Clear Aligners
Clear aligners provide a near invisible option for tooth realignment. A modern alternative to traditional braces, clear aligners offer a discrete way to straighten teeth.
Aligners can also be used to treat an overbite. There are an array of benefits to using clear aligners over other treatment options.
Your smile is a key feature of your face and your teeth are for life, so treating orthodontic issues can perfect your smile and increase your confidence and self esteem. As well as cosmetic reasons, having your teeth realigned also corrects your bite and optimises the way in which your teeth deal with mastication (chewing of food), which is their ultimate purpose.
Clear aligners are clear, plastic covers and are similar to a gum shield. The aligners are made of medical-grade plastic, which means that they are hard-wearing and hygienic. A mould is made of your teeth and the aligners are custom made for your mouth, to move your teeth into alignment over the course of the treatment.
Clear aligners are not to be confused with clear braces. Clear braces are just traditional fixed braces but have clear brackets and wires to reduce visibility of treatment. Aligners are not a fixed treatment and do not require fixings to the teeth or wires.
Are Clear Aligners Suitable for Everyone?
With all teeth realignment treatment options, it is important to wait until you have lost your first set of teeth, commonly referred to as ‘baby teeth’, and that the second set are in place. You do not want to spend time and money on treatment to get the perfect smile, only for a tooth to come through and change everything. For this reason, people often wait until they reach adulthood.
Similarly, wisdom teeth are also a consideration. If your wisdom teeth have not come through, but do so after you’ve undergone treatment, there is a risk of your teeth moving out of alignment. Wisdom teeth can come through quite late in life for some people, typically between the ages of 18 and 25, although they do not come through for everyone.
If you are a teenager, considering clear aligners, it is best to speak to your dentist to discuss whether your mouth is ready for such treatment.
As well as age, the severity of your orthodontic problems can affect your suitability for clear aligners. For people with moderate issues, aligners are a great, but may not be the best option for those with severely misaligned teeth. For those with an overcrowded mouth (too many teeth, not enough space), it may be possible to remove teeth before treatment, but again, for those with serious overcrowding, other options will be preferred.
In some cases, clear aligners are just completely unsuitable, sadly. You should consult a dentist to check your suitability, but for those with dental implants and gum problems, clear aligners may not be an option available to them.
Benefits of Clear Aligners
There are numerous advantages of choosing clear aligners over other tooth realignment options.
Discretion
The main reason many people opt for clear aligners over other options is that they are near invisible. Using a clear aligner can hide the fact they you are undergoing treatment. Speech is usually only mildly affected for a few hours at most after getting a new aligner, with people often inserting a new aligner at night so their mouths have adjusted by the time they wake anyway. It is possible to sell the aligners slightly under very close inspection of your teeth however.
Cost
The price of treatment is often lower for aligners than for traditional braces. Treatment prices start at around £1,500 but can be higher for those requiring more lengthy treatment. Traditional braces tend to cost upwards of £2,000, for comparison. Whilst this may seem like a large amount of money to some, for perfectly straight teeth, it is a reasonable cost.
Providers often give the option of a monthly instalment payment plan so this treatment can still be accessible to those that do not have the money upfront.
Home kit option
A cheaper option is available and that is by using a kit at home. You can take your own moulds for your aligners. This option requires less time at dental appointments and is a cheaper, yet still safe, option. Of course, people can make mistakes or follow instructions wrong, but when done correctly, this is a perfectly viable option.
Removability
A huge benefit of using clear aligners is that they are removable! For people who have not undergone orthodontic treatment, it may not be apparent what a fantastic benefit this is. When braces are fixed you cannot remove them to eat or clean your teeth. When you eat with fixed braces you have to be careful about what you eat as some foods can get stuck or even break your braces, elongating treatment times. It can also be hard to brush your teeth properly with fixed braces, which is not ideal when you are undergoing treatment for potentially a year or more. The inability to brush your teeth perfectly can result in unwanted staining of the teeth.
With clear aligners, you can take them out for up to 4 hours per day, usually when eating or brushing your teeth. This way, you do not need to worry about what you're eating, or risk breaking the aligner. You can thoroughly clean your teeth and the aligner itself to maintain high standards of oral hygiene.
Comfort
Aligners are relatively pain free. You experience more of a dull ache, especially when first inserting a new aligner, but this quickly eases. The discomfort experienced when getting a new aligner is in no way worse that having traditional braces tightened.
With traditional fixed braces, it is relatively common to have issues with breakages. Wires can become unattached, cutting your tongue or cheeks and also holding up your treatment until they are fixed. The brackets that are attached to your teeth can detach and push your teeth into further misalignment. In my personal experience, my wire snapped and I actually swallowed it.
rnYou do not have of these issues with aligners. Whilst they are incredibly sturdy, it can be possible to break them, but in that case you can remove them and fit a new aligner, so damage is not done to your mouth or teeth.
Providers
There are many providers nowadays for clear aligners. Invisalign is without a doubt, the most popular in the UK, but other options are available. Other providers may be more affordable, other at home options and may offer monthly payment plans.
The typical treatment cost for Invisalign is usually £2,500 – £5,500 compared to £1200 – £1,900 across most other providers.
When considering providers, read reviews, get recommendations and consider location, cost and whether clinic visits are required or if home impression kits are available.