Clear aligners are a series of removable transparent trays that move teeth gradually, and for the right case they work well. They are also the treatment most often oversold — so this page covers what they do not suit as carefully as what they do.
Each tray is made slightly different from the shape of your teeth. Worn in sequence, that small difference at each stage is what moves the teeth. You change to the next tray on the schedule set for your plan, and the movement happens over months rather than weeks.
Two things make aligners genuinely different from braces, and both cut in more than one direction. They come out — which is why eating and cleaning are easier, and also why treatment depends entirely on you putting them back in. And they are discreet — though not invisible, since most plans need small tooth-coloured attachments bonded to the teeth to grip the trays, and those are visible close up. Anyone promising invisibility is describing the marketing rather than the treatment.
What They Suit, and What They Do Not
Suitability is a clinical judgement rather than a preference, and it is the part worth being honest about before anyone pays for anything. Aligners are often a good option for:
Mild to moderate crowding
, where there is not enough room and teeth overlap.
Spacing and gaps
between teeth.
Relapse after previous orthodontic treatment
, where teeth have drifted since braces and retainers were stopped.
Adults who want a discreet option
, which is the most common reason people ask about them.
People who cannot manage fixed braces
for work or lifestyle reasons, where the case allows it.
Where Braces May Be the Better Answer
These are cases where aligners are less predictable, and where recommending them anyway would be doing you a disservice. It is not a complete list, which is exactly why an assessment matters more than a web page.
Severe crowding
, or cases needing teeth to be extracted and large spaces closed.
Significant bite discrepancies
, where the way the jaws meet is the problem rather than the position of individual teeth.
Large rotations
, particularly of rounded teeth that a tray struggles to grip and turn.
Movements that need the whole root to travel
, or a tooth to be pulled down into position, which fixed appliances control more reliably.
Skeletal problems
that need growth guidance in a younger patient, or that are managed jointly with surgery.
Where wearing them 20 to 22 hours a day is unrealistic
This is not a judgement — for some people fixed braces are simply the more suitable choice, because they work without needing to be remembered.
Clear Aligners Compared With Braces
Appearance
Aligners are considerably more discreet. Attachments and the tray edges are still visible close up.
Eating
Aligners come out, so nothing is off the menu. Fixed braces restrict hard and sticky foods for the whole of treatment.
Cleaning
Brushing and cleaning between teeth is normal with aligners out. Braces make both harder and demand more effort to avoid decay and gum problems.
Depends on you
This is the real trade-off. Braces work whether or not you think about them. Aligners only work while they are in your mouth.
Appointments
Both need regular reviews so progress can be checked against the plan.
Range of cases
Fixed braces can treat a wider range, including the complex movements above.
Comfort
Both feel tight for the first days of each stage. Aligners have no brackets or wires to rub the cheeks; braces sometimes do.
How Treatment Is Planned
Nothing can be judged from photographs, and an assessment comes before any opinion on whether aligners are suitable. That means examining the teeth and gums, looking at how your teeth meet, and taking the records and X-rays needed to see the roots and the supporting bone.
Any active decay or gum disease is treated first. Moving teeth through inflamed gums risks the bone that holds them, so stabilising that comes before orthodontics rather than alongside it. See gum disease treatment if that applies to you.
Records of your teeth are then taken so the movement can be planned stage by stage before anything begins. You are told at that point what is realistically achievable, whether aligners or fixed braces suit your case better, roughly how long it should take, and what it will cost — in writing, before you commit to anything.
What Treatment Involves
Attachments
Most plans need small tooth-coloured bumps bonded to some teeth so the trays can grip and produce the intended movement. They are removed at the end.
Creating space
Some cases need a very small amount of enamel reshaped between teeth to make room. This is planned in advance rather than decided mid-treatment.
Wearing each tray
for the period set in your plan, then moving to the next in sequence.
20 to 22 hours a day
Out for meals, and for anything other than water. Aligners are also removed to clean your teeth.
Review appointments
to check the teeth are tracking the plan. Teeth do not always move exactly as predicted, and it is better to catch that early.
Refinements
Additional aligners at the end to correct the last details are common rather than a sign anything has gone wrong. Ask whether they are included when you get the estimate.
Retainers at the end
Not optional — see below.
Retainers, and Why They Are Not Optional
Teeth do not simply stay where they are moved to. The fibres and bone around them remodel slowly, and the natural tendency for months and years afterwards is to drift back toward where they started. That is true of every orthodontic treatment, aligners and braces alike.
Retainers hold the result. Expect to need them long term rather than for a few months, and treat them as part of the treatment rather than an afterthought — because the most common reason people end up asking about aligners is teeth that have relapsed after previous orthodontic work where retainers were stopped.
Ask whether retainers are included in the quoted cost, and what replacements cost. It is a reasonable question and it should have a clear answer.
Looking After Your Teeth During Treatment
Clean your teeth before putting the trays back in. Sealing plaque against the enamel for hours is how decay starts during aligner treatment.
Drink only water with them in. Sugary or acidic drinks pool inside the trays and sit against the teeth.
Rinse and clean the trays as advised. Hot water can distort them.
Keep cleaning between the teeth daily — easier with aligners than with braces, so there is little excuse.
Keep the previous tray until the next one is tracking properly, in case one is lost or damaged.
Store them in their case. The two most common ways aligners are lost are a napkin at a restaurant and a pocket.
What Determines the Cost
Aligner treatment is priced per case rather than from a list, because what it takes varies so much. What moves it is how much movement is needed, how many aligners the plan runs to, how long treatment lasts, whether refinements are required at the end, and what retainers are needed afterwards.
You get a written estimate after the assessment, before treatment starts, and it should be clear about whether refinements and retainers are included. If the plan needs to change during treatment you are told before anything further is done. Payment is by cash or UPI.
Who Will Treat You
Your assessment and treatment are carried out by our dental team at the Irumbuliyur clinic, and you can meet the dentists here. Where a case is better managed with fixed braces, or needs specialist orthodontic input, we will tell you that rather than fit it to the treatment you asked about.
Clear Aligners Questions, Answered
Related Treatments and Conditions
Braces & Orthodontics
The full range of orthodontic options, including fixed braces.
Braces or Clear Aligners?
A longer read comparing the two, if you are still weighing them up.
Gum Disease Treatment
Gum health is stabilised before teeth are moved.
Cosmetic Dentistry
Whitening, bonding and veneers, sometimes considered after alignment.
Check-ups
Any active decay is treated before orthodontic treatment starts.
Dental Anxiety
If starting treatment at all is the difficult part.
Patients come to us for orthodontic treatment from Tambaram, Perungalathur, Selaiyur, Mudichur and Peerkankaranai — see all the areas we serve.
Written by Dental Leaf Clinical Team. Last updated 2026-08-18. This page is general information about a treatment and is not a diagnosis — what is right for you depends on a clinical assessment.
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