he can do since it will take some weeks for the Invisalign trays to be sent again from Align Technologies to you. It’s still a good idea to discuss this and have your doctor know about this.

Until you get your aligner(s) that are missing, you’ll keep on wearing the latest ones. NEVER THROW the latest aligners. Otherwise you’re indeed in deep doo-doo. If you’ll have the missing set sent to you, wear the aligners you aready wore for 2 weeks to keep the teeth in that position. In this case your trays will be a sort of a retainer, till it’s all back to normal.

This will slow down your treatment a bit, but it’s still all under control. Such things do happen, so it’s not quite the end of the world.

What have I done?

Sure, I didn’t practice what I preach entirely. I took a chance and it looks like it was still OK. I wore the latest aligner (I lost the lower arch tray) for the time I should have worn the new one. The upper teeth were having the prescribed aligner, the lower ones the last one, which I wore for 2 weeks already.

The chance I took was related to the possibility of the new aligner to fit properly, since I had one missing in the “list”. I misplaced no.6. So, for the upper jaw I had the no.6 aligner and in the lower one the no.5

The time came for the 7th set to be used and I tried to place the new aligners. The top arch was smooth, the lower one worked pretty well. I didn’t notice a huge difference in the teeth placement, so I was able to fit no.7 after no.5 with no issues at all.

This doesn’t mean it’s OK to misplace aligners or solve issues on your own. I was lucky. After over 3 months in the treatment my teeth are very mobile. They move easily and were able to adjust to the “steep” difference between the aligners. When I thought about “jumping” from no.5 to no.7 I also took into account the fact I have to wear 37 aligners on the lower jaw and most of the work is done (we have to rotate a bit some teeth and bring two molars in front to close some gaps). The biggest gap is closed with a power chain tied to a mini-mold and mini-implant so the “work” is done by this too, not just Invisalign. As you can guess I didn’t expect too much difference between the aligner sets and I wasn’t wrong in this.

The conclusion I’d like to present is that misplacing an aligner is NOT the end of the world. Sure, it’s important to try and pass the treatment time without such incidents, but if they happen keep your cool. Discuss with your orthodontist and you’ll be able to get to a common decision. NEVER throw the latest aligners, you’d be in trouble if you didn’t have any aligners to wear at all. And do wear that Invisalign as much as possible (over 20 hours if possible) because your treatment depends on you.

If you want more details about Invisalign, please read our presentation article. Now, we’ll try focus on “how it’s made”.

Any orthotontics treatment starts with the initial consultation and this doesn’t break the rule. Your orthodontist will check you with great care and, should you “qualify” for Invisalign, you’ll be ready to undergo the first step to the trays: your molds.

For the Invisalign specialists to really be able to create your UNIQUE trays, they will need perfect impressions. So, don’t be scared if your orthodontist is that determined to have them perfect. They are needed this way, since your entire treatment for all these months will depend on them. At Align Technologies your impressions, the information about the course of treatment and all other initial materials, will be taken by other specialists in orthodontics.

They will make a positive out of your dental impressions; the plaster molds helping them see your teeth in their normal form. Because your orthodontist was so careful with those impressions, now, the Align Technologies specialists almost have your “teeth” there, and you won’t have to travel thousands of miles just so they can also do your consultation.

The plaster models are checked again and “cleaned”. Any residue or imperfection is manually checked and solved, so that the plaster can enter the other stage: 3D processing. State of the art scanners are able to create a three dimensional version of these plasters, and these can now be processed on the computer.

A barrier coating is applied to protect it from the possible damage it can take on the next stage. Once sealed, the models get placed into a chase, then in a mixture of urethane resin and hardener. They spend some hours in a vacuum pressure chamber the resin hardens and makes them look as blocks.

Each tray gets into a destructive scanning machine. This removes paper thin slices 3000 of an inch, while a digital camera takes two dimensional images of each of these slices.

The computer gathers more than 300 such images to create the 3D model.

