This is an invisible brace system. Clear braces or Aligners are worn on the teeth and aligners are changed every 1-2 weeks. Each aligner is custom made and causes small, incremental movements of your teeth.

Advantages of Invisalign®

• They are more attractive than metal braces and are almost invisible.
• More comfortable than fixed braces as they are smoother and less likely to catch your cheeks and tongue.
• Can be removed to clean your teeth more easily than with fixed braces.
• Tooth movements modelled in 3D so you can see the approximate anticipated result.
• Can feel more gentle than fixed braces as the movements are smaller and more frequent.

Disadvantages of Invisalign®

• Patients need to be motivated to keep the aligners in place for 22 hours per day.
• Aligners need to be removed for eating and teeth must be brushed before putting them back in, this makes snacking difficult.
• Clear aligners are not suitable for patients who require more extensive, severe tooth movement.
• Attachments (made from small amounts of white filling material) are sometimes required to be placed on the teeth for the duration of the treatment. These attachments make the braces slightly more visible. The attachments are always removed by the end of treatment.

32CO is a new invisible brace system. Clear braces or Aligners are worn on the teeth and aligners are changed every 1-2 weeks. Each aligner is custom made and causes small, incremental movements of your teeth.

How do clear aligners with 32co work?

Advantages of 32CO

• Treatment is digitally planned by a specialist orthodontist unlike other clear brace systems
• The aligners are more attractive than metal braces and are almost invisible.
• More comfortable than fixed braces as they are smoother and less likely to catch your cheeks and tongue.
• Can be removed to clean your teeth more easily than with fixed braces.
• Tooth movements modelled in 3D so you can see the approximate anticipated result.
• Can feel more gentle than fixed braces as the movements are smaller and more frequent.

Disadvantages of 32CO

• Patients need to be motivated to keep the aligners in place for 22 hours per day.
• Aligners need to be removed for eating and teeth must be brushed before putting them back in, this makes snacking difficult.
• Clear aligners are not suitable for patients who require more extensive, severe tooth movement.
• Attachments (made from small amounts of white filling material) are sometimes required to be placed on the teeth for the duration of the treatment. These attachments make the braces slightly more visible. The attachments are always removed by the end of treatment.

Fixed braces

These systems utilise brackets which are bonded to the teeth for the duration of treatment. Onto these brackets, titanium or stainless steel wires are tied in place using small elastic bands.

Advantages

• Fixed in place which means you can eat with them in place and don’t have to worry about taking them in and out
• Can be used in more complex cases when difficult tooth movement is required
• Can be a little quicker than clear aligners
• Can be cheaper than clear aligners

Disadvantages

• Patients don’t often like the appearance of fixed braces.
• Fixed in place, so more difficult to clean around and food can trap around them while eating
• Wires can sometimes be uncomfortable at first and can cause small amounts of ulceration
• Can be more uncomfortable than clear braces.

1. The Consultation and treatment plan

First you will have a smile assessment of your teeth by a dentist. This does not include a checkup if you aren’t a patient at our practice. Your needs and what you would like to change with regard to your teeth are discussed. Following this, if you are suitable and decide to go ahead, we can book a longer appointment for full assessment and clinical record taking.

After the impressions of your teeth and have been scanned a treatment plan will be formed. This is referred to as a treatment design

Your dentist will work closely with a 32CO orthodontist to optimise your treatment plan. When this is ready the number of aligners and stages will be identified. You will receive a treatment design and plan showing the anticipated movements of your teeth.

2. Delivering and fitting your aligners

Once we have received your aligners, we will make arrangements to fit them. Sometimes you will be given a number of aligners and instructed on when to change them. Each one is numbered on the pouches they are delivered in and also printed on the aligner itself. Your progress will be reviewed with your provider roughly every 2-6 weeks.

At these appointments, your progress will be reviewed alongside the treatment design. Sometimes small tooth adjustment is required to create space. This is the process where up to 0.5mm of enamel can be removed from each surface of the tooth, this allows further space for your teeth to be aligned. This is known as interproximal reduction.

This interproximal reduction is done with thin abrasive strips most commonly. This process is painless and doesn’t require any local anaesthetic. Here is the British Orthodontic Society information leaflet on interproximal reduction.

3. Refinements

Sometimes as you reach the end of your treatment, extra refinements may be required to give you the very best results. Often this is included in your treatment plan and requires a new set of impressions, from which a small set of aligners are made to move your teeth into their final positions. Once all tooth movements are completed the most important stage comes next

4. Results and retention

Once you have reached the end of your treatment, it is really important to plan how we are going to hold the teeth in their new position. Usually teeth want to move back to their original position.

Retainers hold the teeth in place so your teeth do not move back to their original position (also known as relapse). You will require life-long retainer use to ensure you keep your teeth in their new positions.

Fixed vs removable retainers

Retention can either be removable, fixed or commonly – both may be required. Your clear aligner provider will discuss which options will be used and which would be the best on a case by case basis.

5. Follow-up care

You will be advised by your 32CO provider how often you should be seen for a review and check-up following your treatment.

Please bring the following items with you to your appointment:

• Completed written medical history, details and names of any medication
• Funds adequate to cover appropriate fees.
• If applicable, proof of any exemptions from NHS dental charges. If not exempt from NHS charges,
• Proof of address (utility bill, driving licence)
• Proof of ID (passport, driving licence, red book if child)

Please bring the following items with you to your appointment:

• Any updated medical history details and names of any medication changes
• Funds adequate to cover appropriate fees

It is great that your teeth feel fine, but we would recommend you have a dental checkup if you haven’t had one for a while. The reason for this is that often when dental symptoms appear the problem causing them is much more difficult to fix, and often with a worse prognosis. For example, early tooth decay often causes little or no discomfort or sensitivity. If this decay progresses then tooth loss or root canal treatment may be inevitable. With regular dental checkups the aim is to identify any problems early so they can be resolved with the best prognosis.

We follow the guidelines set out by NICE with regard to dental examinations. Your risk to certain dental diseases will be assessed and a recall interval will be recommended from 3 to 24 months for your next check up.