Clear aligner treatment is a journey, and sometimes a long one—but the confidence you get from a brand-new smile is worth it. And while every clear aligner brand uses a series of plastic trays to shift the teeth, that journey looks different for each one. If you’re considering teeth-straightening treatment, you’re likely wondering what to expect. From your first step through the dental office door to the last time you take out your aligners, here’s a step-by-step guide to Linea treatment.

Step 1) Complete a Smile Quiz.

Before anything else, we need to get a sense of your smile concerns. This quick quiz asks a few questions to give our smile consultants some general info about you and your teeth. They include:

• What is your primary complaint? (crowding, spacing, etc.)
• What is the severity of your issue? (mild, moderate, or severe)
• Have you ever had braces?
• Have you had your wisdom teeth removed?
• Do you have dental implants?
• How did you hear about Linea?
• What is your postal code? (To find a provider near you)
• What is your name and contact info?

You can complete the smile quiz right here, and it typically only takes around a minute.

Step 2) Book Your Initial Consultation.

After we get your quiz results, one of our smile consultants will reach out to discuss your goals and answer your questions. They will also tell you about the Linea providers in your area and help you book your initial consultation. At this point, assuming you wish to continue, you’ll need to pay a booking deposit of $50 in order to confirm your appointment booking.

Before you attend your appointment, we recommend downloading the Linea app. It will remind you about your upcoming appointments, give you access to your treatment plan, and help you track your progress during treatment. Plus, you can use it to chat with the customer care team seven days a week.

Step 3) Go to Your Consultation.

On the day of your appointment, you’ll go to the Linea dentist you and the smile consultant selected. There, you’ll meet the dentist who will direct your treatment. They’ll start with an oral exam to determine whether your teeth are healthy enough for clear aligners. If you have any cavities, gum disease, or other underlying issues, you’ll need to address those first.

But if you’re a suitable candidate for treatment, they’ll take 3D scans, x-rays, intraoral photos, and extraoral photos of your teeth. The dentist will upload these images to the Linea portal, and we’ll use them to confirm your candidacy for treatment, determine which tier your misalignments occupy, and eventually design your aligners.

The cost of this consultation is $300, and we will refund the $50 booking deposit you paid earlier.

Step 4) Review Your Treatment Plan.

Once we get the diagnostics from your dentist, we’ll use them to design your treatment plan—a 3D representation of your entire smile transformation.Typically, this process only takes around 3–5 business days. After we’re done, we’ll send the plan to your dentist, who can make changes if they’d like. Once they're satisfied, we'll make your treatment plan available to you in your Linea portal for your review and approval. You'll also see an invoice with the full price of treatment, which you can choose to proceed with if you're happy with the plan.

Unlike Invisalign, whose prices can vary significantly based on your misalignment, dentist, location, and more, we have three different flat-rate prices, depending on the tier you fall into. Here’s how they break down:

Like what you see? You can pay the total bill or enroll in a payment plan to get started, and we’ll get to work creating your aligners.

Step 5) Book a Fitting Appointment.

To do their job, clear aligners need to fit perfectly. If they don’t, they won’t be able to apply the pressure necessary to move your teeth. So we will use the detailed diagnostics your dentist takes to design and manufacture your first batch of aligners, which usually takes around 10–15 days.

Then, you’ll schedule a second appointment with your dentist, where you’ll try on your new aligners and they’ll provide instructions on how to use your aligner kit. They might also apply attachments or administer interproximal reduction (IPR) if your plan requires them. Attachments are tiny buttons the dentist can affix to your teeth to improve orthodontic tooth movements, while IPR involves slightly shaving down the enamel between your teeth so they have more room to move. Your fitting appointment is included in your plan, so there is no extra additional charge for this appointment.

Step 6) Wear Your Aligners.

Now it’s showtime. The part you’ve been waiting for: Your actual tooth movements. Of course, it won’t happen overnight. Instead, you’ll wear your aligners for 22+ hours per day, removing them only to eat or drink (besides water). You’ll wear each set for 10–14 days before switching to the next ones, and you’ll upload photos of your teeth to the Linea app at the end of every month.

Our clinical team will review these progress photos to ensure your teeth are moving as expected. If not, they will provide feedback on how to adjust your schedule or aligner wear. They may also recommend returning to the dentist for another exam.

Step 7) Attend a Mid-Treatment Checkup.

Some aligner companies produce and ship all your aligners at once. This might save a little time, but it also doesn’t account for issues that arise in the middle of treatment. That’s why we require a mid-treatment checkup after your 12th set of aligners. During this office visit, your dentist will re-examine and re-scan your teeth. They’ll send us the scans, and we’ll use them to create your next batch of aligners, which we’ll ship directly to you.

The number of mid-treatment checkups depends on the tier of treatment you have. Most people fall into tier 2, which requires one checkup. Tier 1, however, doesn’t require any, while tier 3 requires two. Should any unexpected issues arise during the course of your treatment requiring any additional, in-person check ups, Linea will help you schedule one. Your mid-treatment check-ups are included in your treatment plan and don’t come at any additional, out-of-pocket cost.

Step 8) Finish Your Treatment.

This is it: The home stretch. Continue wearing your aligners as directed, and you’ll notice your smile getting gradually straighter. Once you finish wearing the last set of aligners, you’ll return to the dentist for one last visit. If everything looks good and you're happy with your smile, they'll remove any attachments and complete your case. We'll then print your custom retainers and ship them directly to you along with your complimentary whitening.

However, if your teeth aren’t quite there yet, you’ll get another scan, which we’ll use to create refinement aligners. Refinements require a $150 fee for the dentist, but we’ll create and ship the aligners for free. It typically takes 10–15 business days, and you can just keep wearing your last set of aligners until your new ones arrive. Because the consistent remote oversight and mid-treatment checkups can alert dentists to potential issues, it’s rare for patients to need refinements, but it’s possible with any orthodontic treatment.

Step 9) Show Off Your New Smile.

You did it! You wore your aligners diligently and worked regularly with your dentist, and you’ve got a dazzling smile to show for it—plus a revitalized confidence during photo ops.

Final Thoughts

Orthodontic treatment can seem intimidating, but if you know exactly what to expect, it’s a lot more approachable. And at Linea, we’re all about trying to make treatment as simple, easy, and affordable as possible. If you made it this far and you’re ready to dive in, start with our smile quiz. We’ll get you connected to a local dentist for your initial consultation. Before you know it, you’ll be admiring that brand new smile in the mirror.