Guide · Invisalign

How long does Invisalign take?

Typically around 6 to 18 months. This guide explains what decides where you fall in that range, what happens at each stage from the first consultation to your retainers, and how aligners compare with fixed braces, from the team that provides Invisalign in Edinburgh at City Dental Care, in Edinburgh city centre.

Dr Hamza Al Haddad

Dentist and owner, City Dental Care, Edinburgh · GDC 310491

Typically 6 to 18 months

Invisalign straightens teeth with a series of clear, removable aligners, each moving your teeth a small step towards their planned position. How many steps you need is what sets the length of treatment, and that depends on your case: simple corrections sit at the shorter end of the range and complex ones take longer.

Nobody can give you an honest number for your own teeth before they have been assessed. Your written plan gives the estimate for yours, alongside the price, before you commit to treatment.

Invisalign Lite: fewer aligners, usually sooner

Invisalign Lite (from £1,900) treats one arch, upper or lower, and covers milder cases with fewer aligners, so it usually finishes sooner than full treatment. Invisalign Full (from £3,499) treats both arches and handles more complex movement. Which one your teeth need is decided at the consultation, and our guide to what Invisalign costs in Edinburgh explains the difference, including the 0% finance example: Lite at £1,900 over 12 months is around £158 a month, interest free.

Wear time, and getting used to aligners

• Around 20 to 22 hours a day. The aligners come out for eating, for anything other than water and for brushing, then go back in. Results depend on wearing them, so the estimate in your plan assumes you do.
• A fresh set roughly every 1 to 2 weeks. Each set takes your teeth one step further.
• A few tender days with each new set. Teeth can feel tender for a few days after each new aligner as they begin to move; it settles quickly and ordinary pain relief covers it.

From consultation and scan to your first aligners

1. Consultation. We look at your teeth, listen to what you want to change, and tell you honestly whether aligners suit your case. Every Invisalign consultation includes a digital 3D scan of your teeth and the Invisalign outcome simulator, which shows a preview of how your smile could look. The consultation is free. We take a deposit when you book; we confirm the amount then. It is credited against any treatment you go ahead with, or refunded in full if you don't go ahead with treatment, and our Failure to Attend policy applies. A free consultation is an initial consultation, not a full dental examination. If you need or want a full examination, it is charged at our published private fee: £85 for new patients, including small x-rays, and £55 for existing patients. NHS examinations are free for NHS patients of the practice.
2. Your ClinCheck plan. Your treatment is planned with ClinCheck, Invisalign’s planning software, and you get the written plan, with the estimate of how long it will take and the price, before you commit to treatment.
3. Your first aligners. They are made for your teeth once you decide to go ahead. Once you’ve approved your plan and your payment or finance is in place, your first aligners are usually ready to fit about a week later; your dentist will confirm the timing for yours.

Check-ups and refinements

We monitor your progress at short review visits, usually about every 4 to 6 weeks while your teeth move, with your first check-up about a month after you start. We are open Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 8pm, and Friday 8.30am to 5pm, so evening review visits are available and fit around work.

Teeth are living things, and some cases need extra aligner stages, called refinements, to finish well. Extra stages mean extra aligners, so they add some time; any refinement stages planned for your case are part of your written plan and price.

Retainers afterwards

When your last aligner comes out, a retainer holds your teeth in place. Without one, teeth can drift back towards where they started, and NHS inform says keeping them straight for good means wearing one part-time for life. Retainers are part of every aligner plan with us, not an extra to think about later. The cost guide explains what retainers involve after Invisalign.

For teenagers

We offer Invisalign to teenagers as well as adults, but not to children, and a consultation decides whether aligners suit the case. Invisalign for teenagers is usually considered once most of the adult teeth have come through; the dentist checks this at the consultation. Patients under 16 come to the consultation with a parent or guardian, so you can hear the options, costs and what’s involved together. For a teenager, as for an adult, the length depends on the teeth and is set out in the written plan, and the result depends on wearing the aligners for around 20 to 22 hours a day. Invisalign is always private: free NHS dental care for under-26s does not cover it.

Aligners vs fixed braces: how the timelines compare

City Dental Care offers Invisalign clear aligners only; we do not fit braces of any kind. This section is here for information, because it is one of the first things people ask.

NHS inform says orthodontic treatment usually takes between 18 and 24 months, depending on how complicated the problem is. Invisalign typically takes around 6 to 18 months. The two ranges are not like for like: aligners suit most mild to moderate crowding, spacing and alignment problems, while fixed braces are still the right tool for some complex movements, such as large rotations and significant bite corrections.

So the honest comparison is for your own teeth, at an assessment. If fixed braces or care from an orthodontist would get you a better result, we will tell you and point you to the right route rather than fit aligners that won’t get there. People search for this treatment in different words, and the Invisalign page explains teeth straightening with clear aligners and what each name means.

Who provides Invisalign here

Every Invisalign case is planned with ClinCheck by one of our certified providers. Four of our dentists are Invisalign providers: Dr Feras Elbiss (GDC 303408), Dr Christopher Sarafiant (GDC 310911), Dr Ioannis (John) Rammos (GDC 328949) and Dr Amir Hussein Shahrbabaki (GDC 318837). You can check each of them on the General Dental Council register, and meet them on our team page.

Sources: NHS inform, Orthodontics, updated 3 June 2025. Treatment times, wear time and the consultation steps are the ones on our Invisalign page; the wait for first aligners and the check-up interval come from our own appointment records for 2025 and 2026; prices are our published private fees. Written by Dr Hamza Al Haddad, dentist and owner, City Dental Care, Edinburgh.

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