Curry & Oh Orthodontics
Jimin Oh, DMD:
Practice Profile Page

I wanted to give a review for my full Invisalign experience. Side Note:I did not need much work done in my mouth because my teeth weren’t very bad. I just had a lot of gaps at the bottom and the top, and I had one tooth in particular was turned out. Dr. Oh first went over the pro’s and con’s to braces vs. Invisalign. I personally wanted the Invisalign, but the cost is always something you’ll need to factor. Cost: My cost was $5,400 for Invisalign– I believe $4,600 for braces. If you do Invisalign you will have to pay upfront, I paided  $1,500. I also make $100 payments a month. I do have insurance it may make a difference for you. First days: In the beginning you feel like you talk with a lisp.  That’s normal and may take a month to go away, but hang in there, it will. Trays: -You wear a tray for 2 weeks before moving to the next. -You wear them all day 22 hours minimum. (Not wearing trays for 20 sum hours may result in needing more tray or slowing the process down). -Yes, you sleep with them in your mouth. -You don’t eat with them–but I drink all cold drink with them, which they might tell you is a no-no. The only thing I won’t drink is hot drinks may melt the trays and anything that’s red might stain them like cranberry juice. Buttons: Buttons feel weird and defiantly takes getting use to with the trays.  They can irritate the inside of your mouth if you keep your tray off too long. Good reminder to put your trays back in. Rubberbands: Rubber bands have been my biggest struggle in this whole process. I’ve had gotten massive mouth irritations due to the rubber-bands rubbing. I did bring this issue up to them as to which they did switch the bands to non-latex. Great–they did help with the irritants but they break get hour or so, no joke it’s frustrating.  When I went back the next time I told them I was still having issues, they actually have thick non-latex rubber bands (don’t be afraid to speak up and tell them when things are working, most likely your not the first to run across that problem). No one gave me a tip or advice for putting in rubber bands quickly so I came up with my own way–hopefully, this helps. Here a little tip for putting in rubber bands in 5 secs (no need for mirrors): 1. Before you put in the bottom tray in your mouth–place rubber bands on hooks (towards the back of tray). 2. Once rubber bands are in hooks–usually, they’ll stay in place but I always pull on the rubber bands in opposite direction when placing trays on bottom teeth. 3. Put in top tray 4. Take the loose part of the rubber band and pull towards front hook–hook band on upper hook (repeat on the other side). You should be good to go in seconds after that. : )Personal Pro’s and Con’s of Invisalign: Pro: -People truly don’t know you have them on. -You can take them off and see results on a daily basis. -You can get you teeth clean regularly not just at the dentist but you can brush normal.
-When you first start wearing tray depending on what you’re trying to achieve they may instantly make your teeth look straight and or the gaps look closed. Cons: -When your eating in public it’s awkward to remove them in front of everyone–you’ll learn to take them off in the bathroom or take them off in the car before you get to your destination. -When you first put them the first couple day your mouth will hurt and don’t even think about eating anything that requires hardcore chewing or biting. (Take a Tylenol or something ahead of time it might help). -Once you see results that you’re conformable with its harder to want to wear your trays because you like your smile and you want to rock it.  (Could be considered a pro). -Rubber bands Okay so I’m done with my Invisalign and to say the least, it’s been an experience. At the final stage of my treatment I got rock a metal retainer.  At first, when talking it gives you flashbacks of your first day with Invisalign, can’t speak clearly (getting use to a foreign thing in your mouth). I had to wear consistently for 3-4 months: Remember every person is different. I knew myself well enough to know I could handle Invisalign and opted for that. To this day, it’s been the best decision I’ve made. It’s been years now since I’ve stop using Invisalign. I had a permeant retainer removed from my bottom teeth and opted for another removable nightly worn retainer. (Retainers cost about $250 give or take with no insurance). Overall, I’ve had my battles but I would do again exactly if given the choice. This office is very high tech and they seem to always being advancing with technology–getting a retainer this time was just a scan in the mouth (no more drooling on the staff with impressions). I highly recommend this office and the Dr.’s in it.