Scan to retainer,
in order.

The sequence

1. Consultation and scanForty-five minutes. Photographs, an iTero scan instead of impression putty, and usually an x-ray. No trays are ordered yet.
2. The planA week or two later. A projected sequence of movements you can look at, with the number of trays and an estimated length of treatment. The fee and the insurance estimate come with it, before anything is agreed.
3. FittingThirty to sixty minutes. Attachments are bonded on, the first trays are fitted and checked, and you are shown how to seat and remove them.
4. The middleA tray change every seven to fourteen days, at home. A short check appointment every six to ten weeks -- often fifteen minutes.
5. RefinementCommon, not a failure. Teeth rarely land exactly where the software projected, so a second short series of trays finishes the job.
6. RetainersFitted at the end. Worn nightly, indefinitely.

How long it actually takes

Six to eighteen months for most cases, driven by how far the teeth have to travel. Minor crowding or relapse after old braces can be done in under six months; a complex case runs past eighteen.

The estimate you are given at the plan stage is a projection, not a promise, and it assumes the trays are worn. Which is the next part.

Twenty-two hours a day is the actual requirement

Out for eating and for cleaning your teeth, in for everything else. That works out at about two hours a day of freedom, and it is the single thing that determines whether the treatment finishes on schedule.

This is where aligners are harder than braces, not easier. Braces work whether you are committed or not. Aligners in a case on a desk move nothing, and a few weeks of inconsistent wear adds months at the other end.

What the appointments are like

Short. A check appointment is usually a look at how the teeth are tracking against the plan, a new batch of trays handed over, and any attachment that has come off replaced.

Between appointments you can call if a tray does not seat, an attachment comes off, or an edge is cutting. None of those are emergencies and all of them are quicker to fix early.