Clear Aligners
Clear Aligners is available at these locations:
No brackets, no wires, no pressing pause on your daily life: clear aligners straighten teeth a different way. These custom-made, removable trays nudge your teeth into place so gently that most people will not realize you are wearing them. At Aesthetic Dentistry, our doctors map out a personalized treatment plan with advanced digital imaging, letting you preview your expected results before treatment even starts.
What they are
Custom-made clear plastic trays that move your teeth into the desired position a little at a time, with a fresh set provided every few weeks as the teeth shift.
Who they're for
Teens and adults dealing with mild to moderate crowding, spacing, or bite issues who want a removable, discreet alternative to traditional metal braces.
How we help
Digital treatment planning that previews your results, aligners custom-designed for precise tooth movement, and regular progress check-ins with our doctors.
A straighter smile, minus the metal. Find out if clear aligners are right for you.
How Clear Aligners Work
- Consultation: our doctors evaluate your teeth, take digital impressions, and confirm whether clear aligners suit you
- Custom design: Your teeth are moved in precise increments by a digitally designed series of aligners
- Wear schedule: Each set stays in 20–22 hours a day for roughly 2 weeks before you move on
- Progress checks: Quick office visits every 6–8 weeks track your progress and hand off the next aligners
- Results: Most treatment wraps up in 12–18 months, noticeably faster than traditional braces
Advantages Over Traditional Braces
- Nearly invisible: They are so hard to spot that friends, family, and coworkers may never realize you have them in
- Removable: Pop them out for meals, brushing, and big occasions, and eat with no restrictions
- Comfortable: The smooth plastic will not scratch or irritate your cheeks and gums the way metal brackets and wires can
- Better hygiene: Brush and floss as you always have, with no threading under wires or working around brackets
- Faster treatment: Many cases finish in 12–18 months, against the 2–3 years traditional braces often take
- Predictable results: Thanks to digital planning, you see your final smile before the first tray goes in
What Clear Aligners Can Correct
- Crowding: Teeth that overlap or sit too tightly together
- Spacing: Noticeable gaps between teeth
- Overbite: Upper teeth that reach too far over the lower ones
- Underbite: Lower teeth that jut out past the upper ones
- Crossbite: Upper and lower teeth that fail to line up when you bite
- When orthodontic issues run more complex, traditional braces may be the better call
Clear aligners bring beautiful results in less time, and no one needs to know you are straightening your teeth.
What to Expect at Your Visit
Visit Steps
- Consultation: our doctors evaluate your bite, capture digital scans, and talk through your goals
- Treatment preview: A 3D simulation, built by advanced software, shows how your teeth will move at each stage
- Aligner delivery: You go home with your first sets of custom aligners and clear wear instructions
- Progress visits: Brief check-ins every 6–8 weeks, far less often than traditional braces need adjusting
- Retainers: Once treatment ends, custom retainers hold your new smile in place for good
Helpful Tips
- For the best results, keep aligners in 20–22 hours a day and take them out only to eat and brush
- Move to each new set right on schedule, even when the current one still feels fine
- Clean them daily with a soft toothbrush and lukewarm water, never hot, which can warp the plastic
- A bit of pressure when you start a new set is normal and is a sign your teeth are moving
- When the aligners are out, keep them in their case so they are not lost or damaged
- Hang on to your previous set as a backup in case the current one goes missing
Frequently Asked Questions
Treatment length tracks with how complex your alignment issues are. Most clear aligner cases finish in 12 to 18 months, and simpler ones, such as closing a small gap or easing minor crowding, can wrap up sooner. More involved bite corrections take longer because the teeth have farther to travel and need to move in a carefully staged sequence.
How closely you follow the plan matters just as much as the starting point. Clear aligners only move teeth while they are in your mouth, so wearing each set the recommended 20 to 22 hours a day and switching to the next set on schedule keeps treatment on track. At your consultation, our doctors will map out your case and give you a realistic timeline before you commit to anything.
For a day or two after switching to a new set, most patients feel mild pressure or tightness. That sensation is normal and is actually a good sign: it means the clear aligners are doing their job and your teeth are gently moving into position. It typically eases within a day as your teeth adjust to the new tray.
Compared with traditional braces, the experience is much gentler. There are no wires to tighten and no brackets to rub against your cheeks and lips, so you avoid the sores that metal hardware can cause. If you ever do feel more than mild soreness, an over-the-counter pain reliever helps, and many patients switch to a new set in the evening so they sleep through the first hours of adjustment.
Yes. Because clear aligners are removable, nothing on your plate is off-limits. You simply take the trays out before you eat or drink anything other than water, then brush before you put them back in. That keeps food from getting trapped against your teeth and keeps the aligners clear and odor-free.
This is one of the everyday advantages over traditional braces, which come with a long list of foods to avoid because they can break brackets or bend wires. With clear aligners you can still enjoy popcorn, crusty bread, apples, and anything else you like; the only habit to build is removing the trays first and rinsing or brushing before they go back on.
Almost certainly not. Clear aligners are made of thin, transparent plastic that fits snugly over your teeth, so they are very hard to spot even up close. Most people go through an entire conversation without realizing anything is there, which is exactly why so many adults and teens choose them.
That discretion is a big part of the appeal for anyone who feels self-conscious about traditional metal braces at work, in photos, or at social events. With clear aligners you can straighten your smile quietly, and because you remove them for important moments whenever you wish, you stay in full control of how and when they are visible.
You are not too old. Clear aligner treatment has no upper age limit, and healthy teeth can be moved at any age. In fact, most clear aligner patients are adults, many of them straightening their teeth for the first time or correcting shifting that happened years after childhood braces.
What matters far more than age is the health of your teeth and gums. As long as the supporting bone and gum tissue are sound, clear aligners can work just as well later in life as in your twenties. If there is any active gum disease or decay, it is simply treated first so your foundation is solid before alignment begins.
There is no single sticker price for clear aligners, because the total depends on your particular case. A few things shape it:
- How far your teeth need to move and how complex the correction is.
- How long treatment runs and how many sets of aligners that requires.
- Any preparatory care your teeth or gums need before treatment begins.
Clear aligners often land in the same range as traditional braces, and you will get a detailed, itemized estimate at your consultation before anything starts. Across our Orland Park, Frankfort, and Oak Lawn offices we offer flexible financing options so the cost can be spread into manageable monthly payments.
Once your teeth reach their final positions and your clear aligner treatment is complete, the focus shifts to keeping that new smile exactly where it is. Teeth have a natural tendency to drift back toward where they started, so you will be given custom retainers to hold everything in place.
Most patients wear their retainers full-time for a short period and then transition to wearing them only at night, often indefinitely. It is a small, easy habit that protects the investment you made in clear aligners. We will show you how to wear and clean your retainers, and we check the fit at your regular visits so your results last for years to come.
Your straighter smile begins with a consultation. Find out whether clear aligners are right for you.