I was Rejected for Invisalign by 3 Different Providers

I was rejected for Invisalign by 3 different dentists and orthodontists before finding a provider who was willing to treat me.

I’m currently wearing Invisalign, my 21st tray at the time of writing this and progressing extremely well.

In this blog post, I’ll explain exactly what happened.

I assumed my case was relatively straight forward – I hated my bottom teeth because they were too crowded and my top teeth needed some minor adjustments too.

Storytime: Rejected for Invisalign

More like this: 18 things they don’t tell you about Invisalign

I first asked my regular dentist (who I’d been seeing for 8 years) about straightening my teeth in 2019 and they essentially fobbed me off to say I didn’t really need it.

Context: I’m a 35 year old female. I had regular braces when I was aged 12-13 to treat a mild overbite and crowding which involved removing two upper premolars. At some point in my teens I lost the retainer and my teeth moved through my 20s and 30s.

I was increasingly unhappy with my teeth throughout adulthood and I felt like they were getting worse as the years went on.

In late 2020 (after the lockdowns) I asked again about straightening my teeth and was again fobbed off, given a long list of risks and went away upset, being told it wasn’t right for me.

Finding another Dentist

Shortly afterward, I was flooded with Facebook and Instagram adverts for “Six Months Smiles” and “Invisalign”.

One advert in particular was especially aggressive – I was seeing it maybe 6-7 times per day.

“We are the #1 Platinum Invisalign provider near you!”

“We have treated over 500 patients this year!”

“Free consultations available!”

I checked the reviews – all brilliant, saying that this place was amazing, incredible, everyone had such a great experience at this Orthodontist!

Fine, OK, I’ll book a free consultation…

In the obligatory “welcome pack” sales email I was sent a week before my consultation, I noticed something in the small print:

“We are NOT orthodontic specialists.”

This was confusing – I thought they were the #1 Platinum Invisalign provider? This heavily implies they are specialists at straightening teeth.

Was this a red flag? ⛳

First Consultation for Invisalign

I went to the consultation, not knowing what to expect. I saw a young female dentist who was very friendly, she sat me back in the chair and started looking inside my mouth.

She then asked me some questions about my lifestyle and diet, and asked whether I was interested in fixed ceramic braces or removable aligners.

With the dentist still poking around at my teeth – I said “either really, I just want straight teeth” in a typically muffled voice.

After a few more minutes, and a quick x-ray, she sat me up and said “I’ll tell you what I think.”

“Frankly, your case is too complex for us to treat here so we can’t help you. You need to go to an orthodontist instead.”

She then began to open the door to usher me out!

I hesitated for a moment…

“Wait, no! I need more information!”

She waved her hand toward her computer screen that was displaying my x-ray image.

“This tooth here is rotated.” she said “and we can’t treat rotated teeth here”.

But aren’t you the #1 platinum dentist in this area? I thought to myself.

She vaguely pointed at her computer screen without really looking at it.

“Which tooth?” I replied.

She sighed and grabbed a handheld mirror that she shoved in my face.

“Lower right 5 is rotated, you see?”

No, I didn’t see.

“I don’t know what lower right 5 is, please point at it to show me.”

She sighed again and pointed at my teeth.

I nodded and said “OK” although I couldn’t really see the problem, but at that point I just wanted to leave.

“We’ll send you a recommendation for a good orthodontist” she said as I was leaving.

Whatever 🙄

I sat in the car and cried, trying to examine my own teeth in the mirror.

Rejected for Invisalign again at the Orthodontist

A few hours after arriving home, I had an email from the dentist’s receptionist with details for an Orthodontist locally.

I waited a few weeks and called them to schedule an appointment.

This place did not offer free consultations so I paid $200 via the phone to secure an appointment.

At the consultation, they were a lot more thorough. A dental nurse took photographs on my jaw, my profile and intra-oral photographs inside my mouth.

They also took a mould of my teeth using that impression-goo that was used on me as a teen in the early 00s 🤮

I then had a serious of thorough x-rays (that I had to remove my tongue stud for this time – the previous place didn’t care about it!)

The orthodontist then sat down to discuss all my treatment options.

She confirmed that my one tooth was in fact twisted and her recommended treatment involved removing the tooth.

Not just that…

She wanted to remove the same tooth on the other side of my jaw (that wasn’t even twisted) for the purpose of symmetry.

