Whether a person looks good or not, teeth play a role in lifting weights.

Today, the beauty of teeth has become a strong class symbol, and more and more people are beginning to pay attention to the whiteness and neatness of their teeth. In order to pursue the ultimate beauty, basic whitening toothpastes and electric toothbrushes have been unable to meet the needs of consumers, and many people have begun to embark on the road of "orthodontics".

To tell the truth, orthodontics has a really great impact on a person's appearance, and the appearance will also improve several grades. If you don't believe me, see:

Live examples always make beauty lovers eager to try. However, when you step into the road of orthodontics, the first thing you will face is "how to choose braces": traditional braces are not beautiful and inconvenient, while invisible braces are so expensive that people doubt life.

1. Invisible braces - "Hermes" in the mouth

With the development of medical aesthetics technology, invisible braces have become a new product. Its appearance has broken the drawbacks of traditional braces. Its transparent material and removable features just meet the needs of orthodontists.

However, the high price of invisible braces makes many people stop. A friend, Jane, has always been worried about her "underworld". After work, she resolutely decided to do orthodontic treatment with invisible braces, but when she saw the quotation, Jane took a breath: Correction time In one year, there are 50 sets of braces, which cost a total of 40,000 yuan before and after! With a monthly income of 6,000, she can only choose to pay in installments.

As for this kind of sky-high braces, Ah Zhen joked: "I have a Hermes in my mouth, and it's still invisible!"

How expensive are invisible braces?

Before answering this question, let's first understand the two leading brands of invisible braces: the domestic "Angel of the Times" and the "Invisible Beauty" of Aiqi Technology in the United States. It is understood that these two brands have now divided up more than 80% of the invisible braces market.

At present, Times Angel has launched a total of 4 invisible braces products. The pricing strategy is: Times Angel Standard Edition 32,000 yuan, Times Angel Champion Edition 40,000 yuan, Times Angel Children's Edition 26,000 yuan, and COMFOS 24,000 yuan.

The price of Aiqi Technology's "Invisible Beauty" is not transparent in China. According to its official website in the United States, the price of braces is between $3,400 (about 23,000 yuan) and $7,100 (about 49,000 yuan). However, according to public information, the price of Invisible Beauty in China is higher than that in the United States, and it is more than 20,000 yuan higher than the industry average price!

Compared with traditional steel wire braces, the price of invisible braces has doubled several times, and the price of 40,000 to 50,000 yuan has persuaded many tempted people. However, for the middle class, this price is still acceptable, and if you want to get beautiful teeth, your wallet will always suffer.

2. What is the price of invisible braces?

Why are small invisible braces sold at such a high price? Is this the legendary "IQ tax"? In fact, the reason why invisible braces are "noble" is the result of a combination of factors.

First, the product value determines the price. The reason why invisible braces are more expensive than wire braces is that they look good! Once the invisible braces are put on, no one will notice it unless they look closely, and there is no discomfort. Because it can be removed at any time, it is easy to keep the mouth clean and eat whatever you want.

The traditional steel wire braces not only seriously affects the appearance, but also grinds the mouth. Because they can't wear it by themselves, it is extremely frustrating when eating and brushing.

Second, the market affects prices. Today, human food has become more refined, and the problem of misalignment has become more and more serious, and the probability of people being born with good teeth is very low. According to the CIC report, in 2019, the overall prevalence of malocclusion in my country was about 74%, and the number of cases reached 1.037 billion, which is equivalent to 3 out of 4 people needing teeth straightening!

The appearance anxiety caused by people's misaligned jaw has just driven the rapid growth of the invisible orthodontic market, and my country's orthodontic industry is still in the growth stage, and the industry supply is insufficient. In this seller's market in short supply, the industry competition is not fierce, and the suppliers who entered the market earlier have the pricing power, which will lead to the price of invisible braces products rising.

Also, high industry barriers are an important factor leading to high prices. Orthodontics involves stomatology, biomechanics, material science, computer science, 3D printing, automated manufacturing and other disciplines. It is not an industry that everyone can engage in. Both doctors and enterprises need to have high comprehensive skills. In real life, the high price that consumers pay for invisible braces is not only allocated to enterprises, but also to doctors more often.

Invisible orthodontic treatment relies on the clinical experience of doctors, but because orthodontics appeared relatively late in our country, and an orthodontist needs to undergo "Bachelor, Master and Ph.D." training, and the number of postgraduates itself is small, which leads to Physician resources are very scarce. According to the CIC report, there were only 5,300 orthodontists in my country in 2019, which is equivalent to only 0.4 orthodontists per 100,000 people.

In view of the above factors, invisible braces are not "intelligence quotient tax". They are clearly expensive. Consumers who want to become white, rich and handsome through orthodontics must pay some economic price.

3. Is the "wild braces" of the e-commerce platform reliable?

According to the data, from 2018 to 2020, the gross profit rate of Angel of Times reached 63.8%, 64%, and 70.4%, which is equivalent to 10,000 yuan and 7,000 yuan. Its three-year income was 489 million yuan, 646 million yuan, and 817 million yuan respectively. The huge profits have attracted many manufacturers to settle in, and some start-ups also want to join the track and imagine a share of the pie.

Open a treasure and search for "invisible braces". There are many different brands of braces for tens or hundreds of dollars. The product cover pictures of some merchants also have the portraits of Li Jiaqi and Wei Ya on P.

Such a low price captures the high price of invisible braces, attracting the attention of many consumers, and some products have even sold tens of thousands.

Are these "wild braces" really reliable?

Although there are many "wild braces" on the e-commerce platform, in fact, both invisible braces and traditional braces need to be customized according to individual circumstances, while the invisible braces on the Internet lack the customization process and only have a unified model. Wearing these braces is considered violent orthodontics and can cause irreversible effects on the teeth. Therefore, consumers should think twice about the "wild braces" in the orthodontic industry, and must not be greedy for cheap!

At present, if consumers want to use invisible braces for orthodontics, the general process is as follows: first, they will be examined by a doctor, and the doctor will formulate a correction plan according to their personal situation; then the doctor will transmit the data to the invisible braces company, which will produce invisible braces and Deliver it to the doctor and let the patient buy it for use. Therefore, people with orthodontic needs should go to regular hospitals and clinics obediently and accept big brand products.

Nowadays, as an emerging product, invisible braces are ushering in a golden age in China, and have become the standard of the middle class. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are luxury goods. The ultimate pursuit of "tooth". Wearing braces is no longer a patent for patients with crooked teeth and poor teeth. Those with uneven teeth and sparse teeth can also break through the upper limit of appearance by wearing braces.

However, in the editor's opinion, achieving the purpose of beauty through orthodontics seems to put the cart before the horse. After all, the hospital opens a specialist in orthodontics for people's health, not for a facelift. What kind of income capacity we should have, what kind of consumption level we should have, we can’t do invisible correction, we can still wear wire braces, we can’t afford Hermes bags, we can also carry miscellaneous bags, and there is no problem even if we don’t have backpacks.