These materials get sent to the technicians, who check once again if all is correct, the teeth and also the bite as the patient has it. The graphic designers will use a proprietary 3D application to cut each tooth and save it as a separate geometrical unit. The teeth are now separated and re-grouped on each arch in the position they will have once the treatment is complete.

From the initial stage to the final result, there are many intermediate stages that make up the entire treatment. These are carefully considered since the treatment is different for each patient and the entire orthodontic process needs time. As in traditional braces case, we cannot have straight teeth over night, so all these stages are just the normal tooth movement created with each aligner till the teeth are straight and the bite corrected.

The quality check process is next, so that all the process, the teeth movement, prescribed treatment etc. are correct.

The orthodontist who takes care personally of the patient is the one to decide if the treatment is a “go-go”, together with the patient him/herself. This application form is called “clincheck”

After all the treatment was checked and approved the aligners will be created. A series of models are created of photo sensitive thermo plastic, each of them will then be turned into an aligner. The thermo plastic sheet is pressed over each model by the use of heat. Trimming comes next so that the aligners come half a millimeter under the gum line, reducing the chances of sores and making the removal easier for the patient.

The aligners are polished and disinfected in a series of cleaning tanks, each set being then packaged, labeled and shipped to the prescribing orthodontist.

And, if you want to see the film, here are all these words in action

When we end our orthodontics treatment we get the teeth into the position and alignment perfect for a healthy bite and even a beautiful smile. But they still tend to go “back” and this happens most of the cases if a retainer is not worn properly. This is why wearing the retainer is as important as keeping those braces or Invisalign trays into place. It helps the teeth “learn” the new correct place and makes the treatment a success.

Our reader wanted to know if there are any ways he/she can renounce the retainer by getting his/her teeth stronger. Well, the problem is not about your teeth strength, but the jaw bones and gums since they “house” your teeth.

You will wear your retainer as long as needed. In some cases it’s just few months (for a less complex case) or maybe some more months or even few years. In such cases there was a very complex orthodontic case and this is needed to “secure” that wonderful result you had.

By definition the retainers are not as “tough” to wear as the normal braces and in many cases it’s just an overnight thing. I wore a retainer for 2 months (one that looked like the Invisalign trays) when waiting for my Invisalign. I had to wear it just at night and it wasn’t that hard at all. I got used to it and didn’t mind it as much as I anticipated before.

If you “survived” all the braces treatment stages I can’t believe you can’t make it with the retainer. It’s a simple device to be worn, in some cases (if bonded) it’s just a small “wire” glued to the back of your teeth. You won’t even notice it. If it’s a mobile device (the one to be taken off and then placed again), even if a tad tricky (since you have to take care of it too), it’s still something you will be able to manage.

Just think that by wearing your retainer you’ll have that wonderful smile forever. You’ve been through many things, sure you’ll make it

The answer depends on your situation (the complexity of the orthodontic problems), age and treatment. For the youngest patients (kids and teens) extractions might not be needed (many claim they are not even recommended since the bone structure is not yet final and changes can occur). Even if a kid has crowded teeth his jaws are still growing. Helped by an expander for instance the mouth can develop some more to accomodate all the teeth. This is why for kids the extractions occur scarcely and if nothing else can solve this.

Things are different for the older patients, the adults. In our case the jaws won’t expand anymore and if we have big teeth (my case too), they just can’t be straightened without extractions. My huge teeth got crooked because they couldn’t fit normally, the only way to solve my issues was to have extractions.

The most common case is to have the 4 second bicuspids taken out. These are small teeth so the gaps they leave are enough to be filled with the moving teeth and not too big to remain as gaps forever. So many patients are scared since in the end these 4 teeth are good teeth we just throw away. In my case I had 2 molars taken from the lower jaw (actually it was 1 since the other one I lost years ago due to cavity problems) and the 2 bicuspids from the upper jaw. One of the teeth was the ONLY one I had with absolutely no problems all these years. I had small cavities in all teeth, except for that one. You can imagine how “happy” I was when I needed to get it out.

