Clear aligners or braces?

So you finally decided to straighten your smile with Invisalign®, Smile Direct Club™, Even28 at-home®, or some other clear aligner system out there (and believe me, there are lots of them out there). Congratulations! Having straight teeth is awesome. And straightening your smile with clear aligners is even more awesome! But why choose clear aligners? Why not just go with traditional braces? It turns out that there are several benefits to wearing clear aligners as compared to braces. Let’s check out some of the reasons why more and more patients are choosing clear aligners over braces treatment:

(1) Aligners are more comfortable to wear

One of the most obvious advantages of clear aligners is that they are much more comfortable than braces. This doesn’t mean that clear aligners don’t hurt at all. There’s always some level of pain and discomfort when your teeth start to move. This is because no pain means no tooth movement. Having said that, wearing a removable plastic in your mouth is much less painful than having permanent brackets and wires attached to your teeth. You’re also not as likely to cut your cheeks, lips, or tongue with clear aligners as you are with braces. Overall, clear aligner therapy is a much more pleasant experience as compared to braces for most patients.

(2) Less noticeable in your mouth

It’s hard not to notice someone who has braces in their mouth. Those brackets and wires can be pretty hard to miss! On the other hand, clear aligners go unnoticed most of the time. In contrast, you’d have to pay very close attention to realize when someone is wearing clear aligners in their mouth. This is another reason why most adults choose clear aligners over braces when given the option.

(3) Ability to remove clear aligners from your mouth

What happens if you’re in the middle of clear aligner therapy and all of a sudden an important job interview, date, or other life event comes up? Well, you simply skip wearing your clear aligners for a couple of hours or one day, and problem solved! Unfortunately, wearing braces doesn’t give you this option since braces are stuck to your teeth for the duration of your orthodontic treatment and can’t be removed. The ability to remove clear aligners is another reason most adults prefer clear aligners for less complicated orthodontic tooth movements.

(4) More hygienic than braces

It’s very easy to clean your teeth and gums during clear aligner treatment. Simply take your clear aligners out and you’re all set to clean your teeth as you normally would. The same can not be said of braces. Cleaning your mouth, especially at the gumlines and in-between teeth, can be very tough during braces treatment. And flossing your teeth? You might as well forget about it during your braces treatment. As a result, you’re more likely to develop dental cavities or gum disease when wearing braces if you are not meticulous with your oral hygiene.

(5) No white spot lesions

Ever notice someone with a smile that looks like the photo above? This phenomenon is referred to as white spot lesions. White spot lesions are a rare side-effect of wearing braces. They are the result of your brackets creating a discoloration which leads to an undesirable mismatch in your teeth color. Unfortunately, fixing white spot lesions can be very tough. This type of discoloration does not respond well to most teeth whitening treatments. You may require extensive cosmetic dentistry to correct this color mismatch. The best way to avoid white spot lesions during braces treatment is to monitor your diet, minimize your processed sugar intake, and brush your teeth really, really well. In contrast to braces, clear aligner treatment bears no risk of developing white spot lesions, since there are no brackets attached to your teeth.

(6) Increasingly comparable costs

When clear aligners were first introduced to the market, they used to cost two to three times more than braces. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. Clear aligner technology has become quite affordable these days and it is very similar to the cost of braces at most dental offices. As clear aligner treatment cost continues to drop, more and more patients are able to afford aligner therapy. In fact, simpler orthodontic movements can oftentimes be fixed with at-home clear aligner programs (like Smile Direct Club™ and Even28 at-home™) and cost less to treat with clear aligners as opposed to with braces!

(7) More fun!

I know the word fun and orthodontic treatment don’t necessarily go together… Having said that, most patients who undergo clear aligner therapy find out that wearing aligners is actually kind of fun! In fact, some miss not wearing their aligners once treatment is complete. Plus, seeing your teeth move on a 3-D animation model before starting treatment is sort of fun. Seeing your teeth move in person and watching your smile straighten week-after-week is even more fun! And having a straight and beautiful smile in just a few months is the most fun!

Am I a good candidate for clear aligner treatment?

Most of you are probably ready to start your clear aligner treatment after having read this article. But before you get too excited about clear aligners, you need to make sure that you actually qualify for clear aligner therapy. After all, not every orthodontic condition can be treated using clear aligners. The most complicated of all orthodontic conditions still require traditional braces. To see if your orthodontic condition qualifies for clear aligner therapy, visit a dentist or orthodontist near you today. You can also take our clear aligner assessment quiz to see how likely you are to qualify for clear aligner therapy. Good luck with your smile journey and be sure to smile often once your grin is all nice and even!