Braces and Invisalign Near Rancho Cucamonga, CA: What the Next Two Years Actually Look Like

Month 0: The Free Consultation

One visit, about an hour. Dr. Tran examines the teeth and bite, takes a digital scan and X-rays, and tells you three things: whether treatment is recommended now (or later, or not at all), which option — braces or Invisalign — fits the case, and the price. You leave with a written number. Nobody signs anything that day unless they want to.

If the answer is "not yet" — common for kids around 7 or 8 — you're put on a recall and checked again in six to twelve months, free.

Month 1: Getting Started

Braces: one appointment to place brackets and wires, about 60–90 minutes. Some soreness for a few days; soft foods help.

Invisalign: the scan from the consultation becomes a series of aligners. At the first appointment small tooth-colored attachments are bonded to some teeth and you get your first sets. Same few days of pressure and adjustment.

Either way, the down payment is made at this visit: $300 for braces, $500 for Invisalign, then the monthly plan begins.

Months 2–22: The Rhythm

Braces: an adjustment visit about every 6–8 weeks, typically 20–30 minutes. Wires are changed, progress is checked. For a Chaffey student, that's roughly one appointment per grading period, and we schedule after-school slots.

Invisalign: a check-in about every 8–12 weeks. You change aligners at home on schedule (usually every 1–2 weeks), so visits are less frequent than braces. Wear time is 20–22 hours a day, and that's the whole game — an aligner in a backpack isn't moving anything.

Somewhere in this stretch, a small number of cases turn out to need an appliance — an expander, a spring, something specific. If that happens, Dr. Tran sits down with you, explains why, what it costs ($500–$1,500 depending on the appliance), and what happens if you don't. No surprises on the bill.

See Braces Pricing & Options

Month 24 (Give or Take): Finishing

Comprehensive treatment typically runs 24 months, sometimes 18 to 30 depending on the case. Braces come off in one visit; Invisalign ends with the last aligner set. Then retainers — and this is the part families skip, and the reason teeth drift back. The retainer plan is part of treatment here, not a separate upsell.

The Money, Month by Month

Zero-interest in-house financing, no lender involved:

• Comprehensive braces (about $3,500): $300 down, about $133/month for 24 months

• Comprehensive Invisalign (about $4,000): $500 down, about $146/month for 24 months

• Phase One (about $3,000, younger kids): $300 down, about $150/month for 18 months

• Invisalign First (about $3,500, younger kids): $500 down, about $167/month for 18 months

CareCredit is accepted, and paying in full in cash earns 5% off — which stacks with CareCredit if you pay the full amount through it up front.

Insurance: PPO orthodontic benefits typically cover a portion; we verify yours before the consultation. Medi-Cal Dental covers braces for medically necessary cases and does not cover Invisalign. IEHP is accepted.

See Your Payment Plan Options

If You Have More Than One Kid in the Pipeline

Common in Rancho Cucamonga. Siblings rarely need treatment at the same time, and we don't push it. A 7-year-old's free evaluation and a 13-year-old's braces can be the same afternoon; a younger sibling's cleanings can happen with our pediatric dentistry team in the same building. Two in-house plans can run at once if it comes to that; the math is the same for each.

Meet Dr. Lyndon Tran

Dr. Tran is board-certified by the American Board of Orthodontics. He attended dental school at New York University, where he was recognized as a top student in the orthodontic honors program, and completed his orthodontic residency at NYU. Every treatment plan on this page is his, start to finish.

Why Drive to Pomona When There Are Orthodontists on Foothill and Haven?

Fair question — Rancho Cucamonga has several good orthodontic practices, and for some families the closest office is the right one. Here's the honest case for the drive: a published price list and monthly figures (none of the Rancho Cucamonga orthodontic sites we've seen print either), Medi-Cal Dental and IEHP accepted for braces (most local specialists don't), a 0% in-house plan with no lender, and a pediatric dentist under the same roof so younger siblings' cleanings happen in the same trip. If none of those matter to you, a local office is fine. If two or three do, it's fifteen minutes on the 210 or the 10.

Los Osos, Etiwanda, Rancho Cucamonga, and Alta Loma High Athletes

Braces and contact sports work together with an orthodontic mouthguard that fits over the brackets. Invisalign comes out for practice and games and a regular mouthguard goes in — it just has to go back in afterward to keep the 20–22 hours. Band and orchestra players in braces adjust within a couple of weeks. A broken bracket the night before a game is a short repair visit, usually within a day or two, with wax over it until then.

Getting Here From Rancho Cucamonga

The 10 west or the 210 west, or Foothill Boulevard straight through Upland and Claremont. The office is at 1532 San Bernardino Ave, Suite A1, Pomona. We see orthodontic patients from Alta Loma, Etiwanda, and Cucamonga, plus Fontana, Upland, and Ontario.

Kids Dental Castle & Orthodontics

1532 San Bernardino Ave #A1

Pomona, CA 91767

909-741-7052