Clear aligners – as far as I am concerned, they’re the way forward!

By: Sarah, Sheffield. 33 year old mum to two boys. Smilelign wearer.

Clear aligners are a great way to straighten teeth without using traditional ‘track’ braces. They remove the need for wires - both metal and clear, meaning that not only are they inconspicuous (not even my husband could tell I was wearing them until I pointed them out!) but they allow me to eat what I want without having to worry about damaging my brace. Made from a clear plastic that sits over your teeth, they are removable, meaning that I can easily clean my teeth too…My journey to straight pearly whites is on-track, but, thankfully, my brace is not!!

A simple process, impressions were taken and sent off to the Smilelign lab in Sheffield where their technicians digitally scanned my teeth and plotted how they could be improved. This is done using specialised software that takes into account root position so that the results really are what my end teeth will look like. With a cross-over on my front two, the road is a little longer than some – clear braces can treat a number of concerns, your dentist will tell you more – with 14 aligners needed for my top teeth.

I then got to see the results – your dentist shows you your teeth as they are now, and how they will be, with a short film showing the movement over time. Only once you’re happy with it do you commit to treatment. You also get a ‘pre-aligner’ too, an aligner that doesn’t apply pressure to move your teeth – so you can try them in your mouth and make sure it is the right treatment for you.

I wear each aligner for 3 weeks, until I can easily slip it on and off, and then progress on to my next set. I haven’t stuck rigidly to the plan, however. I have been on holiday where I decided to only wear the aligners at night (my holidays involve a fair amount of relaxing with food!). Really you are only meant to take them out for meals, before popping them back in (after a quick brush) but this means that I am now on week 4 of this set…if you do it properly, the results will be quicker!

With friends who underwent orthodontic treatment in their teens, I remember a number of issues: confidence levels, discomfort – serious at times!, eating concerns and problems with lengthy cleaning…oral hygiene is clearly very important, but it is often critical to a 15 year old who wants to impress! I think hours were spent cleaning braces! I digress…ultimately, Smilelign clear aligners remove all these concerns. Why wouldn’t you?!