Table 3.

Respondents’ (N=470) considerations prior to beginning at-home aligner treatment.

	n	%
Spoke to dentist prior to purchasing at-home aligners
Yes	253	53.8%
No	217	46.2%
If yes, what guidance did the dentist provide?*			n=253	%
Recommended in-office supervised aligner treatment (i.e. Invisalign)			121	47.8%
Recommended braces or another in-office treatment			98	38.7%
Did not recommend immediate treatment			29	11.5%
Recommended at-home teeth aligners			28	11.1%
Advised against at-home teeth aligners			20	7.9%
Other			31	12.3%
Had dental insurance when at-home aligner kit was purchased
Yes	310	66.0%
No	156	33.2%
Not sure	4	0.9%
If yes, did you think insurance would cover any portion of the cost?			n=310	%
Yes			98	31.6%
No			164	52.3%
Did not respond to question			48	15.5%
If yes:†			n=49		Mean (SD)
What percentage of the cost did you think insurance would cover?					48.7% (23.3)
What percentage has insurance actually covered?					23.1% (29.1)
Reasons for choosing at-home aligners instead of treatment via a dental provider*
Cost	435	92.6%
Convenience	307	65.3%
Do not have a dentist/orthodontist	44	9.4%
Dentist/orthodontist does not provide aligners	17	3.6%
Other	19	4.0%

^*Respondents could select more than one option

^†Responses only shown for the n=49 who reported finishing treatment and for those who reported being more than halfway through treatment.