How Long Does Each Appointment for Invisalign Last?

The wonderful thing about Invisalign is that we can be flexible with appointments when patients are pressed for time. We can set up a few short appointments or a longer appointment time to get started.
Usually the first appointment is a bit longer, about an hour. We take special upper and lower impressions, photographs of your face and teeth and x-rays. Once all the preliminary things are all finished and you are ready for your first visit to receive your aligners, a routine Invisalign appointment it is fairly quick about 30 minutes or less here in my office. We always let our patients know how much time is needed for the next Invisalign appointment and we try to be as efficient as we can starting and finishing on time.

Timing for these appointments may vary depending on your provider.
1. Consultation with records - 1 hour
2. PVS impressions - 20-30 min (may be combined with consult visit)
3. Initial Invisalign Insertion and Instructions - 20-30 min
4. Placement of attachments and instructions on aligner insertion and removal - 45min to 1 hr
5. Checking current aligner and dispensing subsequent aligners - 15min. Add approximately 15min if IPR is required
6. Attachment removal, and final/progress records, and PVS imp for refinement/mid course correction or retainer impressions if required- 45min to 1hr
7. Retention visits - 10-15 min

Most Invisalign appointments will only last a few minutes. We try in the new aligners and monitor the tooth movements. If we need to do stripping of the teeth or add new attachments then it could take 30 minutes. You should be at work on time.

After initially receiving your aligners, most appointments will be pretty quick. The doctor will take a few mintues to verify that the teeth are moving as prescribed. They may do some minor re-shaping of tooth surfaces. And then they may give you some more aligners. If all is going well, you shoud be on your way pretty quickly. Typically, 10 minutes or less of doctor time is all that is needed.

The initial Invisalign visit, where the aligners are delivered, may be a little longer. Sometimes buttons are placed or contours are polished and this may take a while, perhaps 30 minutes, but most visits are around 10 minutes.
These visits are where the dentist verifies teeth are moving as planned and adjusting teeth as needed or planned.
There should not be a problem fitting these appointments into a busy schedule!