Invisalign at a Platinum Elite practice: what your journey looks like

Your consultation

About forty-five minutes with Louise, with no obligation. She listens first: what you would like to change, anything that worries you, any dates you have in mind. Then she examines your teeth, gums and bite, and we take the iTero digital scan. There is no putty, no gagging and nothing to post off; the scanner builds a 3D model of your teeth in a few minutes. From that model the software shows a simulation of where your teeth could move, and that moment, seeing your own smile straightened on screen, is when it becomes real for most people. You leave with a written quotation for the package Louise recommends, and nothing begins until you are ready.

A plan designed by Louise

If you go ahead, your scan and the orthodontic X-ray included in your package go to Align Technology, where technicians produce a first draft of the treatment plan, called a ClinCheck. Louise then works through it tooth by tooth: the order the teeth move in, how far each one travels at each stage, where attachments go, whether any enamel polishing is needed, and how the bite will finish. This is the part of Invisalign that depends entirely on the clinician, and it usually takes a couple of rounds of refinement before she approves it. You see the final plan before anything is manufactured.

Your first aligners

Treatment can begin in as little as two weeks from your consultation. The fitting appointment takes about an hour. Louise places any attachments, checks the first aligners seat properly, and shows you how to put them in and take them out. The Dental Monitoring app is set up on your phone. You leave knowing exactly how to wear and care for them: twenty to twenty-two hours a day, out for eating and for drinks other than water, with your teeth brushed and the aligners rinsed before they go back in.

Life with aligners

You change to a new aligner every one to two weeks, as Louise directs for your plan. Every week or so you take a quick scan with your phone through the app; Louise sees it and either confirms you can move on or asks you to keep the current aligner a few more days. You visit the practice roughly every six to eight weeks so she can check progress in person. Most courses run between three and eighteen months depending on the package: Express three to four months, Lite six to seven, Moderate nine to twelve, Comprehensive twelve to eighteen.

Refinements

Towards the end Louise takes another scan. If any teeth need a final nudge, a short set of refinement aligners is ordered; this is normal and included in every package except Express. Then the attachments are removed, the teeth are polished, and the bite is checked.

Reveal, then retain

Your Vivera retainers are fitted on the day treatment finishes, and your professional whitening completes the transformation. Twelve months of aftercare reviews are included so Louise can check the result is holding. Retainers are nightly at first, then a few nights a week for good; the retainers guide explains why.

What Platinum Elite means

Align Technology groups Invisalign providers by the number of cases they treat. Platinum Elite reflects the volume of Invisalign treatment Louise has planned and delivered since 2007. It is a measure of experience, not a ranking of quality; what it tells you is that your plan is being designed by someone who has seen your type of case many times before and knows how teeth actually behave compared with the computer's prediction.

Who Invisalign does not suit

Honesty matters more than a sale. Invisalign now treats the large majority of cases we see, but a few complex bite problems are still better served by fixed braces or by a specialist orthodontist, and it only works for people who will genuinely wear the aligners. If either applies, Louise will say so at the consultation and point you to the right route.

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

How long does Invisalign take from start to finish?

Including planning, from about four months for an Express case to around eighteen months for a Comprehensive one. Most adult cases finish within a year.

How many appointments will I have?

The consultation, the fitting, and a review roughly every six to eight weeks, with phone scans in between. A typical Lite case involves four or five visits in total.

Can I start straight after the consultation?

You can decide on the day or take as long as you like. Once you go ahead, treatment can begin in as little as two weeks.

What is a ClinCheck?

The digital treatment plan that shows every stage of movement. Louise refines it before approving it, and you see the final version before anything is made.

Is the £25 booking fee refundable?

It reserves your consultation and is credited in full to your treatment if you go ahead. It is non-refundable if you do not proceed, and we remind you of this when you book.