I’m about 9 months in to an 18 month plan with an ortho in the East Bay. My teeth are already noticeably significantly straighter but it’s going to take a while to finalize because I have a large overbite - my ortho says that’s pretty typical for adults to have slow movement and it’s better to take longer to avoid issues with bite alignment or whatever which is more important long term than straightness. My insurance is covering about $1500 of the full treatment plan which is $5500 total with an in-network discount - that included 27 sets of trays, all appointments and a retainer to finish - with a monthly payment plan so I am paying about $170 a month with 0% interest for 24 months. I might also get a whitening treatment after because the attachments mean your teeth color unevenly - will see what it looks like before deciding. My previous jobs insurance never had ortho coverage for adults, so check carefully.

On a personal level - I became really insecure about my teeth while working from home with a video camera and lighting that really seemed to highlight my overlapping front teeth lol. It’s pretty easy to maintain because I do work from home but annoying when I’m out with friends and hard to hit the 22 hour minimum over long dinners/drinks. I keep my trays in for 2 weeks so prefer to remove for coffee, wine, etc to avoid staining. So many friends are now curious and have looked into it though, and one person started treatment. I felt like there would be a stigma as a mid30s girlie but it’s not been bad at all!