Fixed appliances
Brackets and wire. More control, no compliance requirement, and often faster for complex movement. We refer to a specialist orthodontist for these cases rather than compromise the plan.
Treatment 02
Clear aligners
Removable Invisalign trays that move teeth in small increments — and an honest account of when fixed braces are simply better.
6–18 months, reviewed every 6–8 weeksFull course: $4,200 — $6,800
What it actually is
Clear aligners move teeth by applying light, continuous force through a series of trays, each one shaped slightly differently to the last. They are excellent at rotations, spacing, mild crowding and levelling. They are weaker at large vertical movements, closing extraction spaces and correcting significant skeletal discrepancies — those are jobs fixed appliances still do better, and we will tell you when that is the case rather than sell you the treatment you asked for.
The sequence
5 stages, in this order, for this reason.
- 01
Assessment and records
A digital scan, photographs and a panoramic radiograph. We check gum health and root length before planning any movement — teeth with periodontal bone loss can be moved, but the plan changes.
Visit one · 60 minutes - 02
Digital plan
You see the proposed movement stage by stage before committing, including where attachments will sit and whether any interproximal reduction is needed to make room.
Reviewed together · 30 minutes - 03
Fit and attachments
Small tooth-coloured attachments are bonded where the trays need something to grip. The first trays are fitted and you are shown how to seat and remove them.
Visit three · 60 minutes - 04
Progress reviews
Every six to eight weeks. We check the trays are tracking; if a tooth is lagging we intervene early rather than at the end.
Through treatment · 20 minutes each - 05
Retention
Teeth drift for life. A bonded wire behind the front teeth, a removable retainer at night, or both. Retention is not optional and it does not stop.
At completion, then reviewed annually
Who it suits
- Mild to moderate crowding and spacing
- Rotations and levelling of the front teeth
- Relapse after childhood orthodontics
- Preparing the arch before veneers or implants so less tooth is removed
- Adults who will genuinely wear trays 20–22 hours a day
When we would say no
- Severe crowding needing extractions and bodily tooth movement
- Significant skeletal jaw discrepancies — that is an orthodontic or surgical referral
- Active periodontal disease, until it is stabilised
- Anyone who knows they will not wear them; fixed appliances are the honest choice then
Instead of this
The alternatives, including the cheaper ones.
A cosmetic practice that never names the less profitable option is not giving you a choice.
Limited anterior alignment
Where only the front six teeth need work and the bite is stable, a short course of four to six months can be enough. Cheaper, faster, and it does not pretend to fix the back teeth.
Doing nothing
Mild crowding that is stable and cleanable is a legitimate thing to leave alone. We would rather say that than start a case for the sake of it.
Before you agree
What can go wrong, and what we cannot promise.
This is the part most sites leave out. It is also the part that a consent discussion is legally and ethically built on.
- Trays must be worn 20–22 hours a day. Under about 20 hours, tracking fails and treatment stops progressing.
- Attachments are visible at conversational distance, more so than the trays themselves.
- Interproximal reduction — removing a fraction of a millimetre of enamel between teeth — is often needed to create space, and is not reversible.
- A speech lisp is common for the first week and usually resolves.
- Refinement trays are needed in most cases. We include one refinement round in the fee.
Fee
$4,200 — $6,800
Full course. Includes records, the digital plan, all trays, one refinement round, all reviews and a first set of retainers. Limited anterior cases start at $2,900.
Indicative. Your written plan is itemised and is produced only after an examination. Members take 15% off restorative fees. We are out of network; you receive a coded receipt for out-of-network reimbursement.
A word on language. You will not read the word “painless” on this site, and you will not read that any restoration is permanent. Local anaesthetic makes most treatment comfortable at the time; some procedures are sore afterwards and we will tell you which and for how long. Restorations are maintainable, not eternal. Anyone promising otherwise is selling rather than consenting.
Questions
About clear aligners
Nobody examines you, nobody takes a radiograph, and nobody checks whether the roots and bone can take the movement being planned. Aligners applied to a periodontally compromised mouth can do real damage. Every case here begins with an examination and imaging.
No. Trays come out to eat and to drink anything except water, then go straight back in. Most of the wear-time failures we see are people leaving them out through long meals and coffee.
They will if you stop retaining. Teeth move throughout life whether or not you have had orthodontics. Long-term retention is part of the treatment, and we plan it from the start.
Sometimes. Aligners can manage some bite correction, but deep bites, open bites and significant jaw relationships are limited by what a removable appliance can do. If your case is one of those, we will say so at the consultation and refer you.
Related
Often discussed alongside this
01
Porcelain veneers
Thin bonded ceramic facings that change the shape, edge and shade of the front teeth as one set.
Read the detail
05
Hygiene and gum health
Full periodontal charting, scaling and root planing where it is indicated, and a maintenance interval set by your risk rather than a calendar.
Read the detail
Ninety minutes, and you leave with a written plan.
$190, credited against treatment. Scottsdale, on Kierland Boulevard.