Six things to know before you start Invisalign

1. It only works while it is in

Aligners move teeth by pressing on them gently and continuously. Take them out for most of the day and the teeth drift back towards where they were, the next aligner does not fit, and the plan slips. The target is twenty to twenty-two hours a day, which in practice means the aligners stay in unless you are eating, drinking something other than water, or cleaning your teeth. Patients who treat that as non-negotiable finish on time. Those who treat it as a guideline usually need extra aligners and extra months. Dental Monitoring helps here: the app tells you whether each aligner is seating properly before you move to the next, so a problem is caught in days rather than at the next visit.

2. Water only, while they are in

Anything other than plain water comes with a choice: take the aligners out, or risk staining them and trapping sugar or acid against your teeth for hours. Tea, coffee, wine, juice and fizzy drinks all count, and hot drinks can also soften the plastic. Most people settle into a rhythm of fewer, more deliberate drinks, with aligners out and teeth rinsed afterwards, and a good many tell us their teeth are healthier for it. You will carry your aligner case everywhere; aligners wrapped in a tissue are the ones that end up in the bin with the lunch tray.

3. You may have attachments

Most plans use small tooth-coloured bumps bonded to certain teeth to give the aligners something to push and pull against. They are the size of a grain of rice, matched to your tooth colour and barely visible, and they come off cleanly at the end with no damage to the enamel. Some plans also use interproximal reduction, polishing a hair's width of enamel between two teeth to create space; it is not usually painful and stays well within the safe thickness. Louise will tell you at the planning stage exactly which teeth will have attachments and why, and you will see them on the 3D plan.

4. The first few days feel odd

A new aligner feels tight for the first day or two. That is the plan working, and it fades as the teeth move. Your speech may lisp slightly for a day while your tongue adjusts; reading aloud for ten minutes speeds that up. Expect a little tenderness when biting for the first few days of each new aligner. Real pain, a sharp edge, or an aligner that will not seat are not normal, and a message through the app or a call to the practice sorts them quickly.

5. Refinements are normal

Teeth do not always move exactly as the computer predicts; some lag, some rotate less than planned. Towards the end of treatment Louise takes a new scan and, if needed, orders a set of refinement aligners to finish the details. This is a normal part of Invisalign, not a sign that something went wrong, and refinement aligners are included in the Lite, Moderate and Comprehensive packages. Express, which is for very minor movement, does not include them, and Louise will only recommend Express where she is confident it will not need them.

6. Retainers are part of the deal

Teeth move throughout life, so once your smile is straight you will wear retainers to keep it that way: nightly for the first year, then a few nights a week indefinitely. Your Vivera retainers are included in every package and fitted the day treatment finishes. Replacement retainers after the first year are chargeable. We would rather you knew this at the start than discovered it at the end; the retainers guide explains the options in more detail.

And one more: your dentist matters more than the brand

Invisalign is a tool. The result comes from how the teeth are staged, how the bite is handled, when refinements are used and how closely progress is watched. Louise plans every movement herself, reviews the plan tooth by tooth before anything is made, and checks your progress through Dental Monitoring between visits. Align Technology's Platinum Elite status reflects the number of cases she has treated; it is the planning behind each one that you are paying for.

At Clear Braces Solihull every Invisalign package includes your consultation, iTero scan, X-ray, Dental Monitoring, Vivera retainers, professional whitening and twelve months of aftercare, in one written price. Interest-free monthly payments are available.

Questions people ask

Does Invisalign hurt?

New aligners feel tight for a day or two and the teeth can be tender when biting. It is pressure rather than pain, and it fades as the teeth move.

Can I drink coffee with Invisalign?

With the aligners out, yes. Hot or coloured drinks with them in will stain and can soften them.

What happens if I lose an aligner?

Tell us straight away. Usually you move to the next aligner early or go back to the previous one while a replacement is made.

Will people notice the attachments?

Rarely. They are tooth-coloured and small, and most people only notice them if they are pointed out.

How often will I need to come in?

Typically every six to eight weeks, with phone scans through Dental Monitoring in between so Louise can check progress without a visit.