Are Clear Aligners Right for Your Case?
For adults asking whether clear aligners could suit them, this page gives UK guidance, treatment requirements and a page per factor. The British Orthodontic Society places aligners in mild to moderate cases after full assessment, and gives severe crowding, extractions, complex tooth movements and an underlying discrepancy in jaw size or position as examples that may need techniques such as fixed braces added to reach an ideal result.
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Medical disclaimer: This page is for general information only. It does not replace an examination or treatment by a dentist.
Which cases suit clear aligners?
British Orthodontic Society (BOS) guidance positions clear aligners for mild to moderate problems, once each case has been fully assessed and every available option discussed.
BOS says some cases may need techniques such as fixed braces added to reach an ideal result. Its examples are severe crowding, treatment involving extractions, complex tooth movements, and problems reflecting an underlying jaw discrepancy in size or position.
What does clear aligner treatment ask of you?
BOS guidance includes these requirements:
- healthy teeth and gums, which BOS sets as the condition for moving teeth at any age
- an orthodontic assessment, diagnosis and treatment plan, which BOS calls essential to successful aligner treatment
- full-time wear, day and night, except at meal times
Which factor applies to your teeth?
How severe crowding is, and whether space can be made without extractions, bears on whether aligners alone may suffice. See what is realistic on the page about aligners for severe crowding.
BOS describes orthodontics as straightening teeth and helping them bite more evenly together. Whether aligners can change a bite is the question on can aligners fix my bite.
Existing dental work is a planning factor, covered on the page about aligners with crowns, veneers, bridges or implants.
Gum and tooth health before treatment is a further factor, with its own page on gum health and decay before aligners.
To ask about aligner treatment, book online or call 0114 288 2121.
What sits outside this section?
This section covers suitability only. Bite and alignment problems sit among the options in the problems section, for treatment steps you can browse the process section, and the choice between braces or clear aligners is weighed on a separate page.
General gum care belongs to hygiene appointments and restorative work to repairing and rebuilding damaged teeth. The main aligner page introduces clear aligner therapy.
Who is aligner treatment for at Deepcar Dental Care?
Our dentists at Deepcar Dental Care provide aligner treatment to adults only, with Smartee clear aligners as the system used at the practice. They use aligners for problems including mild to moderate crowding and spacing, and offer bite correction. Complex and extraction cases are assessed case by case; some need braces or a combined approach.
Frequently asked questions
Is a quick front-tooth straightening a long-term fix?
Not always, the British Orthodontic Society says. Simple straightening may sometimes take 6 months, especially for the six front teeth only, yet usually makes limited changes and often allows too little time to move each whole tooth, roots included, so teeth may quickly move back after braces come off. Ask about this before you agree.
Can suitability for aligners be judged remotely?
Not without a physical examination, in the General Dental Council's view. Its direct-to-consumer statement says clinical judgements on whether a proposed course of orthodontic treatment is suitable must be based on a full assessment of oral health, and that at present nothing effectively substitutes for a physical, clinical examination as its foundation.
Is wearing retainers part of committing to aligners?
Yes. The British Orthodontic Society says retainers are needed after every aligner treatment, so the teeth stay where they were moved. As general guidance, retention is long term, because teeth can move at any age; most people eventually wear their retainers at night, and the type and routine are given at the end of treatment.
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Book online, or phone 8am to 8pm, Monday to Sunday. Our patient reviews page covers the practice as a whole.
334 Manchester Road
Deepcar, Sheffield S36 2RH
0114 288 2121
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