Clear aligners, also known as clear-aligner treatment, are orthodontic devices that are a transparent, plastic form of dental braces used to adjust teeth. There are about 27 products available including ClearCorrect and Invisalign.
Clear-aligner treatment involves an orthodontist or dentist taking a mold of the patient's teeth, which is used to create a digital tooth scan. The computerized model suggests stages between the current and desired teeth positions, and aligners are created for each stage. Each aligner is worn for 20 hours a day for two weeks. These slowly move the teeth into the position agreed between the orthodontist or dentist and the patient. The average treatment time is 13.5 months.