Traditional Braces vs Clear Aligners

I went on a field trip the other day to visit Robert Gutierrez. He manages Invisible Braces located at 1720 Yale St. The below is a transcript of our conversation…

Lisbet: Tell me about Invisible Braces Robert. 

Robert: Invisible Braces is an orthopedic practice in Houston, Texas focused on providing clear aligners. That’s all we do here is clear aligners. 

We want to bring clear aligners to many people. We’re also working with young adults, teenagers, and older adults, we’ve even had retirees become our patients. The beauty with clear liners is that it limits chair time with the ortho. You do not have to spend a whole lot of time here. The process for clear aligners goes much quicker than metal braces. It’s a fast process because we are able to surround the tooth both front and back right. We actually can move each tooth individually with quick precision and get things moving fast. There are treatments that are more complex and require more time, but many treatments are eight months. Some are six months. It just depends on Dr. Zee’s assessment. 

Dr. Zee fine-tunes every tooth to where he wants it to go. We can even do rubber bands and we are able to accomplish amazing things with these aligners. Braces can be painful whereas the beauty with clear aligners is that since we’re not using metal so you won’t have wires cutting into your mouth and gums. You are applying pressure to your teeth with clear aligners so they do get a little uncomfortable and sore but you quickly get used to that so it’s a very easy and very simple process. 

Lisbet: Robert, you said the max time is about eight months. Does the time depend on the complexity of the case?

Robert: Yes, it depends on the complexity of the case as every case is unique. The nice thing about Invisible Braces, our store, is that we actually have an orthodontist on site. We’re not mailing out kits with glue and paste that you have to bite into and then you take it out of your mouth and you mail it back and you get something else in the mail. We actually have an orthodontist that looks at you and guides our dental assistants. Dr. Zee has been an orthodontist for over 30 years so he’s in house and that’s a big differentiator for us. Another big differentiator for Invisible Braces is the cost. On average, braces cost about $5,000. We’re actually charging less than $3,000 for these invisible aligners. 

Lisbet: Walk us through the process for getting fitted for invisible braces Robert.

Robert: Once you set an appointment and you come into Invisible Braces, you’ll be greeted by the front office and we’ll have a simple form for you to fill out. We don’t accept insurance so we don’t even need your social security number or any financial information. Once we have the information we need from you, then we go back and do what’s called a scan that essentially is a specialized hand held camera with a high definition tip. The image is then uploaded to a program that guides us and you can watch the entire process as we scan the inside of your mouth. We scan the upper arch, the top part of your mouth, and then we go down to the lower arch, the bottom part of your mouth. The scan takes about 10 minutes. Once the scan is completed, Dr. Zee will review and have a consultation with you. He wants to see everyone personally and once a treatment plan has been designed and agreed upon, we then will take the payment. We send the scanned images to our software which then kicks back a treatment plan. All of the aligners are created on site. You can have your first set of aligners in less than two weeks. 

You do have to come back periodically for your next set of aligners, but you don’t have to have chair time. When you feel the aligners go from uncomfortable to comfortable, then we know that it’s time for the next set. We are able to perform the follow up appointments via Telehealth, so we can see how your smile is coming along. 

Lisbet: Robert, you said it’s a three thousand dollar investment. Is that a one time thing or do you have to pay every time you come in for another aligner? 

Robert: No, that’s a one-time thing. We accept all credit cards, checks, cash, etc. We also have credit with an amazing company called Alfie on credits. They have a tremendous approval rating and they are fantastic. 

Lisbet: Okay, what’s a good website for people to find Invisible Braces? 

Robert: The website is at www.goinvisiblebraces.com. They can also call us at 713-300-9765 to discuss and set an appointment with us.

Lisbet: Okay, perfect. Well, thank you very much Robert. This has been an awesome interview. Thanks!

Invisible Braces is running a special deal for Houston City Beat fans. Mention Houston City Beat at the time you call to make your appointment and you’ll receive a free consultation, free panoramic X-rays, and a free retainer.

That’s a savings of $500 just for letting them know you heard about Invisible Braces from Houston City Beat.

Invisible Braces | 713-300-9765 | www.goinvisiblebraces.com

Lisbet Marquez | Houston City Beat | 832-778-6987 | www.houstoncitybeat.com

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