Key Takeaways
- Treatment starts with a no-commitment iTero scan: you see a simulation of your result before deciding anything.
- Most treatments run 6–18 months, with short check-ins every 6–10 weeks at either studio.
- Aligners are worn 20–22 hours a day and changed every 1–2 weeks.
- At Zen, refinements and final Vivera retainers are part of the original fee, so treatment ends with your result protected.
What happens at the first visit?
Your first Invisalign visit is a conversation and a scan; there is nothing to commit to yet. An iTero scanner captures your teeth digitally in a few minutes, with no impression goop, and generates a simulation of how your smile could look after treatment. You leave knowing whether Invisalign fits your case.
The scan matters more than it might seem. Beyond the preview, it gives your dentist exact digital geometry of every tooth, which becomes the foundation of the treatment plan. We pair it with a full exam that checks gum health, existing dental work, and bite mechanics, because aligners move teeth through bone, and healthy foundations come first.
Some cases need a filling handled before aligners; some would genuinely do better with another approach. Whatever we see, you hear it plainly at this visit, with your simulation in front of you.
How is the treatment plan made?
Your dentist maps every stage of tooth movement digitally: which teeth move, in what order, by how much per aligner. You review the projected result, the estimated number of aligners, and the timeline before approving. Nothing is manufactured until you have seen where treatment ends.
Planning is where provider experience shows. The software proposes movements, but an experienced Invisalign provider adjusts staging, adds attachments where teeth need better grip, and builds in the biology: how quickly bone remodels, which movements need extra time. Our team has planned and finished more than five hundred of these cases, and that pattern library is embedded in every new plan.
What does the aligner phase look like?
You wear each aligner set 20–22 hours a day for one to two weeks, removing them only to eat, drink anything but water, and brush. Check-ins every six to ten weeks confirm your teeth are tracking to plan. Most people describe the routine as automatic within two weeks.
Delivery day
You receive your first sets of aligners, and small tooth-colored attachments are bonded where the plan needs extra grip. We coach you through insertion, removal, and care. Yes, the first day feels strange, and that fades fast.
The rhythm
New aligner every one to two weeks, per your plan. Mild pressure for the first day or two of each set is the feeling of teeth moving on schedule.
Check-ins that respect your time
Short visits at either studio every six to ten weeks. We confirm tracking, hand over your next sets, and adjust early if anything drifts; small corrections now prevent big detours later.
Curious what your own simulation looks like?
The iTero scan takes minutes and comes with an honest read on your case, at either of our studios.
What are refinements, and will I need them?
Refinements are additional aligners ordered near the end of treatment when some teeth need extra fine-tuning. Roughly a third to half of cases use them; they are a normal part of finishing well. At Zen Dental Studio, refinements are included in the original fee.
Teeth are living anatomy, and movement does not always follow the plan exactly. When a tooth lags its planned position, we rescan and order refinement aligners to close the gap. Ask about refinements when comparing providers: unbundled, they can add meaningful cost at exactly the moment you are least able to walk away.
How does treatment end?
Treatment ends with retention: teeth need retainers to hold their new positions while bone consolidates around them. Zen Dental Studio finishes every Invisalign case with Vivera retainers, made by Invisalign from your final scan and roughly twice as durable as standard clear retainers, included in your fee.
Retention is the stage that decides whether your result lasts. Skip it, and teeth drift back, slowly at first, then visibly. You will typically wear retainers full-time briefly, then nights only. Your final scan stays on file, so replacement retainers years later need only a phone call.
That is the whole of it: scan, plan, aligners, refinements, retention, covered by one fee and one team at both studios.