If you have been looking into orthodontic treatments, you may have come across clear aligners before. Tailormade to your teeth and designed for comfort, they are removable to fit in with your lifestyle, so you’ll be able to remove them to eat, drink and brush your teeth. Clear aligners have been designed as an advanced solution, treating simple and complex cases, from gaps and crowding, to teeth that don’t bite together properly.
Traditionally, braces are made using metal, plastic or ceramic brackets. These brackets are fixed in place to the front of the tooth and a wire is then held between them. Whilst braces are clinically proven to deliver very effective results, many prospective patients are afraid to wear them as they do not like the idea of their appearance during treatment.
Clear aligners offer the patient a series of clear, removable aligners which are changed every 2-3 weeks. There is no tightening to be done, no changing of wires and no elastic bands to get in the way. Instead, all of the adjustments are made with one new aligner every few weeks.
Since the aligners are clear they are hardly visible in the mouth at all and will fit perfectly against your teeth. As each aligner is individually moulded to specifically fit each patient, clear aligners are much more comfortable than conventional braces.
Clear aligners offer the complete cosmetic orthodontic programme. We will begin with the most important part of straightening your teeth with the series of clear aligners. After this stage has been completed, we will whiten your teeth (if required), followed by any recontouring (if required) to truly give you that perfect smile!
You will then have the choice of having removable or bonded retainers to help maintain your new smile. This is already included in your treatment plan. We prefer the bonded retainers as they will be discretely hidden on the backs of your teeth, which means there isn’t any chance of taking out your retainers to eat and breaking them (which can be common with removable retainers).
The time needed for clear aligners to work will depend on the severity of the patients case. This means that cost will also vary from patient to patient as some people will need many aligners and others will require just a few.
