Invisalign FAQs
Medically reviewed by Dr. Kayla Lebeau, DDS
Invisalign, answered honestly
The questions below are the ones people actually ask in the chair, including the ones the marketing tends to skip. If you want the overview instead, start with Invisalign treatment.
- Worn20 to 22 hours a day
- ChangedUsually every 7 to 14 days
- Typical length6 to 18 months
- Retainers afterwardsFor life, at night
Will it work for me, and how long will it take?
Can Invisalign fix my case?
It handles crowding, spacing, and many bite problems very well. Severe bite discrepancies, large rotations of round teeth, and teeth that need substantial vertical movement are harder, and in some cases fixed braces genuinely do a better job. We will tell you which category you are in rather than sell you the one you came in asking for.
How long does treatment take?
Commonly six to eighteen months. Minor front-tooth crowding can be a few months; a full bite correction is longer. Your scan and plan give a specific estimate before you commit.
Am I too old for it?
No. Teeth move at any age, a little more slowly in adults, and gum health matters more. Any gum disease must be treated and stable first, because moving teeth in inflamed gums causes real damage.
What if I had braces as a teenager and they moved back?
Extremely common, and it is usually because retainers were stopped. Relapse cases are often quick to correct. This time, keep wearing the retainer.
Can I have it done while I still need other work?
Decay and gum disease are treated first, always. Whitening and veneers come after alignment, so we are finishing the shape and color of teeth that are already in the right place.
Living with the aligners
Does it hurt?
Pressure and tenderness for the first day or two of each new aligner, then it settles. Most people describe it as an ache rather than pain. Changing them in the evening means you sleep through the worst of it.
Will people notice?
Rarely, at conversational distance. Attachments. Small tooth-colored bumps bonded to some teeth to give the aligners grip. Are more visible than the plastic itself, and they come off at the end.
Will it affect my speech?
A slight lisp for a few days is common, and it resolves as your tongue adapts. Reading out loud speeds it up.
Do I really have to wear them 22 hours a day?
Yes, and this is the part people underestimate. The plan assumes that wear time. Consistently wearing them less means teeth do not track, aligners stop fitting, and treatment gets extended or restarted. Invisalign is only removable in theory.
Can I eat with them in?
No. Take them out for everything except plain water. Hot drinks warp the plastic, and anything with sugar or color gets trapped against your teeth and causes decay and staining.
What about coffee, tea and wine?
Take the aligners out, then rinse or brush before putting them back. Staining the aligners is cosmetic; trapping acid and sugar against enamel for hours is not.
What if I lose one?
Call us. Depending on where you are in the sequence we will have you move to the next aligner or go back to the previous one while a replacement is made. Do not just leave them out.
How do I clean them?
Rinse in cool water and brush gently with a soft brush and clear soap. Not toothpaste, which scratches, and never hot water.
How the teeth actually move
Each aligner is made very slightly different from where your teeth currently are, a fraction of a millimeter per stage. Worn, it applies steady light pressure.
That pressure triggers real biological remodeling. Bone dissolves on the side the tooth is being pushed toward and rebuilds behind it. This is why the process takes months and why it cannot be rushed: you are waiting on bone turnover, not on plastic.
It is also why wear time is not a suggestion. Below roughly 20 to 22 hours a day the bone starts rebuilding in the old position between wears, and the teeth stop tracking the plan. Most delayed Invisalign cases are wear-time cases, not aligner cases.
Small tooth-colored attachments are bonded to some teeth to give the aligner something to grip, particularly for rotating a round tooth, which plastic alone cannot hold. They come off at the end.
Attachments, refinements, and what happens at the end
What are attachments and do I have to have them?
Small tooth-colored composite bumps bonded to certain teeth, giving the aligner something to push against for movements that flat plastic cannot achieve. Rotations in particular. Most cases need some. They are removed and polished off at the end.
What is IPR?
Interproximal reduction, a very small amount of enamel polished from between certain teeth to create space for alignment, measured in fractions of a millimeter. It is painless, does not weaken the teeth, and often avoids extractions.
What are refinements?
A second short series of aligners at the end to correct whatever did not track exactly as planned. This is normal and expected in a large proportion of cases, not a sign anything went wrong.
What happens when I finish?
Attachments are removed and polished off, and you are fitted with retainers. This is also the point to consider whitening or edge bonding, now that everything is in position.
Do I have to wear retainers forever?
Yes, at night, indefinitely. Teeth move throughout life, whether or not you have had treatment. This is the single most common reason people need a second course of orthodontics, and it is entirely avoidable.
What if my teeth move anyway?
Wearing a retainer nightly makes that very unlikely. If a retainer stops fitting, call us early, a small correction is straightforward, a large one is another course of treatment.
Is it more expensive than braces?
Usually broadly comparable for similar complexity. Cost depends on how many aligners your case needs, and you will have a specific figure before starting.
Can I use a mail-order aligner service instead?
We would advise against it. No in-person examination means no check for gum disease or decay before teeth are moved, and no supervision when something does not track. The problems that result are considerably more expensive than the saving.
Get a scan and a realistic plan
- (310) 860-6969Someone here answers.
- Request a visitWe will call to confirm.
- Pick a time onlineChoose your own slot.
Who it suits, and who it does not
Works well for: mild to moderate crowding, spacing and gaps, mild overbite or crossbite, relapse after braces years ago, and tipping teeth upright.
Struggles with: large vertical movements, rotating canines and premolars significantly, closing large extraction spaces, and skeletal problems where the jaws themselves are mismatched. Some of these are achievable with attachments and elastics; some genuinely need fixed braces or surgery.
Not suitable if you have untreated gum disease or active decay. Moving teeth in unhealthy bone causes harm. Those are treated first, not refused.
We are an Invisalign Platinum Provider, which reflects volume rather than a promise. The useful consequence is that we have seen enough cases to tell you honestly when fixed braces would give you a better result, and we do say it.
Cleaning them without wrecking them
- Rinse every time they come out, before saliva dries on them. Dried saliva is what turns aligners cloudy.
- Brush them gently with a soft brush and cool water. Toothpaste is abrasive and scratches the plastic, and scratches hold stain.
- Never use hot water. It warps them permanently and the fit is gone.
- Brush your teeth before putting them back in after eating. An aligner over unbrushed teeth holds sugar against enamel for hours and causes cavities quickly.
- Only water while wearing them. Coffee stains them, and anything sugary or acidic gets trapped underneath.
- Use the case. Aligners wrapped in a napkin get thrown away. It is the single most common reason for a replacement.
What it costs, and why quotes differ
The main driver is how much movement is needed and therefore how many aligners, a minor front-tooth correction and a full-arch case are different amounts of work and different fees. You get one itemized figure at the consultation covering the scan, the aligners, appointments, attachments, refinements and your first retainers.
Two things to watch when comparing quotes. Ask whether refinements are included. Most cases need a second short series to finish properly, and a quote excluding them is not comparable. And ask whether retainers are included, since they are a real recurring cost.
Orthodontic treatment often has some insurance coverage where purely cosmetic work has none, so it is worth checking your plan; we check it for you. Financing is available and monthly payment is how most people do this.
On mail-order aligners: they skip the X-rays, the gum assessment and the supervision. Moving teeth without checking the bone they sit in is where the harm happens. We would rather you went to another dentist than to a mailbox.