McComb Orthodontics

Full treatment at McComb Orthodontics costs $3,800 to $7,000. Most patients pay $5,000 to $6,000.

Short cases of about six months start at $3,800. These are usually simple touch-up cases for patients with mild crowding or small spacing issues.

Typical cases that take 12 to 18 months fall in the $5,000 to $6,000 range. These cover moderate crowding, mild to moderate overbite or underbite, basic bite correction, and most adult Invisalign work.

Complex cases that take longer can reach $7,000. A case is complex when it involves more than one of these conditions or needs more tray changes than a typical case to finish. Examples of complex cases include severe crowding where many teeth overlap, deep overbite where the top teeth cover most of the bottom teeth, strong underbite where the lower jaw sits in front of the upper, crossbite where the top jaw is narrower than the bottom, open bite where the front teeth do not touch when you close your mouth, and impacted canines that need surgical exposure before they can be moved into place. A complex Invisalign case may use 40 or more aligner trays instead of the typical 20 to 30. The case takes longer because each tooth has farther to travel and the bite has more to correct.

The quote you get at your free consultation is all-inclusive at every price point. It covers every visit, X-rays, scans, broken-bracket repairs, lost-tray replacements, retainer follow-ups, and any virtual checks through Invisalign Virtual Care. There are no records fees, no monthly office fees, and no surprise charges along the way.

McComb Orthodontics is in-network with every major PPO dental insurance plan, including Delta Dental, MetLife, Cigna, Aetna, Guardian, Anthem, BlueCross BlueShield, and United Healthcare. Being in-network means you pay our contracted rate, which is usually lower than our standard fee. Two carriers, Delta Dental and MetLife, have contracted rates for Invisalign that save patients about $700 compared with out-of-network pricing. Delta Dental's contracted rate caps metal braces at $4,500.

Dental insurance for orthodontics works as a discount, not a guarantor. Your plan gives you two numbers, a lifetime maximum and a percentage. It pays whichever is less, which is almost always the dollar amount. A plan written as "$2,000 up to 50%" will pay $2,000 toward your treatment in total, not 50% of your bill. Insurance pays the practice quarterly across the length of your treatment, not in one lump sum. You must keep your coverage active through the full treatment period to receive the full benefit.

About half of dental insurance plans do not include orthodontic coverage. Orthodontics is an add-on that employers buy separately, and many do not. Plans that do include it usually have a six-month waiting period before coverage starts. If you do not have orthodontic coverage, McComb Orthodontics offers 0% in-house financing with no credit check, a pay-in-full discount of up to 11%, and a Medi-Cal discount for patients on state-funded insurance. The treatment coordinator will walk you through every option at your free consultation.

PPO patients do not need a referral. You can book a consultation directly with McComb Orthodontics. HMO patients need a referral signed by their primary care dentist before insurance will pay. Some general dentists offer Invisalign themselves and may decline to refer for that reason. If your HMO dentist will not sign, call any McComb office and the team will help you find an in-network alternative.

No. McComb Orthodontics quotes a single all-inclusive fee at your consultation. The quote covers the panoramic X-ray, 3D iTero scan, full facial photos, every adjustment appointment, broken-bracket and bonded-attachment repairs, lost-tray replacements through Align Technology's provider warranty, retainer follow-ups, and emergency visits at our SOS emergency slots. There is no records fee, no monthly office fee, and no charge for after-hours phone support.

McComb Orthodontics finances every treatment in-house. There is 0% interest, no credit check, and no third-party lender. The minimum down payment is $500. Monthly payments at the average treatment price with $500 down come to about $170. The financing term can stretch up to twice the length of treatment if you need it, so a 12-month treatment can be financed across 24 months. If you need to push a monthly payment back, the practice will move it with no fee and no penalty.

Yes. McComb Orthodontics gives an 8% discount when you pay your full treatment fee by credit card or ACH transfer at the start of treatment. Patients who pay by cash receive an 11% discount, because the practice saves the 3% transaction fee that card processors charge. The discount applies to your final balance after any insurance has been applied.

McComb Orthodontics offers a Medi-Cal discount for patients on state-funded insurance and for patients without insurance who need help. The discount is the strongest the practice offers and is set by the treatment coordinator at the consultation. McComb has also placed pro bono orthodontic cases through partnerships with local schools and LGBTQ youth organizations. If cost is the obstacle, call any office and ask to speak with the treatment coordinator about options.

Yes. The first visit at McComb Orthodontics is free and lasts about an hour. It includes a panoramic X-ray, a 3D iTero scan of your bite, a full series of facial photos, time with the treatment coordinator, and a personal review of the case with the doctor. There is no charge whether you start treatment or not. Most LA orthodontic consultations last 15 to 30 minutes and do not include the doctor. The McComb consultation is built around the doctor's review.

