Crescent Creek Park ClearCorrect Clear Aligners Instead of Metal Braces
How ClearCorrect moves your teeth
ClearCorrect is a series of clear, removable aligners that move your teeth a little at a time. You wear one aligner in the series, then switch to the next, and each aligner is shaped to move your teeth one step along the path your dentist planned. There are no brackets or wires, and the aligners come out to eat and to brush. Treatment is planned and followed by your dentist at North Harbor Dentistry.
What clear aligners are used to correct
- Crowded teeth that overlap or twist
- Gaps and spacing between teeth
- Teeth that have drifted back out of line years after childhood braces
- Mild bite irregularities identified at your exam
Fixing crowding is not only cosmetic. Overlapping teeth are harder to floss and trap plaque along the gumline, where gum inflammation and cavities between teeth start.
Are clear aligners as good as braces?
Clear aligners can do what braces do for mild to moderate crowding, small gaps, and teeth that have shifted since childhood braces, and they fall short beyond that. Teeth that must travel a long distance, teeth that need to rotate sharply, and larger bite or jaw discrepancies are usually better handled with fixed braces or by an orthodontist; there is no orthodontist on our team, so those cases belong elsewhere. Which group your teeth fall into is a clinical judgement made from an exam and digital X-rays, not from a photo of your smile.
The other honest difference is cooperation. Braces work whether you think about them or not. Aligners only work while they are in your mouth, so the result depends on you as much as on the plan.
How many hours a day do you have to wear aligners?
Standard guidance for clear aligner systems is roughly 20 to 22 hours a day: all day and all night, out for meals, drinks other than water, and brushing. Wear time is the part of treatment you control, and it usually decides whether the plan stays on schedule. Aligners that spend the evening in a pocket do not move teeth. Your dentist will give you the wear instructions for your own plan.
What the process looks like, from first exam to retainer
- Exam and records. We check your teeth, gums and bite, take digital X-rays, and capture the records your aligners are built from.
- The plan. Your dentist maps out how each tooth needs to move and reviews the sequence with you before aligners are ordered.
- Wearing the aligners. You work through the series in order, switching to the next aligner on the schedule you are given.
- Check-ins. Short visits to confirm your teeth are tracking with the plan and hand off the next aligners.
- Retainer. Once your teeth are where you want them, you wear a retainer to keep them from drifting back.
Retainers are part of the treatment, not an add-on
Teeth keep drifting throughout life. It is a common reason adults who had braces as teenagers see their front teeth crowd again years later: the retainer went in a drawer. Plan on wearing one when your aligners are finished.
For kids and teens, start with an ortho screening
If you are asking on behalf of a child, aligners are not the first conversation. We watch growth, spacing and bite development at your child's regular preventive visits, and an ortho screening is where families should begin. At that age timing matters more than the appliance, and spotting crowding or a bite problem early often means simpler treatment later.
Talk to us about aligners
To find out whether ClearCorrect can do what you want done, call North Harbor Dentistry at (253) 851-4025 and tell us you would like to talk about clear aligners. We are at 14315 62nd Ave NW in Gig Harbor, and we see patients from Purdy, Key Center, Fox Island, Olalla and Port Orchard.