Clear aligners to straighten teeth
Clear aligners are the generic term for straightening teeth using clear plastic trays. It doesn’t involve traditional brackets which are glued onto the teeth and wires. Clear aligners can alter the arrangement of your teeth without using traditional braces.
The aligners are removable, which means there are no food restrictions or issues with flossing or brushing around brackets and wires.
Clear aligners involve a series of clear trays, which you need to wear for 22 hours each day. They are only taken out to eat and to have a small break. Compliance is critical to their success.
The number of retainers depends on the severity of crowding and misalignment. Each retainer is worn for one to two weeks. Each set is slightly different and progressively moves your teeth a tiny distance at a time. Treatment time can range from a few months to one to two years.
Clear aligners don’t actually affect the shape or structure of your jawbone in adults. However, it gradually changes the position of your teeth in order to correct issues such as crowding and crossbite.
As a result, it causes your smile to appear wider as your teeth become more visible on either side of your mouth. This can create the visually-appealing effect of a broader jawline, even when you’re not smiling
It can correct also crooked teeth and bite problems such as a crossbite (your jaw closes at an angle), an underbite (your bottom jaw projects past your top jaw), and an overbite (the top jaw projects over your bottom jaw).
Sometimes people with particularly crooked teeth may need to wear braces first to straighten teeth to a point where clear aligners can be used to finish the treatment.
FREE consult: Straight teeth - easy as 1, 2, 3
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Book your free consult appointment, treatment info will be provided, photos and oral scan will be taken and a state of the art, AI simulation of how we will straighten your teeth and transform your smile.
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After 2-3 weeks, a customised treatment plan detailing treatment length and cost will be provided. Patient acceptance and payment.
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After 2-3 weeks, your Clear Aligner treatment will commence to start your smile transformation.
Clear aligners to correct jaw issues
Sometimes in growing children the lower jaw is significantly behind the upper jaw (Class II or retrognathic). It can be corrected with traditional braces, using a two step approach.
One appliance is used to reposition the lower jaw forward (over 6-9 months). This is then removed and braces are applied to correct the crooked teeth for 12-18 months. This significant change in jaw position cannot be achieved in adults due the changes available during the pubertal growth spurt.
With clear aligners it is now possible to do both of these steps in one appliance.
Angel Aligner A6 Mandibular Advancement Solution combines the two orthodontic phases into one.
It corrects and aligns the crooked teeth while it adjusts the jaw position simultaneously, thus shortening the time spent in treatment.
Invisalign’s Mandibular Advancement (MA) appliance is similarly designed to gradually move the lower jaw forward, taking advantage of a child’s natural growth. The MA appliance has plastic wings on the aligners that interlock to position the lower jaw forward.
When the lower jaw protrudes over the upper jaw (Class III or prognathic), clear aligners can also be used to correct it during puberty. With the help of temporary screws placed in the bone near the back teeth, the clear aligners can help restrain the forward growth of the lower jaw and help push the upper jaw forward.
