Teeth Straightening Options: Braces or Clear Aligners
The short answer.
The two main options are clear aligners, such as Invisalign, and orthodontic braces. Aligners are discreet and removable; braces are fixed and treat a wide range of alignment problems. Your dentist advises which suits you.
Straightening teeth changes how your smile looks, and straight teeth can be easier to brush and floss than crowded or overlapping ones.
Whether your reasons for seeking straighter teeth are cosmetic or health-driven, there are two options for teeth straightening: Clear aligners or orthodontic braces. At Dental Spot, we offer both types of teeth straightening options to help you improve your smile.
Your options at a glance
| Option | How it works | What it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Clear aligners (Invisalign) | A series of removable custom trays that move your teeth gradually | Mild to moderate alignment issues |
| Metal braces | Brackets and an archwire apply steady pressure | A wide range of alignment and bite problems |
| Clear (ceramic) braces | The same as metal braces, with tooth-coloured brackets | Many of the same problems, less noticeable |
Your dentist recommends an option after assessing your teeth. For a closer comparison, see metal braces, clear braces or clear aligners.
Invisalign Clear Aligners
Invisalign trays are made from flexible thermoplastic, enabling them to fit comfortably over your teeth. Because the aligners are clear, they are discreet and less noticeable than metal braces. This makes them popular among older teens and adults looking for subtle teeth straightening options.
Advantages of Invisalign treatment
There are several advantages to Invisalign treatment, such as:
- Clear aligners look almost invisible
- They are removable
- Brushing and flossing is easy once the aligner is removed
- No brackets or wires to rub against your cheeks and gums
- No foods to avoid, because you take the aligners out to eat
Who is a good candidate for Invisalign?
Invisalign can treat these alignment and bite problems:
- Overbite: where the upper front teeth protrude beyond the lower front teeth
- Underbite: bite misalignment where the lower teeth protrude and overlap the upper teeth
- Crossbite: malocclusion where groups of the upper teeth fit behind the lower teeth when the mouth is closed
- Gaps: spaces between teeth
- Open bite: where teeth on the upper dental arch don’t touch those on the bottom
- Dental crowding: misaligned teeth that have grown closer together and overlap
The Invisalign procedure
The first step of the Invisalign process is a smile scan. This is a consultation with one of our dentists to determine what teeth straightening options (another site) are right for you. We scan your teeth in 3D to plan treatment and make your custom aligners.
Once the clear aligners are made, the patient can begin treatment. Depending on the severity of the malocclusions, we typically recommend that patients wear their aligners for 12 to 18 months.
You wear your aligners 20 to 22 hours a day and change to the next set every one to two weeks. Each set is shaped to the next planned position of your teeth, so your teeth move a small step with every change.
Once treatment is finished, you will be fitted for a fixed or removable retainer. This helps maintain the positioning of the teeth and allows the jawbone to adjust to the new alignment.
Orthodontic Braces
Braces can manage complex tooth movements, such as large rotations, and a wide range of bite problems. They consist of brackets bonded to each tooth and an archwire, held in each bracket by an elastomeric or steel ligature. You may also need open coil springs to make space, or rubber bands (intermaxillary elastics) between the upper and lower teeth to correct the bite.
Advantages of orthodontic braces
Besides straightening teeth, braces can make your teeth easier to keep clean. Overlapping teeth trap food and plaque, and once they are aligned you can brush and floss more thoroughly.
Who is a good candidate for braces?
To be a good candidate for braces, your teeth and gums should be healthy, without decay or infection. Orthodontic braces can be used to treat most malocclusions and misalignment issues.
The orthodontic braces procedure
After a manual oral exam, the dentist will take dental X-rays to determine the size and position of your teeth in relation to the jaw. Your dentist then takes impressions or a scan of your teeth to check how your upper and lower jaws line up.
Your dentist may recommend a tooth extraction before applying the braces. And where tooth repositioning alone won’t correct jaw misalignment, they may suggest jaw realignment surgery.
If you need bands on your back teeth, your dentist first places spacers (another site), small elastic rings between the teeth, for up to a week to make room. At the fitting, your dentist bonds brackets to the front of your teeth and cements metal bands around some molars. The archwire is fitted into the brackets, held by ligatures, and its ends sit in tubes on the back bands.
After the braces are fitted, you visit the dentist every 4 to 6 weeks to have the wires and other parts adjusted. The pressure squeezes the periodontal ligament, the layer of fibres holding each tooth in its socket, on one side of the tooth and stretches it on the other. Bone is removed on the squeezed side and laid down on the stretched side, and this bone remodelling (another site) lets the tooth move.
After your braces are removed, you wear a retainer while the new bone firms up, so your teeth don’t drift back to their original positions.
Invisalign: clear aligners used to straighten teeth. This product is not available for purchase by the general public.
This guide is general information, not advice about your own teeth. Your dentist can tell you what applies to you, including the risks of any treatment.