The extractions can be done at the same time or in few days. I chose to have 3 extractions in 8 days so that I can also have them heal and be able to eat on one side, while the other one was affected by the extractions. The doctors used a good anesthetic so there were no problems. I did have a slight headache and I just took Kethonal. I was advise to use something to fight the possible inflamation, antibiotics, but then I realized this might interfere with my contraceptive pills. I didn’t need any more medication, other than 1 painkiller after each extraction.

In few days the extraction gaps healed enough to be able to put the braces on.

Even if these extractions seem too “drastic” for you, if they are needed, then it’s a good idea to just do it. My teeth already closed most of the gaps and it doesn’t show I don’t have 4 of them. By removing 4 teeth I am able to make room for the others. Now they can be arranged in a healthier and why not, better looking way.

I have worn braces as a kid and still now my teeth are crooked again. I can’t understand why. I was under the treatment, it was all looking good. And still in some years my teeth look ugly again.

This is the story of some orthodontic treatment patients who just can’t understand how their teeth are not looking good anymore. Others are scared to even try the braces since they know their teeth will get crooked again. Will my teeth get crooked again?

Well, it’s POSSIBLE.

How does this happen? How did others have this issue?

Simple: the teeth move to a new position once the braces are on. These braces “tell” your teeth how to be placed now and they move the teeth from the “right” position (the one they were used to, the natural one for them). Sure, the new position is the CORRECT one and the healthy one, but the teeth don’t “see” it like this.

There is something called “tissue memory” that makes teeth tend to move back to their previous position once the treatment is over. Sure, this would make the entire ordeal of wearing braces not worth it, since we’d straighten the teeth, they’d get crooked again, we’d straighten them and so on.

Don’t worry, in reality the problem is not like this. In order for the teeth to remain in their new position and get “used” to it, our orthodontic specialists came with something called “retainer”. This is a small device that looks like an Invisalign aligner, or a small wire device or even a “wire” that’s bonded in the lingual side of the teeth. In all cases your orthodontist will help you make the best decision.

Some patients require the retainer for some months, others for 1-2 years, while the most complex cases might require a longer time (lifetime even). If the retainer is worn properly and without too many “pauses” the chances to have crooked teeth go very very low. Most people who have respected their orthodontics treatment have absolutely no problems and have that superb smile for a lifetime.

So, if your teeth will get crooked again DEPENDS ON YOU. Just do as your doctor advises you and, after 1-2 years of braces, you’ll have the most amazing smile ever. Perfect teeth, aligned properly that will remain in that new great position for as long as you exist. Millions of people straighten their teeth and they have that great smile for a lifetime.

HOW MUCH WILL I HURT? IS IT PAINFUL TO WEAR BRACES?

“Not too much” and “so so” would be the 2 fast answers. Before you just renounce the idea of having straight teeth, let me try to explain this better. There are millions of people who treat their crooked teeth (many kids or teenagers), it shouldn’t be so painful. And it’s not.

I can tell you about my own experience in 2 systems: Damon (metal braces) and Invisalign. I got my metal braces 1 year ago. The entire process was scarier when reading about it, than the real thing. The braces got on my lateral teeth (we only braced these) on both arches and I was ready to go. With my dental wax too and the new life ahead of me. I was told to use Kethonal or any other painkiller if I couldn’t cope with the pain, prepare for few hard days and then it will be better. And it was.

After 2-3 hours I was already feeling some pressure on my teeth. It was something like my finger was in my mouth and I was pushing them a bit. Nothing too serious, sure, I didn’t take any medication. I ate with care and then went to sleep.

Morning came: I got up and accidentally clenched my teeth. AUCH! The pain almost made me scream. After getting some nice swearing done (that was the least I could do), I got to the kitchen to eat something. Yeah, sure. I wasn’t able to press my teeth against anything since it was painful. I didn’t hurt if they didn’t touch anything (so I just had my mouth slightly open as to have the teeth not touch). The pressure was still there, but the pain would appear ONLY when I clenched my teeth. So, I stopped doing this and didn’t take medication at all either. It really wasn’t the case.

