Invisalign · San Ramon
Straightening that fits around your job
Clear aligners for adults who don’t want a year of metal in every meeting.
Who this is for
- Adults who declined braces as a teenager and have thought about it since
- Crowding that has slowly worsened over the years
- Professionals who present, teach, or are on camera regularly
- Teenagers who’ll genuinely wear them — which is the whole question
How it works
We scan your teeth digitally — no impression material — and plan the movement. You get a series of clear trays, each worn about a week, each moving things a fraction further.
They come out to eat and to brush, which is the practical advantage: nothing is off-limits, and cleaning your teeth doesn’t become an engineering problem. They need to be in around 20 to 22 hours a day for the plan to hold.
When we’d recommend braces instead
Aligners handle crowding, spacing, and mild-to-moderate bite issues very well. They’re less predictable with substantial bite correction, significant rotations on round teeth like premolars, or moving roots a long distance.
If your case is one where fixed braces would give a better result, we’ll tell you and refer you to an orthodontist we trust. Getting a mediocre outcome from the more comfortable option isn’t a favor to you.
The part that decides the outcome
Wear time. The plan assumes 20 to 22 hours a day, and aligners left in a napkin at lunch are the single most common reason treatment runs long.
And afterwards: retainers, indefinitely. Teeth drift back for the rest of your life — that’s not a failure of the treatment, it’s just what teeth do. Most patients settle into wearing a retainer at night a few times a week. If you’re not willing to do that, we’d rather have that conversation before you spend the money.
Questions
Answered before you ask.
Will people notice?
Most don’t. Small tooth-colored attachments are usually bonded to some teeth to grip the aligner, and those are the most visible part — still far less noticeable than brackets and wire.
Is it more painful than braces?
Generally less. The movements are smaller and more gradual, and there’s no wire to irritate your cheek. The first day or two of each new tray is the noticeable part.
What if I lose a tray?
Go back to the previous one and call us. Don’t skip ahead to the next — that’s how a plan stops tracking and treatment gets extended.
Can my teenager do this?
If they’ll wear them. Some teenagers are excellent about it; others genuinely do better with braces they can’t remove. We’ll give you an honest read rather than a sale.
In their words
Thirty years of families who stayed.
Every quote below is a patient's own, unedited, from our reviews.
“We LOVE LOVE LOVE Avalon Dental! Dr. B is the best dentist we’ve ever gone to”
Cassondra H. “Dr B. always does a great job and you don’t feel the work getting done”
Marie T. “The staff always make my experiences with them the best and most comfortable”
Rebecca C.