· Dr. Marcus Bellini
Invisalign vs. traditional braces: which is right for you?
A practitioner's view of the actual tradeoffs — not the marketing — between clear aligners and brackets-and-wires.
Patients come in already convinced. Either “I want Invisalign, that’s why I’m here,” or “my orthodontist friend says traditional is better, what do you think.” Both groups want the same thing — straight teeth — and both are usually missing the same piece of information.
The honest answer is it depends on the bite, not on the technology.
What Invisalign is actually good at
- Mild to moderate crowding. Up to ~5mm of total displacement, give or take.
- Spacing. Closing gaps is something aligners do well.
- Relapse. Patients who had braces as teenagers and want to clean up a bit of drift. Maybe four to six months of aligners.
- Patients who will actually wear them. 22 hours a day, every day, for a year or more. If that’s not you, this is not your tool.
What braces are still better at
- Severe rotation. A canine that needs to spin 60 degrees? Brackets and wires apply force in a way aligners struggle to match.
- Bite correction. Significant overbites, underbites, or crossbites usually need fixed appliances, often combined with elastics.
- Vertical movement. Erupting an impacted tooth, intruding an over-erupted one. Wires win.
- Patients with low compliance tolerance. Kids and busy adults who will forget the aligners. The work happens whether they remember or not.
What both are equally good at
A lot, honestly. For a typical case — moderate crowding, no bite issues, adult patient — the result is roughly the same. The differences are in the journey:
| Invisalign | Braces | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 9–18 months typical | 18–30 months typical |
| Visits | Every 6–8 weeks | Every 4–6 weeks |
| Diet | Eat anything (remove the aligners) | Avoid hard, sticky foods |
| Cleaning | Brush as normal | More work around brackets |
| Cost at Sycamore | $4,800–$6,500 | $4,500–$6,000 |
| Visibility | Nearly invisible | Visible — and that’s fine |
How we decide
In the first consultation we take photos and a scan. We model the movement digitally. If the movement we need to make is in the “aligners can do this well” set, we recommend Invisalign. If not, we say so plainly.
We have turned down patients for Invisalign because the case was wrong for it. They were never disappointed once they understood why.
A note on cost
Insurance coverage is usually identical between the two. The price difference shows up only because the lab fees are different. Don’t pick based on the assumption that one is “premium” — that’s marketing language, not clinical reality.
If you’re considering either, come in for a consultation. Bring questions written down. We will tell you what would actually work for your mouth.
- invisalign
- orthodontics