That meant removing 2 completely healthy teeth, one being slightly rotated.

To avoid making this story too long, I rejected this treatment plan immediately and said “No, you are not removing any healthy teeth from my jaw. Please find another treatment plan for me.”

To which she said “There is no other option, we have to remove these teeth or you cannot get braces or clear aligners of any kind.”

And she also said “No orthodontist will treat you unless you have these teeth removed.”

She also wrote to my dentist requesting the removal of these teeth, which my dentist actually refused to do, and they advised I find yet another provider who will treat me with out extracting teeth.

I’ve now spent about 7-8 months at this point simply going to consultations and being told “no” so I really wanted to give up all together.

Six Months Later – One More Shot

I noticed that my own dentist was now aggressively running adverts for Invisalign themselves.

At my next regular check-up, I asked again.

My dentist looked a bit annoyed at my asking, but he then said they had a new member of staff exclusively doing Invisalign treatments and offering free consultations!

Except…

He then seemingly made a decision on-the-spot that I would get rejected anyway so there was no point.

I asked if I could see them anyway for a consultation and I was happy to pay.

My dentist then turned his back to me and said “OK, sure, we’ll book you for a consultation with our Invisalign specialist. It’ll be $500 non-refundable and paid upfront, is that OK?”

And with that, I thought to myself:

“F**k this, I’m not being treated like s**t anymore”

…and I just got up and left the room and never went back there.

They also stopped sending me routine appointment reminders for check-ups etc too.

Now I Need a New Dentist, FFS

Due to the terrible customer service experience and rudeness I’ve faced, I was really not hopeful.

I’ve wanted straight teeth for so long, and I was so frustrated.

And now, I needed a new regular dentist too, hopefully one with better customer service and a more polite patient manner!

Luckily, I found one, really local to me too.

My Successful Invisalign Consultation

At my new dentist, the difference was like day and night.

They were so calm, patient, great at communication and explanations.

I’d rehearsed what I was going to say at my first appointment:

“I’m interested in any method of straightening my teeth, I’m not bothered whether its braces or Invisalign but I really don’t want to extract any teeth.”

My new dentist had a long, thorough look at everything.

I had x-rays.

I also had digital 3D scans using the iTero scanner machine that would create a simulation of how my teeth would before, during and after.

Now, I know this tool is not just clinical, but also it’s a way to sell products like Invisalign to the patient.

This dentist explained to me that yes, my tooth was rotated, but it was not impacting my overall bite, so it can stay rotated and my other teeth can be straightened.

This was amazing news!

He also said that I would not need extractions, instead a technique called Interproximal Reduction (IPR) would be done that would gently file in between my teeth to create space for the movements needed to straighten them.

Where do I sign!?

Starting my Invisalign Journey after Rejection

I know that this practitioner was a dentist, not an orthodontist, but after my recent experiences, I was willing to trust this dentist to oversee my treatment.

Now, 20+ weeks later, I couldn’t be happier!

My treatment has progressed very well and my bite is well-aligned. I just have a couple more months to go until I get scanned for refinements!

I have had some blips along the way, such as losing multiple attachments and dealing with trays that don’t always fit properly.

But overall, I’m incredibly happy with my journey so far!

What to do if you’re Rejected for Invisalign

Here is my best advice for what to do if a dentist or Orthodontist rejects you for Invisalign

1. Make sure that you are actually committed to Invisalign! Wearing clear aligners 20 hours every day requires lots of lifestyle changes, and it can take over a year to complete.
2. Get a second and third opinion. There are thousands of dentists and orthodontists around the world who can treat a multitude of complex and simple cases with Invisalign. Don’t take one person’s answer as the gospel truth.
3. Read lots of reviews and ask for case studies. Before choosing a practitioner, read plenty of reviews and ask for before/after photos of cases similar to yours.
4. Seek alternative treatments. Invisalign isn’t the only way to straighten your teeth, or even the only company who make clear aligners (there are loads more!). It may be that your case is more suitable to fixed braces or surgery, as Invisalign is not a magic wand and can’t fix serious jaw issues.

So, if you get rejected for Invisalign – it doesn’t mean that you can’t have it.

I was rejected 3 times and I’m happily wearing my aligners with successful progress so far.