Braces or Clear Aligners: How to Choose
Both braces and clear aligners straighten teeth, and neither one is the right answer for everybody. The choice usually comes down to three things: what your teeth actually need to do, how each option fits into your day, and whether you will really wear aligners for as long as they have to be worn. An orthodontist can only tell you which suits your teeth after examining them.
How braces work
Braces are small brackets fixed to your teeth and linked by a wire. Because they stay on all the time, they keep working whether you remember them or not. We offer metal, ceramic (tooth-coloured) and self-ligating braces.
What they ask of you:
- You’ll need to stay away from hard, sticky and chewy food, so you don’t break a bracket or loosen a wire.
- Brushing and flossing take longer, because food collects around the brackets.
- Your teeth may feel sore for a little while after the braces go on or are adjusted. This usually settles quickly.
How clear aligners work
Aligners are a series of thin, clear plastic trays made for your teeth. Each set moves your teeth a little, and you switch to the next set on the schedule your orthodontist gives you. Small tooth-coloured bumps are often fixed to a few teeth, to help the trays guide them into place.
The catch is that aligners only work while they are in your mouth. That means wearing them at least 22 hours a day, so they come out only for meals, for drinks other than plain water, and for brushing and flossing. A few other things to know:
- Your teeth need to be clean before the trays go back in.
- Take them out for anything other than plain water. Sweet or acidic drinks can seep under the trays and stain or decay your teeth.
- They’re easy to lose. The classic is taking them out at a restaurant, wrapping them in a tissue and leaving them on the table.
What decides it for your teeth
What needs to move. Fixed braces can handle most of the problems an orthodontist sees. Aligners suit many cases too, but not every one, and only an examination tells you which group yours falls into.
Your routine. If you travel a lot, eat out often or know you would forget the trays, fixed braces take that worry away. If you want to eat normally and brush normally, aligners make that easier, as long as you put them back in.
How much you mind them being seen. Metal braces are the most visible, ceramic braces less so, and clear aligners are the hardest to spot.
Cleaning. With braces you clean around brackets and wires every day. With aligners you brush as usual, but the trays and your teeth both have to be clean every time they go back in.
A few questions to ask yourself
- Will I really keep trays in for about 22 hours a day, every day, for months?
- Do I mind brackets showing at work or in photos?
- Can I avoid hard and sticky food for the whole of treatment?
- How much time can I give to brushing and cleaning each day?
If your answer to the first question is “probably not”, braces may be the more reliable choice, and that is a perfectly good reason to choose them.
What happens at the consultation
The orthodontist looks at your teeth and your bite, and takes whatever records are needed to plan your treatment. Then you’ll hear which options suit your teeth, roughly how long treatment may take, and what it will cost, before you decide anything.
What it costs
The cost depends on how complex your case is, how long treatment is likely to take, and which type of braces or aligners you choose. You’ll get the figure for your own case at the consultation.
After treatment: the retainer
Whichever you choose, you’ll wear a retainer once your teeth are straight. Teeth tend to drift back towards where they started, and the retainer holds them in their new place.
Who you'll see at Kondapur
Our orthodontist at Kondapur is Dr. Praneeth Reddy (MDS, Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics). Dr. Praneeth will look at your teeth and tell you whether aligners, braces or either one would work for you.
Dr. Paramveer Singh Malik, a prosthodontist and implantologist at the same clinic, is Invisalign certified.
To book a consultation at Kondapur, call us on +91 8919841783 or message us on WhatsApp. We’re on the 2nd floor of the Glacier Building, opposite the Google office, and you’ll find directions and timings on our Kondapur clinic page. If our Abids clinic is closer for you, our braces page says who you’d see there.
Read more about braces and clear aligners.
