Using Clear Aligners for Complex Cases

Why being told you’re not a candidate doesn’t always mean what you think

Author: Dr. Felix Gen

Clear aligners have a reputation as the easy option, the choice for someone with a few crowded teeth who wants a discreet fix. But that reputation sells them short, and it sells short what a skilled orthodontist can do with them. At Success Orthodontics, we treat genuinely complex cases with clear aligners, and we do it well.

What Patients Should Know About Clear Aligner Treatment

We use both Invisalign and Angel Aligners, and we choose between them based on what each case actually needs. The brand matters far less than the hands and the planning behind it. Aligners are a tool. The result depends on the orthodontist directing them, the same way a great meal depends on the cook far more than the brand of the pan.

We’ve treated open bites, deep overbites, significant overjets, and even some underbite cases with aligners. These are exactly the situations where many general dentists, and even some orthodontists, will tell a patient they aren’t a candidate for clear aligners and that braces are their only path. Sometimes that’s true. Often it isn’t. It frequently has more to do with the comfort and experience of the person planning the case than with the limits of the aligners themselves.

Our Approach to Clear Aligners and Complex Cases

We’ll always be straight with you about expectations. With the most complex cases, aligners may not deliver the exact textbook perfect finish that fixed braces could, and when braces are truly the better choice for your goals, we’ll tell you that plainly. What we won’t do is turn you away from a treatment you’d prefer without first looking hard at whether we can make it work. More often than people expect, we can get remarkably close to an ideal result with aligners — far closer than what patients were told was possible elsewhere.

If you’ve been told you’re not a candidate for clear aligners, that’s worth a second opinion. Bring us the case. We’d welcome the chance to take a closer look and tell you honestly what’s possible.