invisalign
Invisalign works. Here's how it goes.
Invisalign straightens teeth with a series of clear, removable aligners instead of brackets and wires. Most patients finish in 12 to 18 months, it costs about the same as braces, and the aligners are designed to be discreet in everyday life — which is why it has quietly become the default for adults who never got around to orthodontics.
Formerly recognized as a Platinum Plus Invisalign provider — among Align's highest tiers. At your first visit we scan you with the iTero Lumina — no impressions — and show you a projection of your finished smile before you commit to anything. You decide with the end result in front of you.
Why do Invisalign at your dentist's office
Your aligners get planned and checked in the same building as your cleanings and everything else about your mouth — by doctors who see the whole picture, not just the alignment. If a cavity turns up mid-treatment or a crown needs coordinating with your new bite, it is handled here, in one plan, without referrals bouncing you across town.
Check-ins are quick and scheduled around real life, and with at least two full-time doctors in the building Monday through Friday, getting seen is not a production.
What treatment actually looks like
After the scan and your yes, the aligners are manufactured to move your teeth in small, planned steps. You wear each set about two weeks, roughly 22 hours a day, taking them out to eat and brush. Every several weeks we check progress against the plan you saw on day one.
When the moving is done, a retainer keeps it that way. Teeth drift for the rest of your life; the retainer is the insurance on everything you just did — we will be straight with you about that on day one, not at the end.
Retainers, and keeping the result
The aligners do the moving; retainers do the keeping. When treatment ends you're scanned for retainers that hold the new positions while the bone around your teeth firms up — nightly wear at first, then a maintenance rhythm you can live with.
Teeth drift for the rest of your life, orthodontics or not. A retainer you actually wear is the difference between a result that lasts and treatment you quietly repeat in ten years — so the retainer conversation happens at the final visit, not in the fine print.
Questions we hear in the chair
- How many hours a day do the aligners need?
- Twenty to twenty-two. Out for meals and brushing, in for everything else, including sleep. Wear time is the single biggest driver of whether treatment finishes on schedule.
- What happens if I lose an aligner?
- Call us. Depending on where you are in the sequence, you'll either move to the next tray early or a replacement gets ordered — a phone call, not a setback, as long as you tell us promptly.
- How long does Invisalign take?
- Most patients finish in 12 to 18 months. Small corrections can run shorter; complex bites run longer. Your scan produces an actual projected timeline for your teeth, not an average.
- Does Invisalign hurt?
- Each new set feels tight for a day or two — pressure, not pain. Most people describe it as noticeably milder than the braces they remember from adolescence.
- Can Invisalign fix my bite, or just crowding?
- Modern Invisalign handles most crowding, spacing, and many bite issues. Some complex cases are still better served by braces — the scan tells us which you are, and we will say so plainly.
- What does Invisalign cost?
- About the same as braces, and it depends on the length of your treatment plan. You get your written figure with the scan projection at the first visit — including what your insurance contributes, which we check before you come in.
Clinical content reviewed by Dr. Marissa DeAngelis, Senior Dentist.
Serving Crozet for 50+ years. At least two full-time doctors in the building, Monday through Friday.