INVISALIGN® · BETHESDA, MD

Straighten your teeth without putting your life in brackets.

Invisalign uses a personalized series of clear, removable aligners to gradually move your teeth into planned positions — giving many adults and teens a more discreet alternative to traditional braces.

Take them out to eat. Put them back in to keep your smile moving.

IT’S MORE THAN “CROOKED TEETH”

Six reasons your teeth may need to move.

Clear aligners can address several types of tooth-position and bite problems, but whether Invisalign is appropriate — and how complex treatment will be — depends on the movements your particular smile needs.

Crowded teeth

When there isn’t enough room for the teeth to sit comfortably in the arch, aligners can gradually create and redistribute space to improve their positions.

Gaps between teeth

Unwanted spaces can often be closed by carefully moving neighboring teeth toward more balanced positions.

Overbite / deep bite

When the upper front teeth overlap the lower teeth too deeply, Invisalign may be able to change tooth positions and improve the bite relationship in appropriate cases.

Crossbite

If selected upper teeth bite inside the lower teeth rather than outside them, clear aligner treatment can be used for certain crossbite corrections.

Open bite

When some upper and lower teeth don’t meet when you close, planned orthodontic movement may help improve the way those teeth come together.

Teeth have shifted again

Teeth can move after previous orthodontic treatment, particularly when retention hasn’t kept them in their corrected positions. Clear aligners may be an option for selected relapse cases.

You don’t have to know whether the problem is “crowding,” “overbite” or something else before you come in.

Clear doesn’t mean passive: each aligner is one planned step in a sequence of tooth movements.

HOW CLEAR ALIGNERS ACTUALLY MOVE TEETH

The plastic is clear. The plan behind it is anything but simple.

Invisalign treatment uses a sequence of custom-made clear aligners, with each stage designed to apply controlled pressure that gradually moves selected teeth toward their planned positions. The treatment plan is mapped digitally before and during the orthodontic process.

But the aligners aren’t always working alone. Small tooth-colored attachments may be bonded to selected teeth to give the aligner additional grip for particular movements. Depending on the bite correction required, other orthodontic components may also form part of the plan.

And because the appliance is removable, your consistency becomes part of the treatment. Invisalign says most patients are instructed to wear their aligners around 20–22 hours per day, while removing them for meals and oral hygiene.

THE TRAYS ARE ONLY PART OF THE TREATMENT

Aligners move the teeth. The details help control where they go — and keep them there.

Your Invisalign plan may include more than a stack of clear trays. The exact combination depends on the movements your teeth and bite need.

Custom Clear Aligners

Each aligner is made for a specific stage of your treatment and fits over your teeth to apply the planned forces needed for gradual movement. You progress through the sequence according to the schedule prescribed for your case.

Attachments & Bite Aids

Small tooth-colored attachments can be bonded to selected teeth to help the aligners produce certain movements more effectively. Some treatment plans may also incorporate orthodontic elastics or other auxiliaries when needed.

Retention After Invisalign

Moving the teeth is only the first half of keeping the result. Retainers are used after orthodontic treatment to help hold teeth in their corrected positions and reduce relapse.

YOUR INVISALIGN TREATMENT · STEP BY STEP

Scan it. Move it. Keep it there.

We evaluate your teeth and bite and capture the information needed to create a digital treatment plan showing how the individual tooth movements are intended to progress. Invisalign uses digital treatment-planning technology to customize that sequence.

You wear each set as directed — typically most of the day and night — removing the aligners to eat, brush and floss. You then progress through new aligners while we monitor whether your teeth are tracking as planned.

Once active tooth movement is complete, retainers help hold your new positions while the surrounding tissues adapt and reduce the risk of the teeth drifting back.

What patients say

200 reasons to choose us.

We don't ask you to trust us. We let our patients do the talking.

Straightening your smile can happen over time. The cost can too.

Bethesda Dental Group accepts most PPO insurance plans, and orthodontic benefits may vary depending on your specific coverage. Cherry, Sunbit, Proceed and Care Credit financing is also available for eligible Invisalign treatment with no hard credit check · approval in seconds · and plans from 3 to 24 months.

If you’ve been waiting for straighter teeth, the braces may be optional.

Whether you’re dealing with crowding, spaces, bite concerns or teeth that shifted after previous orthodontic treatment, we’ll evaluate what needs to move and whether Invisalign is the right way to get it there.