with Street smile Solutions Street smile solutions.com and the topic today is the
Consumer's Guide to picking an Invisalign or clear aligner provider and I'm going to specifically be
talking about Invisalign or clear aligners could be there's dozens of brands of clear there's
hundreds possibly of brands of clear aligners now that the original round of Invisalign patents
expired a couple years ago so you know globally there's hundreds you know in the us alone there's
definitely dozens if not at least 50 to 80. I mean there's so many I don't even know them all they're
constantly changing every lab everybody in their mom has a liner brand so I only stick with the
ones I know but in any case it is very confusing for a consumer to pick the right provider I mean
literally every day um I have random consumers asking me how do I pick how do I pick you know and
here's some tips if I were in your shoes so for example if I have a friend who's in another state
that can't be treated by our office this is the tips I give them and this is actually written in
if you want to see it in writing this is written in a blog that's on my website you can just search
by well that's the name Consumer's Guide to picking an Invisalign provider you can go to
straightsmilesolutions.com if you want to send it to somebody um under about us there's blog under
blog you can put in this topic um and it'll come up so I'm going to verbally take you through it
so first thing of course you know is to ask you know usually on their website it's going to say
we do Invisalign we do a clear correct we do clear correct and Invisalign we just do clear aligners
obviously if they're calling it clear aligners and not Invisalign it's probably not Invisalign
because you can't do bait and switch you can't say that you do Invisalign and then not do it
you know because that violates Invisalign or align Technologies agreement so if they're advertising
Invisalign Invisalign logo then if you want to double check you can go to the Invisalign doctor
locator just search that Google that Invisalign doctor locator put in your country put in your zip
code and they should come up that's always good to verify that they're an active Invisalign provider
trust me it's not very hard to become an active Invisalign provider it basically is like a two to
three hour online course it used to be a slightly bigger deal you just have to fly somewhere use a
two to three day course with a Hands-On component there's a little bit more to it now it's kind of
a joke so just because they signed up and paid a couple thousand dollars to take an online course
that makes you an Invisalign provider doesn't mean you know what you're doing so first of all
and the other big trick I need to let you guys know and you guys are getting fooled is just
because they are high up on the doctor locator status saying that they're like diamond or they're
platinum and every country does things a little bit differently and they're constantly changing it
um they used to be preferred in Elite and silver and all these different things just because
they're high up does not need they know what they're doing it's very very easy to join up with
friends or be under someone else's sub account and have high status and really don't know what you're
doing so um keep that in mind okay so I'm going to give you things that you can ask when you call
and I wouldn't even bother making the appointment until you get the basic questions obviously you
don't want to call and ask about the price because they're probably not going to give it to you
um I mean even in our office we wouldn't give the price over the phone because it really depends on
the complexity of the case I mean we generally have a set fee but if the if the case is crazy
reasonable and easy we're gonna charge less you know or we might be willing to do a white
labeled product or a non-branded product if it's less um for a lot a lot a lot cheaper and to be
honest if it's a crazy crazy complex case we might charge more if we think it's going to be
like a lot of work so you know we're not going to give you a fee over the phone so don't that
that is not the right way to do it if you're picking by fees you're making a huge mistake
because there's so many tricks and ways that they can get their money other ways besides
that fee that they're quoting over the phone and I'm gonna go over that as well I'm Gonna
Give You So Much Information your head's going to explode okay so first thing I would check is
verify that they are exact if you want Invisalign brand verify that they are an actual Invisalign
provider find their that doctor's name so you go to the doctor's website and you look under the
different doctors on the website right so they usually says art team and then it says they're
one doctor is there five doctors I always like to know who the one the Invisalign account is
under so that way you know okay because if it's most likely that that doctor probably has more
experience so if you're seeing another doctor at the office and it's not under their account that's
a slight bit of a red flag to me not necessarily because there are plenty of offices that have
multiple Associates that go under the owner doctor's account and to be honest in a lot of
the offices I know and work with the most the best Invisalign provider isn't always the one
whose name is on the account so it's not always a thing but it's a good question to know okay
um you can ask when was this doctor certified in Invisalign great question if they just did
it yesterday that's a bit of a red flag so you know um which doctor will be doing my Invisalign
is another good question I see you have five doctors I see the accounts under Dr x i you
know will Dr X be seeing me every visit who will be doing my Clin check who will be setting up my
case is it this doctor is it that doctor well I always have the same doctor is the one that's
setting up my case the one who's actually going to be treating me all these questions are legit
questions to ask and to be super honest if the front desk can't directly answer those questions
that is a red flag for me goodbye hang up okay the front desk should feel very confident asking those
questions I know in our office there's only one doctor of all the doctors that does Invisalign
and that is the doctor whose account it is under okay so just to give you some example and I know
that if you called our office and asked that question they'd say Dr so-and-so is the one that
does the Invisalign cases if you want to consult your news to Dr so-and-so Dr Colson Dr soans has
been certified for many years Invisalign I don't know if they can get the exact date but I know
that they'd know that there was many years because they've been doing it for years but anyways okay
so that's that um next question the front desk should be able to answer this again if the front
desk cannot answer it or if they can't pass you to somebody immediately who can answer it
that's a red flag hang up um keep in mind that there are many different types of Invisalign
treatment okay and this is the same thing with clear correct so you know substitute the name
there are other systems that have a couple different options first I mean to be honest
I still think Invisalign is the best system so I would stick with Invisalign I mean it just has so
many different features that are proprietary that you can't do so when you go with another system
unless it's a crazy easy case and you guys aren't going to know if in the easy case or not you know