I started eating mashed potatoes and all kinds of soft foods. For 2-3 days I was just like an old woman, even my grandma ate better (and you can imagine she didn’t miss the chance to observer how “old” I was).

In few days the pain wasn’t that big anymore and I started eating bread (not anything hard) and some foods that weren’t as soft as a newly born’s menu anymore. I was able to clench my teeth without kicking anyone and my brushing was more pleasant. I did try to keep a perfect hygene in the pain days and it was pretty nice.

After 1 week I was able to ditch the wax too (for few days I made my fill with dental wax and was certain I’d need some special deliveries, maybe a truck of wax, due to the huge need I had) and eat like a normal person. My doctor told me it would be a good idea to not try anything too hard (nuts or something like that) so that I don’t damage my braces, but God is my witness I could eat if I wanted to.

After each adjustment I’d have 1-2 days of some pain (not huge one, never took medication for this) and then it was all OK. The first days are the worse (when you get braced in), afterwards your teeth get adjusted to the braces so that you’d be able to “recover” faster from each adjustment.

Now I have Invisalign and still expect that pain. Maybe I got used to the metal braces that are a bit more “strong” or maybe I am just lucky. After getting the Invisalign trays on I got home and started eating fast (so that I can then eat soft foods again because of the possible pain). Waited for some hours, no pain. Just a slight pressure on my teeth. Next day: one incisor hurt. “Thank God, I’m normal.” Nothing else. In few hours the incisor stopped hurting while I was able to eat normally, even if I was prepared for another “old woman menu” for some days at least.

1 week into the treatment: I really doubt I’ll see pain anymore. I still feel that slight pressure on the teeth (more like a tickle) and nothing more. Looks like my life now will be pain-free. So .. the painkillers can remain untouched.

—

My conclusion would be that you should expect SOME pain. There are patients who are more sensitive and need some medication, at least in those first days, while others are “dancing” through the treatment. Just don’t fear this pain that much since it doesn’t last and in some cases it might not even appear. Just schedule that meeting with your orthodontist and DO IT. I tell you I don’t regret this, even if I was in pain for weeks. My treatments were so easy that I would be crazy not to finish this or not think that it’s too bad I didn’t do this earlier.

In order for us not to sabotage our treatment, here are some tips we need to think about all the time.

The proper usage of the orthodontic device.

If you are wearing metal braces or the Invisalign plastic aligners, just make sure you respect all the “rules”. If your doctor said you need to wear the Invisalign aligners for at least 21-22 hours, then try to do this. Don’t be too lax when it comes to your treatment; even if this means radical changes, it’s for your own good.

Good oral hygene

I think this is one of the most important aspects. Before your treatment, maybe you didn’t brush that often. Sure, now you are becoming a maniac in the eyes of your family and friends, but you need to brush more and take care of those pearlies. In these months your teeth are prone to cavities since some braces do hurt. Even if you just don’t feel like brushing, try to do this. Don’t let your teeth be anything but clean, don’t forget to floss and also use mouthwash. Change your tooth-brush more frequently since the metal braces (for the people who wear them) will damage it a lot.

Your main goal now is to keep your teeth as healthy as possible through this hard treatment. Your teeth do take a lot of “stress” from the braces, let’s prevent the cavities and gum problems since these would only slow down the treatment.

Meet your orthodontist as much as needed.

Even if you feel like skipping some meetings, don’t do this. You need to see your doctor regularly, have your teeth checked up and cleaned. There are constant changes to be done to your braces, maybe new “appliances” to be put in your mouth.

ASK ASK ASK!

Communication is VITAL in this case. Don’t just shut up and then try to get information from elsewhere. You do have the right to know all about your treatment and your doctor will gladly fill you in. Try to read about this as much as you can and also ask when something is unclear. You need advice and reassurance, so don’t be too shy.

Your dentist might not be your orthodontist!

We all know you got used to your dentist. He’s done a great job with your teeth, they have no cavities now and you think about doing something more: making them align perfectly and also look better.

