Invisalign is the number one clear aligner orthodontic treatment in the world. Due to its safety, comfort and superior results, Chicago Smile Design has been providing our patients with orthodontic treatment through Invisalign for over a decade. If you or a loved one is interested in receiving Invisalign treatment at Chicago Smile Design, but have some questions, we hope the videos and articles below will help provide you with useful information. 

How Long Does an Invisalign Case take to Complete?

The length of an Invisalign case will vary from patient to patient. Depending on the current position of your teeth and your desired final position, your case can take shorter or longer. At Chicago Smile Design we are able to determine the length of a patient’s specific case in a few quick steps. First, we thoroughly scan a patient’s entire smile and send these records to Invisalign. When Invisalign receives the records, our doctors and the doctors at Invisalign work closely to develop a treatment plan to help the patient achieve optimal results in the least amount of time needed. After Invisalign and our doctors agree on a patient’s treatment plan, Invisalign will create a computer simulation called a clinical check, or clin check, which will then be presented to the patient. This clin check will show a patient’s planned Invisalign treatment, including the number of necessary aligners and the length of time of the treatment. The average length of an Invisalign case is less than a year, but sometimes a case can be a little bit more or a little bit less than a year depending on the patient’s needs. If a patient requires less treatment to achieve their desired result, they may qualify for Invisalign Express treatment. Invisalign Express is an abbreviated Invisalign treatment option involving 10 or less aligners. In these cases, the length of the treatment would last no more than 10 weeks as Chicago Smile Design recommends Invisalign Express patients to change their aligners on a weekly basis. 

Why can Invisalign be so Expensive?

If you are interested in pursuing Invisalign treatment to adjust your smile, you may already know that the treatment can be expensive. While our office knows these costs can be extreme, we nonetheless think the superior results our patients see through Invisalign are worth the price. There are a number of reasons for this higher price tag that we will explain, today.   First, in order to create your treatment plan through Invisalign, Invisalign requires extensive 3-D image scanning to be done of a patient’s teeth.  This digital scanning can be expensive. The 3-D scanner at Chicago Smile Design uses the most advanced technology available to create a richly detailed replica of your teeth so that Invisalign can accurately determine your treatment without ever having the patient physically go into the Invisalign offices.  After the scan is performed and sent to Invisalign, our doctors and Invisalign will work together to develop a clin check, which is a custom computer simulation of a patient’s treatment provided by Invisalign. This detailed simulation, when presented to the patient, will clearly show step by step how their teeth will move over their recommended treatment length to their desired result. Due to the high performing software utilized and detail shown in cases lasting anywhere from 10 weeks to two years, the clin check adds to the price. Thankfully the clin check is completely adjustable. During the clin check review period, if a patient doesn’t like anything about their teeth adjustments or final orthodontic result, they can request that adjustments be made to their clin check. After the adjustments are made, Invisalign will create another clin check for review. Chicago Smile Design will not proceed with any treatment until our patient is completely satisfied with their final orthodontic result, even if that means creating multiple clin checks.   Once the treatment is approved by our patient, Invisalign will then send Chicago Smile Design the patient’s custom aligners. These Invisalign aligners are made of a medical grade thermoplastic polymer. They are designed for their superior strength, comfortability and safety when worn for years on end. While making the Invisalign aligners of the strongest and safest material possible can increase the price, our patients believe this money to be well spent, given the fact that these aligners are designed to be worn in a patient’s mouth 22 hours a day for a year or more.   The final reason for the high price of Invisalign stems from Invisalign’s emphasis on the patient’s freedom to adjust their case as they see fit. Both Invisalign and Chicago Smile Design believe that a patent’s treatment is not finished until the patient is completely satisfied with the result. With this in mind, if a patient’s case veers from the clin check progress in any way, Chicago Smile Design and Invisalign can make additional adjustments to correct the course of the treatment. If the patient finishes treatment and they are not happy with the result, Chicago Smile Design and Invisalign will continue to adjust the treatment, ordering new aligners, if necessary, until the patient is completely satisfied. All treatment refinements and adjustments will be included in the overall cost of Invisalign. 

Can you speed up an Invisalign case?

At Chicago Smile Design we understand that keeping aligners in your mouth for a year or more may not be all that attractive. While the length of each patient’s Invisalign case is determined specifically with their dental needs in mind, some patients may be attracted to the idea of taking some short cuts to speed up their treatment. We at Chicago Smile Design do not recommend this. We advise against any patient skipping aligners or not wearing their aligners for the recommended hours per day. Chicago Smile Design intentionally schedules a patient’s Invisalign case so that they can move the teeth without causing too much inflammation in the mouth, bone and ligaments. Our goal is to adjust our patients’ teeth only as much as is necessary over a specific period of time. If your teeth are made to move too rapidly over a short period of time a patient may be at risk of causing root resorption, bone loss, gum recession and general pain. (More Invisalign Questions Answered)

What Happens if you Lose your Invisalign tray?

If you lose an Invisalign aligner, you shouldn’t worry. Invisalign cases are setup specifically so that in most cases when a patient loses an aligner, they can just skip to the next Invisalign aligner in their sequence, and it won’t negatively affect their treatment. While skipping ahead one aligner for a week won’t cause any issues, if you consistently lose your aligners and find yourself skipping multiple weeks, it will.  Over a decade Invisalign has reigned supreme in the clear aligner orthodontic field. Owing to their flexible treatment options and the speed at which they provide positive results, Chicago Smile Design is proud to have had Invisalign as their exclusive orthodontic partner for the last ten years. Although Invisalign can sometimes be expensive, we believe the superior end results and the total treatment control Invisalign grants a patient are well worth the price. If you are interested in learning more about Invisalign but are nervous about the price, please contact our office today to schedule a free Invisalign consultation.  Best, Dr Tomaselli

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