um unless it's a crazy crazy simple case you may not get the same outcome so if you
in my hands I can do any case with Invisalign I don't care how hard is a surgical case it's not
a surgical case I've done it I've seen it it's not always the fastest sometimes it is faster
but I'll never ever ever say no to a case and often when you do call an orthodontist office
they will sometimes say no you know it's not for everyone I'm never going to say no I might
say I might charge a little more if it seems like it's more complex I might charge less
um I might tell you it's not the most efficient way but we'll do it you know but I'll never say no
so that's a bit of a red flag to me because your doctor is super experienced in clearliners they
will not say no and you can even ask that question will the doctor ever say no you know red flag
um also I like to look at offices that do the vast majority if not all cases comprehensive
cases not limited not express go is a huge red flag they're saying they're used using
go it's a no no no run okay if they're saying they're using assist it's a no no no run okay
I mean if you called our office we'd probably say the vast majority are comprehensive cases
occasionally we do a moderate or a light very rarely we do an Express seven I mean it's got
to be like crazy easy we'd probably be more likely to do white label aligners for that but if someone
really want Invisalign branded okay fine you can have it it's going to charge we're going to charge
you more but you can have it so that's that is a great question to ask again if the front desk
doesn't know the answer to that bye next um so you shouldn't have to go in to make an appointment
if they're forcing you to go in and make an appointment I would move on to the next Doctor
um keep in mind that they get the doctors get more points as they accrue and do more
cases right and the more cases they do the more volume discounts they get so when you
see these diamonds and platinum providers they're getting a volume discount so at least in the U.S
actually and these these numbers are actually higher um it's a little bit different but in
the US if I got Max discount which is at least 38 actually I think it might be more now especially
if you're a DSO I can get that lab fee down to about 1200 U.S instead of 1900 U.S and granted
that lab fee does not include retainers okay so it's just the case only and that gives me five
years to finish the case so I'm under no stress I can take a really hard case it's totally fine
my question is if it's a doctor that does both braces and Invisalign and you should
definitely be able to check out their website to see if they do my question is do you charge the
same for braces and Invisalign if they don't that's a red flag to me again that shows me
that the doctor either doesn't have a lot of experience Invisalign or isn't as confident
with their skills or doesn't do a lot of cases so for me having the same price you don't have
to ask what it is but you can say is it the same price you know is definitely something I've been
looking for I don't want to see a markup for Invisalign over braces that's a red flag to me
um yeah they may not pass that discount to the patient but I think in your mind you should have
an idea of what they're paying you got to keep in mind that dentists or doctors orthodontists
dentists who do Invisalign we do have to pay that Invisalign lab fee Bill up front so it is
less likely they're going to recommend Invisalign to you if you're telling them you're only putting
100 down because then we're gonna be in the negative we're going to be in the red until
you pay forward and I don't really want to do that so you know if somebody's telling me they're only
willing to put a hundred dollars down I'm gonna either not see them or gonna you know as soon as
I might say Invisalign may not be the best choice for you financially for me um I mean I tend to
not say that but I also may require them to use a different type of third-party payment system
I'm not going to start a case for almost no doubt you know I probably wouldn't do that anyways but
um there are plenty dsos that do play that game so keep that in mind and you know places maybe
in more urban inner city areas that might do that you know to try to entice you to come in
um what else what else orthodontist offices are like car dealerships everything's negotiable cash
is king So if you're using Insurance you're gonna have a lot less leverage to negotiate
than if you're using cash cash up front if you're doing cash up front you got lots of
room to negotiate so you can take that cash and go anywhere else I mean definitely you can say hey
are you willing to do this for 3 900 if I pay all cash up front I'm always a little nervous
about that for the consumer because I've seen it happen way too many times where the office will
shut down and you'll never get your treatment finished so I actually don't recommend that you
do that unless it's a very established office that's been around for a long time well known
um well respected in the community doctors been there at least 10 20 years you know so
you know they're not going to fold go bankrupt go close move on sell the practice bring a doctor in
there doesn't know what they're doing et cetera et cetera and not be able to finish your case
um yeah I talked about Diamond providers it doesn't mean they have the most experience of
just playing the game right so Dr locator means absolutely nothing to me only thing I know from
the doctor locator is that if they're high up I know that they're paying less lab fee which
in that case I can say hey I see your diamond provider I know you're getting a 38 discount on
the lab fee um I know you also don't have to pay your lab fee necessarily up front you get three to
six months to pay it as being a diamond provider so I'm assuming you have more flexibility with
payment terms that's why that's what I say so um more important things besides asking about
comprehensive make sure that you're getting your cases comprehensive if they are saying they're
going to use go assist Express or light that's a red flag I would run because there's very likely
that your case will be compromised it's not going to be ideal you should show your case
to your to your own general dentist if this isn't your general dentist or if you have dentists in
the family or friends or family members who are dentists show it to them you know get
feedback I mean you can even ask always ask for a copy of your Clin check not the oi Sim not the
outcome simulator that has no brain power put into that's just something a computer spit out it means
nothing the actual clinch act I want a copy of it do not put one cent down on that case until you've
seen that clinch check and if they want to charge you to get the clean check first of all it's free
for them so there's really I realize it takes them a little time but that's pretty standard stuff I
mean they can do what they want they can charge you but again red flag for me I would not see a
doctor that charged me up front to see the clinch act the clinch check not the the oi Sim you gotta
understand the difference most consumers don't know you can just specifically ask for the clinch
act the oi Sim Sim simulator outcome simulator we'll say it in the top right corner outcome
simulator it needs to say clinchuck okay the clinch up will actually have the number aligners
in a scroll at the bottom if you don't see the number of aligners at the bottom 20 30 40 70 80.
