Clear aligner therapy
A sequence of transparent trays, each worn for about a fortnight, moving the teeth a fraction of a millimetre at a time.
- Visits
- 4–6 visits
- Per visit
- 20–30 min
- Anaesthesia
- None needed
What it involves
Aligners work in small increments. Every tray is slightly different from the last, and that difference is the movement. Worn twenty-two hours a day, most cases finish in six to nine months; complex ones take longer.
The whole sequence is planned on the scan before the first tray is made, so you can see the projected end position at the start. It is a projection rather than a promise — teeth move at their own pace — but it is an honest picture of where we are aiming.
Who it is for
- Crowding or spacing you would like corrected without visible braces
- Teeth that have drifted since childhood braces
- Anyone who works front-of-house and cannot wear brackets
- Someone willing to wear the trays twenty-two hours a day — this is the part that decides the result
How it goes
- 01
Scan and projection
A scan, then a planned sequence you can look at and think about before committing to anything.
- 02
First trays
Your first sets are fitted and you are shown how to seat and remove them without fighting them.
- 03
Progress reviews
A short appointment every six weeks or so, to check the teeth are tracking the plan.
- 04
Retention
A retainer at the end, worn nightly. Teeth move for life — retainers are how a result stays a result.
A case from the gallery
Clear aligner therapy over eight months, then a nightly retainer. Results vary by patient. Every plan starts with a scan and a conversation.
Worth knowing
Aligners cannot fix everything. Some bites need fixed braces or a specialist referral, and we will say so at the first visit rather than after you have paid.
Questions we get
They suit mild to moderate crowding, spacing, and relapse after childhood braces. They are less predictable for large bite corrections and for rotating certain teeth. A scan at the first visit answers this properly — and if fixed braces would serve you better, we will say so.
You receive a written plan with a fixed total before anything begins — no estimate that moves later. Treatment can be paid across the course of the work, agreed in advance, with no interest and no third party involved. Ask at the consultation and you will leave knowing the number.
About forty-five minutes. A conversation about what is bothering you, an examination, a 3D scan and photographs, then a plan on screen with the price beside it. Nothing is treated on a first visit unless you are in pain and ask us to.
