Invisalign at Mars Orthodontics in South Brisbane is planned and supervised by Dr Carmen Karadeniz, Specialist Orthodontist. It costs $8,000, or $10,000 for complex treatment, the same as braces for the same problem, with a $2,500 deposit and the balance interest free over 18 months. Planned refinements and your retainers are included, so a mid-course correction does not become a new bill.
| Who it is for | Teenagers and adults with crowding, spacing or a bite that needs correcting, who will wear the aligners 20 to 22 hours a day. Some bite problems still need braces or a different approach, and we will tell you which at your assessment. |
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| Where | Shop 14 Southpoint, 275 Grey Street, South Brisbane. |
| Planning | An iTero digital scan, photographs and a CBCT, merged into one model so the roots and the bone around them are visible while the plan is made. Dr Karadeniz sets every tooth movement in that set-up before the aligners are made. |
| How long | Most courses run 12 to 18 months; complex treatment up to about 24 months. Reviews here roughly every six to ten weeks. |
| Fee | $8,000 for most cases, $10,000 for complex treatment. The fee covers your records, the aligners, planned refinement aligners, every scheduled visit, and retainers at the end. |
| Payment | $2,500 deposit ($3,000 for complex treatment), then the balance over 18 months (24 for complex) through DentiCare, interest free, no credit check: $300.61 a month on the $8,000 fee after your $89 assessment credit. Work out weekly or fortnightly payments. |
| Growing children | A growing child is treated in two phases: an expander, partial braces or Invisalign First while there is still growth to work with, then braces or Invisalign once the adult teeth are through, quoted as one course of treatment. Expanders on the upper jaw, or upper and lower, are for children only; adults and older teenagers need MARPE. |
| Invisalign Limited | $5,000 for a short course where the bite is already sound and only minor crowding or spacing needs correcting. Not every case qualifies; that is decided at the assessment. |
| First step | An $89 specialist assessment with a written summary of your options. The $89 comes off your fee if you go ahead. |
Invisalign is a series of clear, removable aligners, each made to move your teeth a small step from the one before. You wear each set for about a week, 20 to 22 hours a day, taking them out to eat and to clean your teeth. Small tooth-coloured attachments are bonded to some teeth so the aligners can grip and move them, and they come off at the end. The aligners are made by Align Technology from a digital plan; what decides the result is the plan and who is watching the teeth follow it.
Aligners move teeth well for some movements and poorly for others. Tipping and closing small spaces are reliable; rotating round teeth, moving teeth bodily along the arch, and correcting some bite problems take longer and need more planning, and the published reviews of Invisalign say so. That is why the digital plan is reviewed movement by movement by a specialist orthodontist before anything is made, why attachments and elastics are built into the plan where they are needed, and why refinement aligners are part of the fee rather than an extra: teeth do not always follow the first plan exactly, and the correction is expected, not a failure.
The plan here is also made with the roots in view. An intraoral scan shows the crowns of the teeth and nothing beneath the gum, so a plan made from the scan alone sets root movements blind. At this practice the CBCT is merged with the iTero scan for every Invisalign case, so the roots and the bone around them are visible in the set-up, and each movement is checked against the bone it has to stay inside. Without the CBCT, a plan can move a tooth anywhere the software allows; with it, every movement is planned against the bone the root actually sits in. That diagnosis and planning is what sets the treatment here apart, and where the gums or the bone need attention first, we liaise with a periodontist before the plan is finalised.
Invisalign suits most crowding and spacing, many bite corrections, and adults who want treatment that is hard to notice. It suits teenagers who will wear it; the aligners only work while they are in, and a teenager who takes them out at school and forgets them is better served by braces. It is less suited to some severe rotations, some deep bites and some jaw-size problems, where braces, an expander or a combined plan will do the job better. Where a narrow upper jaw is part of the problem, expansion always comes first, for a child or an adult: an expander in a growing child, MARPE in a teenager or adult. Invisalign then follows it or, for most adults on the minimum-gap protocol, runs alongside it.
Dr Karadeniz examines you and takes the iTero scan, photographs and a CBCT. You leave with a written summary of what she found and the options, including braces and the option of no treatment, with the fee set out.
Your scan and CBCT become one three-dimensional set-up of every planned tooth movement, roots included. You see the plan before the aligners are ordered.
Attachments are bonded, the first aligners are fitted, and you are shown how to seat, remove and clean them. Teeth are usually tender for a day or two with each new set; ordinary pain relief is enough for most people.
You change aligners on the schedule you are given and come in for review roughly every six to ten weeks. Elastics may be prescribed for part of treatment to correct the bite. If the teeth drift from the plan, refinement aligners are made, and they are included in your fee.
Teeth move for life unless they are held. Retainers are included, and wearing them as instructed is what keeps the result.
Invisalign is $8,000 for most cases and $10,000 for complex treatment, priced the same as braces for the same complexity. The deposit is $2,500 ($3,000 for complex treatment). After the $89 assessment credit, the balance runs through DentiCare over 18 months (24 for complex) with no interest and no credit check: $300.61 a month on the $8,000 fee. DentiCare charges a one-off $59 set-up fee and $2.20 a month. Paying in full takes five per cent off. Invisalign Limited, for minor corrections where the bite is sound, is $5,000 with a $2,000 deposit. Every fee we charge is published on our fees page, with a calculator.
Not here. We price them the same for the same complexity. Which one suits you depends on the movements your teeth need and how you want to wear it, not on cost.
Sometimes the first number is lower. Compare what is included: here the fee covers records, planned refinements, every visit and retainers, and the plan is made and supervised by a specialist orthodontist. Some providers quote a lower headline figure and bill records, refinement aligners and retainers separately as you go.
Twenty to twenty-two. Below that, teeth fall behind the plan and treatment takes longer. Aligners only work while they are in.
Each new set feels tight for a day or two. That is pressure rather than pain for most people, and ordinary pain relief covers it.
Water, yes. Everything else, take them out, then brush before they go back in. Hot drinks warp aligners and coloured drinks stain them.
The aligners are clear and sit close to the teeth. The small attachments are tooth-coloured. Most people find nobody notices unless they point it out.
Because the scan alone shows only the crowns. Merging the CBCT into the plan lets Dr Karadeniz see where each root sits in the bone before a movement is set, which matters most where teeth are being moved a long way or the bone is thin. The scan is taken once, at your assessment, and is part of the fee.
Refinement aligners are made from a new scan, and they are included in your fee. A correction partway through is a normal part of treatment.
Yes, if they will wear it. Compliance is the deciding factor, and we talk about it honestly with the teenager, not only the parent, before recommending it over braces.
Most courses take 12 to 18 months; complex treatment up to about 24. Your own estimate is given in writing at your assessment.
Attachments come off, the teeth are polished, and retainers are fitted. They are included, and wearing them is what keeps the result.
Leave your details and we will get back to you to arrange a time that suits you.
