You may have seen those ads online for mail-in aligners that work by meeting just once with an underqualified tech for a mouth scan and getting clear aligners mailed directly to your home to straighten your teeth. These programs promise straight, even teeth in a fraction of the time of braces or Invisalign, and at a greatly reduced cost. But do you ever wonder how they get their prices so low? Here are five sneaky ways they cut corners, and why you should avoid Invisalign alternatives in Concord and trust the real deal from your dentist instead!

Poor Oversight

Most homes aren’t equipped with the technology to take a proper orthodontic mouth scan. Thus, to begin treatment with mail-in aligners, you’ll probably need to meet with someone to take images of your mouth. Unfortunately, however, the person taking them isn’t always a licensed dental professional. In fact, as long as they can be trained to operate the equipment, they could quite literally be anyone. Worse still, even though they’re not providing you with an actual treatment, this person could still have quite an impact on your outcome. One wrong or missed image or bad impression could throw off the alignment of your new smile and even make your existing problems worse!

Furthermore, because you’re essentially ‘going it alone,’ you won’t have the benefit of a local dental professional keeping an eye on changes in your mouth, so if something needs to be modified in your treatment, you may never know. This could potentially make the process take longer or cause painful and costly complications that could have been avoided from the start!

Limited Options

Because your treatment plan is formulated by someone who could be literally thousands of miles away from you and has never met you in person, they are bound by the data they receive when you have your local consultation. If you have restorations such as dental implants, or if you need your palate expanded, mail-in aligners typically won’t work, because they require more nuanced treatment. In those cases, the company may simply reject you.

Conversely, visiting a local orthodontist can greatly improve your options. If you need any treatment in addition to clear aligners, this can be accomplished, and any modifications necessary along the way can be made instead of continuing with the same treatment despite new challenges or inefficiencies.

One-Size Doesn’t Fit All

 Mail-in aligners take a one-size-fits-all approach. Unfortunately, however, when it comes to teeth, this technique doesn’t usually work. That’s because your smile is as unique as you are, and what works for your neighbor, friend, or even your sibling may not be best for you. When you use a distant practitioner who has only reviewed images of your smile (and a treatment plan that cannot be customized or tailored along the way) your teeth are essentially being forced into a cookie cutter program that may be ineffective or could even create new problems!

Old-Fashioned Technology

In many cases, mail-in aligners use dated technology to take impressions of the teeth before treatment. Unfortunately, because those images are crucial for developing your aligners, even being one millimeter off can create a host of problems for your smile.

However, when you visit a local dentist for treatment with Invisalign, they frequently use more advanced technology to take your impressions, and if they don’t, they understand how to correctly create models using more traditional techniques. This can help ensure that the dental lab will always get precise specifications so your aligners are made exactly as they should be.

Hidden Costs

Finally, one of the supposed perks of mail-in aligners is their cost.  Unfortunately, while they do appear to be less expensive upfront, in many cases they end up creating so many issues they ultimately cost more than if you’d just visited your dentist for Invisalign in the first place. In fact, in some rare cases patients who have used mail-in orthodontics have even paid the price with their smile by losing permanent teeth!

Remember, while using mail-in aligners may seem like a great way to save time and money on orthodontic treatment, the truth is that your smile and its alignment are far too complex to trust to just anyone. Thus, to ensure that your teeth are straightened as safely and efficiently as possible, treatment with your dentist is best. While you may need to make a few more in-person visits, the time and money invested in your gorgeous new grin will be well worth it in the end!

About Our Practice

At Generations Dental Care, we know that you lead a busy life, and aligning your smile with Invisalign can be an investment in both your time and finances. But what many patients don’t realize is that this treatment can often be done faster and more affordably than with other methods, including those unreliable mail-in aligners. To learn more about Invisalign, including how quickly you can get the results you want, schedule a consultation today by visiting our website or calling 603-225-6331.