A comparison of the Simpli5 ®, Red White & Blue ® and RW II ® systems with Invisalign ®.

The AOA Laboratory systems differ in the way their aligners are made.

One of the biggest differences between AOA Lab's invisible braces products and Invisalign ® is the way their aligners are fabricated. The manufacturing process associated with Invisalign ® appliances is very sophisticated. It involves the use of three-dimensional graphic imaging techniques and computer-aided design/computer-aided (CAD/CAM) modeling, all very modern stuff.

In comparison the fabrication process used to create Simpli 5 ®, Red White & Blue ®, and RW II ® aligners is one where a plaster cast of the patient's teeth is made. The teeth requiring realignment are cut off and then reattached using an arrangement that represents an incremental step towards the final orthodontic goal. From this model an aligner is made. This process is then repeated until the patient's entire series of aligners has been fabricated.

Sounds simple doesn't it. Well it is and it isn't. From a technical standpoint, it's simple enough that some orthodontists have been creating their own aligners, right in their own offices, for years. From the standpoint of an art form and learning from experience what works and what doesn't, creating the aligners is a bit of a feat and not one to be slighted.

The AOA Laboratory clear braces products are intended to treat less involved cases.

As you can imagine, due to its technologically advanced nature, the Invisalign ® system can be used to plan a coordinated series of incremental steps (each represented by an individual aligner) that collectively can resolve a range of malocclusions, involving just a few or all of a patient's teeth. The fact that an Invisalign ® case can involve the use of 30 or more sets of aligners suggests this.

In comparison the Simpli 5 ®, Red White & Blue ®, and RW II ® products are, respectively, five, three and two aligner systems. They simply are not designed to treat more than minor malalignments of front teeth. This doesn't mean that these systems are lacking in any way. The aligners themselves and the way in which they are used are directly comparable to the Invisalign ® product. Their intended purpose is simply different.

Treatment with the Simpli 5 ®, Red White & Blue ®, and RW II ® systems will probably cost less than Invisalign ®.

Due to its relative simplicity and the fact that a dentist doesn't have to buy a more intense product than a case requires, a dentist's costs associated with using an AOA Laboratory system will be less, possibly significantly so, than using an Invisalign ® product. Invisalign Express ®, their lowest priced system, costs the dentist on the order of $750 per case. In comparison the RW II ®, Red White & Blue ®, and Simpli 5 ® systems cost the dentist along the line of $180, $225, and $600, respectively. The assumption is that this cost saving can be passed on to the patient in terms of the price they pay for their treatment.