I still recall my previous dentist who was the first person to tell me my crooked teeth can look better and I can solve this problem too. But he wasn’t able to do this since he didn’t have the license for this. The clinic I go to now has the main doctor an orthodontics specialist. I can go for my cleaning and cavity treatment and now I can also have my teeth straightened.

An orthodontist is a specialist in this area and had some more special schooling to be able to perform such miracles. Now let’s see how you find this “god”.

• Ask your friends. You’d be amazed to see how many people had kids in orthodontic treatment or they are patients themselves. Just discuss this openly and get some recommendations.
• Do some internet research .. google for orthodontist or try to see some links in this topic. You’ll find tens of clinics in your area and you’ll have what to chose from.
• Magazines, newspapers, the Yellow Pages .. anything that might offer you some information about this.

And now that you have tens of addresses and phone numbers is a good time to do the actual “shopping”. We need to know now: how many patients your prospective orthodontist had, what systems can he offer (maybe you want Invisalign and there’s no one in your city to have a license), how much this will cost etc.

I do advise you to write all these down and then you’ll be able to chose from the list.

The price might not matter!

Don’t be cheap! I have friends who would chose a less experienced orthodontist since they don’t want to pay too much. Most top doctors don’t work for pennies, but their success rate is HUGE. My orthodontist is one of the best in my coutries, a reputed doctor in Europe too. He’s got more than 1000 (ONE THOUSAND) patients in treatment (currently or finished treatment) and I have seen some AMAZING pictures of them.

Sure, he doesn’t come cheap, but the results matter in the end. Instead of having a beginner test his skills on my teeth, I have a specialist who has the solutions and already showed me how good he is.

In this case it would be a good idea to hear some reviews about the doctors. Maybe find out something on the web or discuss with former patients (if you happen to know some of them). Even if the price is “right”, you might face problems. I have a friend who’s 36 and she wore ceramic braces for 3 years (quite a lot) and after the end of her ordeal she found out she’d have to wear them some more since the molars weren’t aligned. HELLO! The treatment is over and now you come to tell me I need some more?

She got sick of this and refused to continue the treatment. She doesn’t have the teeth perfectly aligned, but she choses to let this as it is since she doesn’t want to go through this again. In such case the orthodontist wasn’t able to do his job as asked and the treatment, succeeded only partially.

So be careful when it comes to chose. Get the best doctor possible so that you wouldn’t have such surprises. It’s not a game, you’ll wear some orthodontic devices for 1-2 years and you need to cooperate with your doctor the best both of you can.

Careful with that price, Eugene …

Now … another trick.

In some cases your doctor will tell you: “your Damon treatment costs 1500 Euro”. You have to know if the treatment includes ALL the services or will you pay for the braces and then for each service?

This trick is used by some doctors who try to mislead you when it comes to price. I have doctors in my city who “sell” braces with 600 euros for instance.  So, 900 Euro “discount” you’d think. My orthodontist might rip me off.

Hold on. The Damon braces are 600 Euro for instance, but I pay for everything else: consultations: 20 Euro (these are done every 4-6 weeks). For a 12 month treatment, we already have over 200 Euro. Archwire replacement: 10 Euro (might be done few times in a treatment, maybe each time you visit, depends on the case), a bracket fell .. 10 Euro, professional cleaning (you’ll have to remove the tartar .. it occurs more frequently when being braced since you can’t clean the teeth too well) .. 50-70 Euro (done sometimes every 2 months, depending on how clean your teeth remain) etc. So, in some cases, you might pay MORE for this, even if you thought it’s all so cheap.

Some clinics ask for 1500 Euro for instance, but this covers everything, from the moment you have your first moulds taken till you receive your retainers. Try to be careful with this too, so that you don’t end up paying more.

The most important aspect in the end is to get a good doctor. Even if you pay more (few hundreds of USD or Euro) you know your treatment has a HUGE chance of excellent results. It would be a pity going through the entire process for months and months and then end up with something that just didn’t work.