Moving to the Netherlands halfway through your aligner treatment

Tell your current provider as soon as you know you're moving, not in your last week. Then make sure you leave with these:

• Your records. Your scans, any X-rays, your treatment plan and notes on what has been done so far.
• Your case number and stage. Both are engraved on every aligner. Write down which stage you're on now.
• Your remaining aligners, if your provider is willing to give them to you.
• Your most recent aligner. Keep it in its bag. If your current one breaks or a new one doesn't fit, a provider may ask you to go back one step for a while.
• Clarity about payment. What have you paid for, what's still open, and what happens to that when you leave? Get the answer in writing.

Close to the end of your treatment? Then also ask what the plan is for your retainers.

During the move itself, keep wearing your aligners as planned, around 22 hours a day. Moving week is exactly when a case ends up in a drawer for days. Pack them in your hand luggage, not in a box that arrives a week later. Why that wear time matters so much is explained in wearing aligners 22 hours a day.

Your treatment plan and scans are stored digitally in Invisalign's own system. Within that system, a case can be transferred from one provider to another. You don't arrange that part yourself. Your current provider releases your case, and your new provider accepts it. From then on, your plan is available to the provider who takes over. That doesn't mean we simply carry on with it. We first need to know exactly what your previous provider had in mind, and in most cases we'll adjust the plan. From the moment we take over, we're responsible for how your treatment goes.

Two things follow from that.

First, your new provider has to work with Invisalign. Not every dentist does, because providers need specific training to offer it.

Second, you still need a provider here, even if you've brought every remaining aligner. New aligners and retainers can only be ordered through a provider, never directly by you.

Are your aligners from a different system? Then this route doesn't apply. Ask your current provider before you leave how they handle a move abroad.

How a treatment is built up from scan to last aligner is on the Invisalign page.

Your first appointment here mostly answers one question: are your teeth where your plan expects them to be?

That's why a new provider usually starts with:

• how your current aligner fits, and whether it sits snugly on every tooth
• whether all your attachments are still in place
• the health of your teeth and gums
• a new scan, to compare with your plan

Based on that, your provider decides how the plan needs adjusting, or whether a new plan makes more sense. Most of the time the plan changes at least a little. You hear what and why before anything is decided.

You don't need a referral to book that first appointment. It takes around 30 minutes, and we use a scanner, so no trays of impression paste. What happens during it is on the page about your first Invisalign appointment.

Not as it stands. A few things can get in the way.

If your aligners spent a while in a drawer during the move, they may no longer fit well. Invisalign itself advises talking to your provider after a longer break. Your teeth can also fall behind the plan after weeks of shorter wear. And sometimes records turn out to be incomplete, or a case can't be released quickly.

In those situations your provider looks at what's needed to get you back on track. That can mean an adjusted or a new plan. It's also why we don't say anything about your treatment until we've seen your teeth.

Three things are useful to know before you arrive.

• Basic insurance. If you live or work in the Netherlands, you're generally required to take out Dutch basic health insurance, the basisverzekering. For adults it doesn't cover orthodontic treatment, except in specific situations such as serious developmental or growth disorders of the teeth, jaw or mouth.
• Additional dental insurance. An aanvullende tandartsverzekering may cover part of orthodontic care. What it covers differs per insurer. Insurers don't have to accept everyone for additional insurance and may ask about your health first. Search the policy for the word orthodontie, and ask specifically whether a treatment that's already under way is covered.
• Your remaining treatment. Your new provider gives you their own quote for what's left. What you've already paid abroad stays between you and your previous provider. If you're likely to need new aligners or retainers, ask in advance how those are charged.

One piece of advice applies anywhere, including here. Ask every provider what is and isn't included in the price they quote. How pricing works with us is on the Invisalign costs page.

You don't need to have everything sorted before you get in touch. Get to know us without obligation, tell us where you are in your treatment, and once we've seen your teeth you'll hear honestly what can be continued and what can't. You can do all of it in English. Get in touch and we'll book an appointment.