Clear aligners

Clear aligners straighten teeth with a series of thin, transparent trays instead of fixed braces. Each tray nudges the teeth a fraction further; worn in sequence over months, they add up to the movement. For the right case they work well and almost invisibly. For the wrong case they waste a year and a lot of money, so this page is mostly about telling those two cases apart.

The honest headline: aligners suit mild to moderate problems, they demand real daily discipline from you, and the teeth will try to drift back afterwards. All three, in detail, below.

What they can and can't fix

Aligners are at their best with mild to moderate crowding (teeth overlapping for lack of space) and spacing (gaps you'd like closed), the front-of-mouth alignment problems most adults actually ask about. Relapse after teenage braces, where teeth have drifted years later, is classic aligner territory.

What they generally can't do well: complex bite problems. Jaws that don't meet properly, severe rotations, teeth that need moving bodily rather than tipping. Those belong with an orthodontist and usually with fixed braces, and we'll say so to your face rather than take the case. An aligner plan that promises to fix everything fixes the easy part and leaves you with the rest.

Whether yours is an aligner case is an examination question. We look at the teeth, the bite and the X-rays, and give you a straight answer, which sometimes is "yes", sometimes "no, and here's the referral", and sometimes "you don't actually need anything; the flaw you hate is invisible to everyone but you."

The discipline

Aligners only work while they're on your teeth: roughly twenty-two hours a day, every day. They come out for meals and for cleaning, and that's it. Every coffee break where the tray sits in its case, every evening it stays on the nightstand, the plan slips. Teeth move on schedule or they don't, and the trays can't tell white lies to the dentist for you.

Be honest with yourself before you spend the money, because this is the question that decides the outcome: if you know you're the person who'll take them out for a braai and find them in a serviette two days later, fixed braces (which you can't remove) may genuinely serve you better. It's not a character test; it's matching the tool to the person. There's daily admin too: teeth get brushed after eating before trays go back in, sugary drinks with trays in are off the menu, and the current trays travel with you.

Retainers: the forever part

Teeth have memories. After any straightening (aligners or braces), they drift back towards where they started unless something holds them, and that something is a retainer. This is the part of alignment nobody advertises: the retainer phase doesn't really end. Full-time wear at first, then nights, then some nights, on a schedule we'll give you. But a straightened smile stays straight because it's retained, indefinitely.

We say this before you start, not after, because it belongs in the decision: the cost of alignment includes retainers, and the result you're paying months of discipline for only lasts if the retention happens. Skipping retainers to save the last little cost is how people buy the same straightening twice.

Timeline and cost

How long depends entirely on how far the teeth must move: simple cases take months, more involved ones longer, and you'll get a case-specific estimate at the consultation, not a slogan. The process itself: examination and records first, then a treatment plan you approve before anything is made (including seeing what the trays are expected to achieve), then trays in sequence with short check-in visits along the way, then retainers. We treat with the Spark Aligners system.

On cost, plainly: aligner treatment is a significant private expense, and medical aids typically don't contribute to adult alignment. Plan on carrying it yourself. You get the full written quote before anything starts, and the quote covers the whole path (trays, visits and retainers), so the number you agree to is the whole number. If that changes the decision, better it changes it now than halfway through.

Frequently asked questions

Will people notice I'm wearing aligners?

Up close, sometimes, if they're looking. At conversational distance, mostly not. That's the point of them, and why adults who'd never wear metal braces consider them at all.

Do aligners hurt?

New trays feel tight and teeth can ache for a day or two. That's the movement happening, and it's pressure-sore rather than sharp. If a tray edge rubs, we adjust it.

Will they change how I talk?

Possibly a slight lisp for the first days with a new habit of trays; it fades as your tongue adapts. Reading aloud speeds it up.

Can teenagers use aligners?

Sometimes, case depending. But the twenty-two-hour rule doesn't care about age, and a tray in a school bag straightens nothing. For most teenagers, fixed braces with an orthodontist remain the honest recommendation.

I had braces years ago and my teeth have shifted. Start over?

Often not. Relapse cases are frequently the mildest and quickest aligner cases, precisely because the teeth have been there before. Bring your history to the consultation and we'll tell you how big the job really is.