Braces

Aligners

billed under the same code

X-ray, scan, impressions

Visit 1 · records day

The orthodontist maps how the teeth sit and how the jaws meet. This is where crowding, gaps and bite are measured, and where you hear the plan and the full fee.

Brackets on, or tray one in

Visit 2 · getting started

An hour or two. Braces feel odd for a few days; the first aligner feels tight. Both mean it's working. Sometimes a tooth or two is taken out first to make room; that's its own small visit.

A short visit every 4 to 8 weeks

Months 1–18 · the rhythm

Wires tightened or the next trays handed over. Each visit is usually inside the fee you already agreed. The month-by-month drift is slow to feel and obvious in photos.

Braces off · last tray out

The good day

The brackets come off, or the last tray retires. Ten minutes, and a very good mirror moment. Same-day molds are taken for what comes next, because the teeth still remember where they were.

Retainers, honestly

After · for keeps

Nights in a retainer keep the result. This is the part marketing pages skip: treatment ends, retention doesn't. Replacements every few years are a normal, small cost.