The Invisalens Overnight System

What Invisalens Is

It is worth being straightforward about what a branded system is and is not. Invisalens is not a different way of bending light. Ortho-K works the way How Ortho-K Works describes, and that is true whoever fits it. What varies enormously between providers is how the design is derived, how carefully the fit is verified, how thoroughly patients are trained, and whether anyone checks the result on a schedule. Those four things account for most of the difference between a patient who loves Ortho-K and a patient who gave up in month two.

Invisalens is our commitment to doing those four things the same way every time, for every patient, and telling you in advance exactly what they involve.

Topography-Guided Design, One Eye at a Time

The most consequential decision in an Ortho-K fitting happens before any lens exists, when the design parameters are chosen. There are two ways to make that decision: from a table of standard curves indexed to a prescription, or from a measured map of the actual cornea. We do the second one.

High-Oxygen Lens Material

Overnight wear is the entire premise of Ortho-K, and it is also the source of its principal risk. A closed eyelid substantially reduces the oxygen reaching the corneal surface, and a lens sitting on top of that reduces it further. An under-oxygenated cornea swells, tolerates lens wear poorly, and is more vulnerable to infection.

Dk is the standard measure of how readily a material transmits oxygen. Modern high Dk gas-permeable materials transmit several times more oxygen than the rigid lens materials of earlier decades, and that single change is most of the reason overnight corneal reshaping became a reasonable thing to do at all. Every Invisalens lens is made in a high Dk material chosen for closed-eye wear.

A Night With Invisalens

From the patient side the routine is short. From the corneal side, a good deal happens between lights out and the alarm.

• Insertion, about two minutes. Hands washed, lenses rinsed, a drop of solution in each bowl, lenses in. Awareness of the lens usually fades within a few minutes of lying down.
• The first hour. The lens centers itself, the tear film settles into its patterned profile, and the pressure differential across the cornea establishes.
• Hours two through seven. The reshaping happens. This is why six to eight hours is the target and why chronically short nights produce partial results.
• Removal, about one minute. Lenses out, cleaned, and stored. The treated corneal profile stays behind.
• The day. Vision holds. In the first two weeks some patients notice slight softening late in the evening, which normally resolves as treatment stabilizes.

What the very first night feels like, and what is normal versus worth a phone call, is covered on First Night Adaptation.

Structured Follow-Up, Not Optional Extras

Ortho-K results are protected at follow-up visits. A decentered treatment zone, an incomplete correction, or early corneal staining are all easy to fix when they are found at week one and much more annoying when they are found at month six. So the schedule is defined and the first month is inside the program price.

Lens parameters get refined when the data indicates they should be, not on a fixed calendar. A design change in the first month is a normal part of the process rather than a sign that something has gone wrong. More on the schedule at Follow-Up Care and Long-Term Maintenance.

What Makes It Different

None of this is exotic. It is what careful Ortho-K looks like when a practice does it constantly rather than a few times a year. Read more about the technology and diagnostics behind it, and our clinical philosophy.

What the Program Includes

The Invisalens program is priced as one system rather than as a sequence of billable events. A complete custom program starts at $1,800. A standalone candidacy consultation starts at $250 and is credited toward your program if you go ahead. You receive your exact figure in writing before you commit.

That covers the consultation and candidacy evaluation, corneal topography, custom design for each eye, both lenses in high Dk material, insertion and removal training, a starter care kit, and the first month of follow-up visits. What falls outside it, such as replacement lenses after the warranty window and care solutions once the starter kit runs out, is listed plainly rather than discovered later.

For children and teens continuing on myopia control, the ongoing program starts at $1,200 per year after the initial fitting and includes scheduled axial length remeasurement. See Package Pricing, What Is Included, and Financing.

Who Invisalens Is For

The system suits the same people Ortho-K suits generally, which is to say most people with low to moderate nearsightedness, healthy corneas, and the willingness to keep a nightly routine.

• Children with progressive myopia, where the goal is slowing axial growth as well as correcting blur.
• Teens who want to play sport and get through a school day without glasses.
• Adults who want daytime freedom without a permanent procedure.
• Athletes in water sports, contact sports, and dusty outdoor conditions.
• Soft lens dropouts whose eyes cannot tolerate daytime lens wear.

Our office is at 15215 S 48th St Ste 180 in Ahwatukee Foothills, Phoenix, near the I-10 and Loop 202 interchange, open Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Call (480) 706-3937 or book a consultation.