I updated the link to the picture.
Honestly, I didn't research the braces too much. An orthodontist friend told me to go by reputation rather than technology,
an opinion I've seen echoed around. I figured Invisalign would be better for my open bite by providing protection to my molars, which are already heavily worn down. I can't wear my night guard in braces and the alternative given to me, doing one arch at a time, wasted some time. I neglected to consider the impact on my bite however.
As for the orthodontist, another orthodontist in town gave me the names of the surgeons who do the most adult surgical cases. He was the only one who is board certified, on staff at a nearby dental school, and did a neighbor's braces. I think he's known for lecturing on lingual braces, which I've already ruled out due to my large tongue.
He told me there'd be no difference in my case between Invisalign and braces. The plan was to do Invisalign for 5-6mo and then braces for the remainder, starting right before surgery. My total treatment time is only 12mo with no extractions (except wisdom teeth), periodontal issues, or significant relapse. Only problem is my surgeon wants 9mo after extracting wisdom teeth before doing surgery so I've got an extra 3mo of slack to play with now, unless he'd accept 6mo as my orthodontist expected. I heard from a few orthodontists that my case is "very easy". There isn't really "a plan" orthodontists give you to compare, just prices. I met with him today and he said we could consider other options if I don't adjust, such as doing Invisalign on one arch and braces on the other or just switch to braces now.
I haven't discussed braces with him yet. All the orthodontists in town with the most adult surgical experience seem to primarily do Invisalign. They all seemed to offer all the major brace types but the one I picked doesn't list any specific technologies on his website. I checked the Damon website and he's not listed as a provider. I noticed he uses a number of other 3M products so perhaps he uses their self-ligating equivalent. I could ask?
I think I could still switch to braces but unclear what kind, without too much impact since my original quote was for any type I'd like. He might be annoyed that he spent this money and had to do the extra labor but the cost of braces isn't much from my understanding and we were going to go that route eventually anyway. Switching providers... possible but would be ugly. Contract is signed and trays have been ordered so I'd have to work it out with him somehow, probably somewhere between $0 and $8k. That's the kind of thing that earns you a reputation in town so I'd need a good reason to do so, more than just a little better.
You think it makes a big difference on such a short treatment time? I'd have spent more effort on it except it didn't seem worth it for only 12mo of treatment. Seemed like I needed someone with more experience working with remote surgeons at the time, given that I'm using one from CA. I'm still waiting to be scheduled to remove the wisdom teeth, mostly due to my procrastination. I have an appointment on Aug 12th, hopefully I can get scheduled soon after. Somehow that bothers me more than jaw surgery at this point.
