NYC braces info, nyu, invisalign

After 6 ortho consultations, 3 weeks with NYU and 1 year later.. <-- this icon with clear braces is me!

I learned about some of the options on this board, so here's my experience, hope it helps someone. Background, I went to 6 orthodonists to get their opinion and prices on invisalign/braces. 3 said i can do invisalign (5500-7000) and 3 said invisalign can not help me.

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NYU Dental school:
- there are 2 clinics. One post graduate (6th floor) and one undergraduate clinic (1A)
-the initial consulation is $30 at the post grad clinic and $90 at the 1A clinic.
- it is best to go there in person and go to clinic 1A *first*
- I made the mistake of calling and going in as a walkin (l was told to do that) to the 6th floor.
- the clinics operate like a school cafeteria, people are running around and there is not much privacy... and no 'rinse/spit station' .... so if this is not your thing, you may want to consider a private practice.
- Invisalign costs 1200 at the 1A clinic, and 4000 at the post grad clinic.
- I went to the post grad and a student saw me for 10 minutes. She said i can get invisalign BUT i need it done at the undergrad clinic b/c the work is on my front teeth only.
- I go to the undergrad clinic as instructed and everyone is confused b/c my chart was created in the post grad clinic. the manager tries to get a student assigned to me so i can bypass the 1A consultation
- 2 weeks go by, I have a student assigned and I still need to pay the $90.
- I thought I was going to get the invisalign started on the second visit.... the student (who was very nice) said I need to come back again to speak with the post grad with him (the 3 of us together)
- My third visit, the post grad is not available, I go again after an hour and then was told that my case is NOT a good fit for invisalign b/c invisalign can not create spaces between teeth and that's what I needed for the treatment to work. If i insist on invisalign, they would need to sand off some teeth in between each tooth to create the spacing and that;s not recommended.

NYU Bottomline: I'm out $120 and lost 4 weeks of treatment time.

NYU is good for the price of invisalign, if you have lots of time to go through their internal approval processes, and don't mind getting your braces and visits done in a 'public shared space'. Also depends on the student you get... I'm quite annoyed that the first student said I'm a good fit.

*************so how did i end up with braces?*****

I went back to one of the orthodonists were I learned about the different options available. We discussed my concerns that the treatment will overlap my wedding date and I didn't want the braces to show in the e-pics and how much would it help if I am only on braces for 4 months.

My treatment time is estimated to be 8 months. So I'll be halfway there.. traditional braces work faster so he's going to try his best to do what we can by June.

He is also willing to remove the braces for the wedding and pictures and gave me a reduced fee b/c my case isn't that hard (no twisted teeth)..

his website is www.drted.com and I learned alot about the different types of braces available. procs, cons.

He talked me through them at the consultation and here I am =)

The consultation costs $75, but I can refer friends for a free consultation... so if you plan to see him.. PM me.

Re: NYC braces info, nyu, invisalign

My FH just went and booked for invisalign.. the doctor that we chose is in the top ten doctors in the nation.. for invisalign and is also my neighbors daughter. so I know shes good

its Doctor Jacqueline Fulop-Goodling. im sure you may have heard of her on the radio but she was awesome.. shes located in Manhattan and Woodburry If you want more info you can FM me! Good luck and everything else sounds great!

Re: NYC braces info, nyu, invisalign

Sorry you had to go through the wait with trying to go with NYU. I heard they are really good though. I had my braces put on 2 months ago with a 2 year wear. But, the ortho said he would take them off for the wedding.

The one thing I enjoyed the most was that my health plan paid for it. My out-of-pocket expense is $495