Clear Aligner Therapy

Clear aligner therapy is the clear alternative to braces. Instead of spending years wearing obvious brackets and wires with traditional orthodontics, you can straighten your teeth without many people even noticing you’re undergoing an orthodontic treatment!

Dr. Gupta creates custom clear aligners in-house, and he has helped countless patients achieve their dream smiles with his orthodontic expertise. To learn more about how clear aligner therapy can give you the smile you’ve always wanted, give us a call or send us an email!

How Exactly Does Clear Aligner Therapy Work?

It may seem crazy that clear aligners can straighten teeth using just plastic trays rather than metal brackets or wires, but it’s true! We first custom make sets of clear, plastic aligners based on 3D models of your teeth. You’ll wear these 20 to 22 hours per day for around 2 weeks each. The aligners are specifically designed to gently push your teeth a certain amount, so the more shifting required, the more trays you’ll need.

What Are the Benefits of Clear Aligner Therapy?

We’ve found that by and large the fact that clear aligners are barely visible on the teeth are their biggest and most notable benefit. The trays are made of a clear material, and they fit snugly around your teeth—making them appear practically invisible! This material is also smooth, so the trays are easy on your teeth and gums and comfortable to wear. Another advantage with clear aligners is that you can actually take the trays in and out (unlike braces which are attached to your teeth) so you can remove them to eat food and brush your teeth like normal.

Am I a Candidate for Clear Aligner Therapy?

To decide whether or not you’re a good candidate for clear aligner therapy, we’ll need to go over your dental health as well as what it is exactly that you’d like to change about your smile. We can say that this treatment requires healthy teeth and gums and that serious orthodontics issues are more suitable for traditional braces. We invite you to set up an appointment at our practice so we can have a one-on-one consultation about whether clear aligner therapy is right for you.

Braces vs Clear Aligners

Braces

Color: Metal-typically silver, pay extra for color or enamel color

Treatment time: 24/7 for an average of 2 years, depending on patients needs

Cost: $1800-5500

Maintenance: Brush brackets and wires regularly while brushing teeth; water pick may be helpful

Follow up visits: About every month

Follow up Treatment: Positioner or retainer likely needed ongoing; maybe only at night

Pros: More effective for complex issues, no temptation to leave them out, so less self-discipline is needed for success, no extra cleaning steps required besides regular brushing and flossing.

Cons: May have some pain, sores, or discomfort from wires, brackets, or tooth movement, May have tooth discoloration due to difficult hygiene, bracket breakage, and tooth wear, may have difficulty eating sticky, hard foods.

Not Ideal For: Patients playing rough contact sports regularly

Clear Aligners

Color: Clear/invisible

Treatment Time: 22-24 hrs/day for 6 to 18 months, depending on patient needs

Cost: Average of 5000

Maintenance: Brush trays with antibacterial soap or soak in retainer cleaner and rinse thoroughly

Follow up visits: Change aligner trays every 2 weeks; visits every 4 to 6 weeks

Follow up treatment: Positioner likely needed ongoing, maybe only at night

Pros: Invisible, Removeable, No issues with food getting caught, no discomfort from wires.

Cons: May have discomfort from tooth movement, must remove before eating or drinking anything but water, must brush after each meal to avoid staining.

Not Ideal For: Patients with: Bridgework, back tooth bite issues, the need to rotate canines or premolars, the need to move teeth vertically, lack of discipline to keep trays in for at least 22 hours daily.

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