In short
Invisalign clear aligners are a series of custom made, removable clear trays that move teeth into a planned position without wires or brackets. At Form + Function Dental Aesthetics in Las Vegas, Dr. Kevin Tan plans every Invisalign case with a digital intraoral scanner and large view CBCT imaging so the bite and the airway are reviewed alongside the alignment goal, because straightening teeth changes how the jaw closes and how much room the tongue has. The practice treats appropriate aligner cases in house, does not offer conventional braces with wires and brackets, and refers complex orthodontic cases to a trusted specialist.
Invisalign clear aligners are a series of custom made, removable trays worn over your teeth to move them into a planned position. Each tray is shaped slightly differently from the one before it, so the movement happens in small, deliberate steps. There are no wires and no brackets, and the trays are thin and clear enough that most people will not notice them.
Because they come out, they do not change what you eat. You take them out to eat and to brush, then put them back in. The list of foods people avoid with conventional braces does not apply.
At Form + Function Dental Aesthetics in Summerlin, Invisalign sits with our airway and TMJ care rather than in a cosmetic bucket. That is deliberate. Straightening teeth changes how your jaw closes and how much room your tongue has. An alignment that leaves the bite worse or the airway smaller is not a result, however good the front teeth look.
Why Invisalign here is planned around the bite and the airway
Teeth do not move in isolation. The upper and lower arches meet each other, and the tongue lives inside the lower arch, so moving teeth changes both the meeting point of the jaws and the room the tongue has. Planned carefully, that room is protected. Treated as a front tooth exercise, it can quietly shrink.
This is personal ground for Dr. Kevin. He was an elite athlete who could not get enough oxygen, and the cause turned out to be a narrow dental and skeletal airway, not a fitness problem. He reviews the bite, the jaw joints and the airway in every aligner case. If you clench, wake with a sore jaw, snore or never feel rested, tell us before planning starts.
How do Invisalign clear aligners actually work?
Invisalign clear aligners work by applying gentle, continuous pressure to specific teeth through a sequence of trays, each shaped to the next planned position. You wear one aligner for the period Dr. Kevin sets, then move to the next. Some cases need small tooth colored attachments bonded to a few teeth so the tray has something to push against, and some need space created before crowded teeth can line up. Dr. Kevin walks you through what yours needs.
- You wear the aligners through the day and overnight, taking them out to eat and to drink anything other than water.
- You move to the next aligner in the series on the schedule Dr. Kevin sets.
- Teeth commonly feel tender for a day or so after a new tray goes in. That tension is the movement happening, and it settles.
- You return at set intervals so Dr. Kevin can check the teeth against the plan.
- Treatment length depends on how far the teeth have to travel and how consistently the trays are worn. You get an estimate at the consultation.
- Retention begins the day the last aligner comes out.
How Invisalign treatment is planned at Form + Function
Your records start with a digital intraoral scan. A small camera passes over your teeth and builds a three dimensional model on screen in a few minutes. There is no impression material and nothing to gag on.
Alongside the scan, Dr. Kevin takes a large view CBCT, a three dimensional image covering the head down to the neck. It shows the roots of your teeth, the jaw joints and the airway itself. Low dose digital X-rays fill in the detail. If your history or the CBCT suggests the airway is part of the picture, we can record your oxygen overnight at home with a SleepStat BLE high resolution pulse oximeter. Medical diagnosis of sleep apnea is made by a physician, and we coordinate with one when the evidence points there.
Only then is the aligner sequence designed, and you see the plan before anything is ordered.
What can Invisalign correct, and what needs a specialist?
Invisalign handles many cases of crowding, spacing, tipped or rotated teeth and milder bite discrepancies, including teeth that drifted back years after childhood braces. It also does limited movement to prepare for cosmetic work, so a veneer can be made thinner and more conservative.
It is not the answer to everything. Severe skeletal discrepancies, cases needing surgical correction of the jaws and complex orthodontic problems sit outside what clear aligners alone can do. Form + Function does not offer conventional braces, and complex orthodontic cases are referred to a trusted orthodontist in our Las Vegas network. Oral surgery, including extractions, is referred out as well. We will tell you plainly where your case falls.
When the upper jaw is too narrow for alignment alone
Sometimes teeth are crowded because the jaw holding them is narrow, not because the teeth are badly placed. Lining them up inside an arch that is too small can mean removing teeth or tipping them outward, and neither helps the tongue find room. Where the upper jaw is narrow, Dr. Kevin may recommend MARPE, microimplant assisted rapid palatal expansion, before or alongside aligners. MARPE widens the jaw itself rather than fanning the teeth within it. Whether you are a candidate depends on what the CBCT shows.
Do I really need a retainer after Invisalign?
Yes, and it is not optional. Teeth are held by ligament and bone that remodel slowly, so for a long while after treatment they carry a real tendency to drift back toward where they started. A retainer holds the new position while that settles, then protects it for the long term. Which retainer you get and how long you wear it depends on your case, and it is in the plan from the start. If you also clench or grind, Dr. Kevin makes custom orthotics and night guards here.
What does Invisalign cost in Las Vegas, and will insurance help?
Clear aligner treatment is priced case by case, because a small correction of two front teeth and a full arch realignment with expansion are not the same treatment. We do not publish a figure, because an honest number depends on what your scan and your CBCT show. What we commit to is this: you receive the full cost in writing before treatment begins, with nothing added later.
We accept most PPO dental plans and are in network with a select few. Some dental plans carry an orthodontic benefit, many do not, and the ones that do usually cap it. We will help you read what your plan says, and we will not promise coverage we have not verified. Payment plans and third party financing are reviewed at the consultation. Cosmetic consultations are $50, and we will tell you which appointment fits before you book.
Your first visit is unhurried by design. About two hours are reserved for every new patient, and Dr. Kevin sees one patient at a time from start to finish, so the appointment is a conversation rather than a queue. You leave knowing whether Invisalign suits your case, whether expansion or airway work belongs in the plan, and what all of it costs in writing. The studio is at 4205 S. Grand Canyon Dr. #19 in Summerlin, next to Target at the Grand Canyon Shoppes, open Monday through Thursday.
