Clear Aligners
What’s the difference between Braces and Clear Aligners?
Although some call them “Invisible Braces”, clear aligners work differently from traditional braces. Traditional braces consist of small brackets which are glued onto your teeth. These are fixed onto your teeth until the end of treatment. The forces to move your teeth are provided by the braces wires and elastics.
Clear aligner treatment uses a set of plastic appliances (aligners) that move your teeth over several steps. Each time you change to the next aligner, your teeth follow the shape determined by the aligner. The aligners are removable so you can eat and brush as normal. They are very discreet since the aligners are transparent. The forces to move your teeth are provided by the plastic aligners. However because they are not rigidly fixed to your teeth, certain forces are not optimally transferred to your teeth. Hence the control of clear aligners are generally not as good as traditional braces.
The Clear Aligner treatment process
A standard set of dental records will be made including a high resolution 3D scan of your teeth.The 3D scans are sent to the aligner centre to plan your case. It usually take about 4-6 weeks for your aligners to be delivered.
Our orthodontist will fit the first aligner to check that it conforms well to your teeth. Small tooth coloured dental cements are sometimes fixed onto your teeth to improve the grip of your aligners. It is common to file the sides of your teeth to create space as part of your aligner treatment.
Your will be given a few sets of aligners before returning to see our orthodontist for reviews. Sometimes your teeth may not follow the movement of the aligners completely. In such situations, you may need to do a revision where new 3D scans of your teeth are done to make a new series of aligners to “re-engage” your teeth. After you complete your aligner treatment, a set of retainers will be made for you.
Clear Aligner Treatment Fees
Fee range
Your fees will typically range from $3300 to $5900, depending on the complexity of your case and how many revisions are needed.
Payment sequence
An initial payment about 2/3 of your total fees is collected when your case is submitted to the aligner centre to start your case. The remainder is paid progressively during your treatment.