Clear aligner treatment

Clear aligners are a series of removable, near-invisible plastic trays that move your teeth a little at a time. We use the Angel Align system.

• Records. A digital scan of your teeth, photographs and X-rays. Aligners move teeth through bone, so the teeth, gums and bone need to be healthy first.
• The plan. Your treatment is planned on the aligner software, showing the intended movements and the number of aligners. The number varies from case to case, and you approve the plan before anything is made.
• The aligners. Worn 20 to 22 hours a day, removed only to eat, to drink anything other than water, and to clean your teeth. Changed every two weeks, or as instructed.
• Reviews every eight weeks, so we can check the teeth are tracking to plan. Review appointments are included in the treatment fee.
• Attachments, elastics and refinements. Small tooth-coloured buttons on some teeth, elastics, or a further series of aligners at the end are often needed to finish the movements properly.

Lost or damaged aligners may carry an extra charge.

Like all orthodontic treatment, aligners carry risks. They include, but aren't limited to:

• Wear time. Not wearing the aligners as instructed is the most common reason treatment runs long or doesn't reach the planned result.
• Discomfort or pressure for a few days each time you change to a new aligner.
• Irritation of the gums, cheeks or lips, usually temporary.
• A lisp or altered speech at first, typically settling within one to two weeks.
• Decay, gum inflammation or white marks (decalcification) on the teeth if cleaning isn't kept up under the aligners.
• Root shortening (root resorption) — a minor shortening of the tooth roots can happen when any teeth are moved.
• Bite changes that need further adjustment or treatment.
• Movements that don't fully happen as planned, needing refinement aligners, attachments or elastics — or occasionally braces to finish.
• Relapse. Teeth drift back after treatment unless retainers are worn as prescribed.
• Allergic reaction to the aligner material — rare.

Results can't be guaranteed. How the teeth respond depends on wear time, on how you clean, and on biology that varies from person to person.

• Traditional braces, which suit some movements that aligners manage less well.
• Other clear aligner systems.
• Referral to an orthodontist for complex cases.
• No treatment — accepting the current position of your teeth.

Aligners are a customised treatment, made for your teeth alone. Once treatment has commenced — including once your aligners have been manufactured — no refund is available, including if you decide not to continue or not to complete treatment.

If you ask for the attachments to be taken off temporarily and put back later — for a wedding or photographs, say — a fee applies for the clinical time, materials and adjustments involved. The same fee applies if attachments are removed because treatment is stopped early. We'll tell you the amount before you decide.

Teeth move back towards where they started unless they're held. Retainers are part of the treatment, not an optional extra: you'll be provided with a metal retainer and two sets of clear plastic retainers, and you'll need to wear them as instructed for as long as you want the teeth to stay where treatment put them.

How retainers are worn, repaired and replaced is set out on our retainers page, which you'll be asked to read when the aligners come off.

Aligner treatment is charged as a single fee, quoted in writing at your consultation. It covers all consultations and reviews from the first assessment to the final check, the full course of aligners including any refinements, and your retainers. A payment plan through Denticare is available — Denticare fees apply.

The fee doesn't take account of any rebate from your health fund. Cover for orthodontic treatment varies a lot between funds and policies, so contact your fund directly and ask about clear aligner orthodontic treatment, item number 825 (charged twice). Item numbers and policies change, so confirm with your own fund before starting.

• Wear the aligners 20 to 22 hours a day and change them on schedule.
• Brush after eating before the aligners go back in, and clean between the teeth daily.
• Attend every eight-weekly review, and tell us promptly if an aligner is lost, cracked, or stops fitting.
• Wear your retainers as instructed once treatment finishes, and attend a check-up every 6 months, which isn't included in the treatment fee.

If you don't keep up the wear time, the cleaning or the appointments, treatment can run long, stall, or fail, and you would be liable for the full cost of correcting what follows.