Most patients can be scheduled within a week. Same-day and next-day consultations are sometimes available depending on the day and the location. Call any office directly or book through the website. If you decide to start treatment at the consultation, your first treatment appointment is usually three weeks out. About 40% of McComb patients start treatment the same day as their visit. The same-day deposit is typically $250.

At McComb Orthodontics, Dr. Ryan McComb personally programs every tooth movement in your Invisalign plan. He does not approve the automatic plan that Align Technology's software generates. The auto-generated plan typically delivers about 20% of the desired clinical result if approved without changes. McComb retreats a number of cases each year that were originally planned on the auto-generated version and approved without changes by a general dentist or a less-experienced provider. Your plan is built tooth by tooth, including the overcorrection needed to land each tooth in the right final position.

A dentist can legally prescribe Invisalign. An orthodontist completes four to five additional years of orthodontic residency after dental school. Dentists train as general dentists and handle cleanings, fillings, extractions, and restorations. Orthodontists train only to move teeth and align jaws. Many practices charge similar prices for Invisalign whether the provider is a dentist or an orthodontist. At McComb Orthodontics, every Invisalign case is planned and overseen by an orthodontist with more than 5,000 completed cases.

For most cases, yes. Invisalign and braces correct the same conditions, including crowding, spacing, overbite, underbite, crossbite, and most rotations. The result depends almost entirely on the orthodontist's planning skill and on the patient's daily wear-time, not on which appliance is used. Some severe bite or jaw cases still respond better to braces with elastics, and Dr. McComb will tell you honestly at your consultation if your case falls into that group.

McComb Orthodontics switches any non-compliant teenage patient from Invisalign to braces at no additional cost. The switch is built into the treatment agreement. Compliance patterns are usually visible within the first eight to twelve weeks. If trays are not seating against the teeth at a compliance check, the treatment coordinator and Dr. McComb walk the family through the switch. Parents do not carry the financial risk of an Invisalign plan that the child will not follow.

Twenty or more hours a day, every day. Trays apply pressure to move teeth on a planned path. When the trays are out, the fibers around each tooth pull it back toward its old position. A patient wearing trays only eight hours a day will have teeth that move forward and then snap back, which cancels the movement. Nighttime-only Invisalign wear does not produce the results some ads claim, except for a few very simple cases.

Broken-bracket appointments are included in your treatment fee. McComb Orthodontics holds SOS emergency slots every day at every location for same-day or next-day repairs. After-hours emergencies route to a rotating on-call clinical assistant by phone, evening and weekend included. Lost or broken Invisalign trays are replaced through Align Technology's provider warranty at no charge to the patient. You simply advance to the next tray in your series while the replacement is in production.

The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a first evaluation at age 7. Most children do not need treatment that early. McComb Orthodontics places kids who do not need action on a complimentary observation program with checkups every 8 to 12 months until the adult teeth come in. About one in five children eventually needs Phase 1 treatment. Acting at age 7 instead of waiting can prevent the need for canine exposure surgery and several years of additional treatment in the teenage years.

Phase 1 is early orthodontic treatment, usually between ages 7 and 10, to make room for adult teeth to come in normally and to correct conditions like crossbite, severe crowding, or strong underbite or overbite. Its goal is functional, not cosmetic. About 95% of Phase 1 patients still need Phase 2 treatment in their early teens to finish the bite alignment. At McComb Orthodontics, Phase 1 is recommended only when treatment is clinically needed. Nationally, about one in five children needs Phase 1, and McComb follows that norm rather than treating every child.

No. About half of McComb Orthodontics patients are adults. Teeth move with gentle pressure at any age. The most common adult comment after treatment is "I wish I had started sooner." Adult treatment ranges from short touch-up cases of about six months to full cases of 12 to 18 months. Severe adult overbites can sometimes be corrected without jaw surgery using Invisalign and elastics. Several patients told they needed surgery by other providers have been treated at McComb with aligners alone.

Yes. McComb Orthodontics has treated more than 50 SmileDirectClub corrective cases in the last one to two years. The two most common problems are a posterior open bite, where the back teeth no longer touch and chewing becomes difficult, and trays that never fit properly. Mail-order aligner systems cannot use attachments, elastics, or interproximal reduction, so bite correction was never part of the model. Corrective treatment at McComb Orthodontics typically costs $4,000 to $5,500. The practice offers a $500 courtesy discount to patients who present their original SmileDirectClub receipt or other direct-to-consumer aligner records.

Forever, at night. Teeth shift throughout life as the bone and ligaments around them slowly remodel. McComb Orthodontics provides Vivera retainers made by Align Technology, usually three to four sets at the end of treatment, and offers a retainer subscription program for patients who want continuous replacement. Patients who stop wearing retainers usually see visible shift within a year. Patients who skip retainers for five or ten years often need a new round of treatment to correct relapse.