um and a little tick tick tick as it moves it's not a clinch check it's an oi Sim
okay I want to see the clinchack I want a copy of it sent to me for my records okay I want the
doctor to explain to me the treatment plan okay what are you doing here what's going on is there
IPR is there not IPR are you doing sequential is it distalization are you expanding arches
are you proclining arches if they did not take a cephalometric x-ray and it's a harder plan you
know maybe more than 10 15 aligners or if you have a lot of crowding or if you have overjet overbite
or any type of funky bite problem that's a red flag for me if they do not take a cephalimetric
x-ray and you should ask about that I mean certainly I've got a ton of videos on sex
when they take them when they're really needed when they're kind of nominated um listen to my
stuff videos and and educate yourself because for me that's a red flag the really good offices will
take steps when they need them and they know how to use them and they shouldn't charge you
it well that's not true there are a lot of general dentist offices that don't that's an extra pieces
of equipment that that's not standard in a general NS office so somebody's gonna Outsource you for it
and there might be a cost for that and that's not wrong matter of fact that's really good Dentistry
so um but certainly you know if it's a harder case and you know and and there's nothing wrong
with saying how come you're not taking a setbacks right you know no it's not required by Invisalign
but it's pretty much standard of care in every state and every country for a harder case so I
would ask if they're not taking one and ask if they're planning to take one um of course for me
number one is going to be do you have an intraoral scanner if they're taking traditional Impressions
they have almost zero experience because after you've done five or ten cases you're never going
to be using Impressions it's always the first few cases you're getting your feet wet nothing
wrong with that if it's an easy case but I would definitely be asking them if they're working with
the orthodontist to help optimize it you don't want to be a guinea pig while they're learning
you know so um and there's nothing wrong with that I mean I have a Consulting practice I help General
Dennis and pediatric dentists optimize their clean checks I teach them how to do it I don't
do it for them I teach them how to do it and then they go do it you know so plenty of orthodontists
to help with clinchex you can Google this help me with my clinch act need help with a clincheck
there's like hundreds of orthodontists worldwide that do this you know it's just just a thing you
know it's it's good it's good Dentistry to have support from a mentor nothing wrong with that and
then um only scanner that pretty much works in the US and Canada is the itero brand scanner and other
countries you can use other scanners and there's more flexibility but certainly if they're taking
a rip you know Impressions that's a no I always like to see if the clinch check is long or short
if they are accepting the very first clinch act version one and it's going to say version one
that's a red flag if if you see it at version three four five seven ten you know average for
me is about two three four five clinchex somewhere in there so if it's one I I don't think I've ever
done a clinch check on the first Clint check I don't think in the probably tens of thousands of
clinchex if not hundreds of thousands of aligner treatment plans I've done over the last 20 years
I don't know that I've ever had one that was perfect on the first go maybe it would be like
finding a diamond you know it's very very unlikely so if it says and you can ask I'm not sure when
they Outsource the Clint check and they send it to a patient if it says version one version
two version three it certainly does when you're seeing it in the office so you can definitely
ask and if you're looking at their computer and it's not sent to you via email you'll be able
to see what version it is you can totally ask hey can I see the other versions that's what I
would ask can I see all the versions and why can you explain to me why you chose this version over
the other versions that is an excellent excellent question to ask because if they're confident in
what they know and what they do they should be able to explain that answer to you if they get
flustered by run away wrong patient wrong doctor so okay hopefully I gave you a lot of information
I know it can be a little confusing but I mean I do have a Facebook group that
um caters to Consumers just providing a support group to Consumers out there who are getting Ortho
just so they can get good information from other consumers and I'm telling you there's a lot of bad
bad I'm just laying out there it just makes me so mad you know some of the stuff that I
see is so junk so um hopefully if I can help one of you pick the right
provider and also I want to incentivize providers to learn how to do things right
how to do things up to standard of care and how to do quality Orthodontics there's nothing wrong
with general dentist doing Orthodontics as long as it's quality all right thanks so much