By Dr. Alex Rivera, DMD MS · June 16, 2026
You're an adult or mature teen with mild to moderate misalignment. You have the discipline to wear aligners 22 hours per day — because Invisalign only works when it's in your mouth. You want fewer office visits (every 8–12 weeks vs every 4–6 weeks for braces). You eat a wide variety of foods and don't want dietary restrictions. Your case is primarily crowding, spacing, or mild bite issues.
Your case involves significant bite correction — overbite, underbite, crossbite, or open bite. Braces give me more precise control over certain movements that aligners handle less efficiently. You're a younger teen who may struggle with the compliance demands of Invisalign (wearing them 22 hours/day consistently). Your case is complex enough that I need more mechanical control than aligners offer. Or you simply prefer the lower cost of metal braces.
Invisalign requires 22 hours of wear per day. Patients who wear aligners 18–20 hours per day get 18–20 hours of progress — and their treatment extends significantly. The most common reason Invisalign treatment takes longer than planned is under-wearing. Braces work 24/7 regardless of patient behavior. If compliance is a concern, braces produce more predictable timelines.
At Summit, Invisalign comprehensive ranges from $3,500–$6,500 and traditional metal braces from $4,200–$5,800 for a full case. In most moderate complexity cases, the price difference is $500–$1,500. The right treatment is almost never purely a price decision — the $1,000 saved on braces means nothing if Invisalign was the right treatment for your case and you chose wrong.
Free iTero scan and consultation. We'll show you exactly what each option looks like for your specific case — on screen, before you decide anything.
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