Clear Aligner Treatment

What are clear aligners?

On a digital model taken with an intraoral scan, the path the teeth will follow from their starting position to the target is planned. A separate aligner is produced for each step of that path. Each one moves the teeth a very small amount, and you change to the next every 7 to 14 days.

Aligners are worn 20 to 22 hours a day and taken out to eat and brush — which is both the greatest advantage of the treatment and its greatest risk: an aligner that is not worn does nothing.

Aligners instead of brackets — always possible?

No. Clear aligners are effective for mild to moderate crowding, closing spaces, mild bite corrections and relapse after previous orthodontic treatment.

For skeletal jaw discrepancies, severe rotations, cases needing an impacted tooth to be brought into the arch and complex bite problems, brackets or surgically supported treatment is more appropriate. Which is genuinely suitable is discussed at the examination alongside the measurements; "every case can be solved with aligners" is not true.

The process

1. Records. Intraoral scan, photographs, panoramic and cephalometric radiographs.
2. Digital planning. The movement plan is prepared and the estimated duration and number of aligners established. This plan is a simulation, not a guarantee of the outcome.
3. Production and fitting. The first aligners are delivered and insertion and removal taught. Small tooth-coloured attachments are bonded where needed.
4. Reviews. Every 6 to 8 weeks the movement is checked against the plan. If it deviates, a new scan and revised plan follow.
5. Retention. Once treatment ends, teeth tend to drift back. Without a retainer — a night-time appliance or a bonded lingual wire — the result is not maintained. This stage is not optional.

Comfort and adaptation

Pressure and mild tenderness for the first two to three days with each new aligner are usual and indicate the tooth is moving. A temporary change in speech disappears within the first week.

Nothing but water should be drunk with aligners in: hot drinks deform them, and sugary drinks stay trapped underneath and raise the risk of decay.

This page is general information and does not replace a dental examination. Whether the treatment suits you, and the method and duration, are decided only after an intraoral examination and radiographic assessment.