Dr. Wes Prepchuk is a certified provider for ClearCorrect® and has treated more than 200 clear aligner cases over the past ten years. Every case is planned from a digital scan of your bite taken here at the clinic, and most treatments run 12 to 18 months.

Clear aligners are a series of removable transparent trays that move teeth gradually, without fixed brackets or wires. You take them out to eat, brush, and floss, which is why most adults choose them over braces. They also demand more of you than braces do, because they only work while they are in your mouth.

Each tray is manufactured slightly out of position relative to where your teeth sit now. Worn against the teeth, it applies gentle continuous pressure that remodels the bone around the root and lets the tooth shift. When that movement is complete, the tray feels loose and you move to the next one in the series.

You wear each set for as long as your treatment plan specifies, usually one to two weeks, and you need them in for at least 22 hours a day. Take them out to eat, to drink anything other than water, and to clean your teeth. Everything else, including sleep, they stay in.

Two parts of aligner treatment surprise people, so it is worth saying now. Most cases need small tooth-coloured attachments bonded to some teeth to give the trays something to grip; they come off at the end. Some cases also need a very small amount of enamel polished between crowded teeth to create room. Dr. Prepchuk will tell you at the consultation whether your case needs either.

Aligners handle most of what adults want fixed: crowding, spacing, mild to moderate rotations, and many bite corrections. They are not the right tool for everything.

Cases that usually need braces or a specialist instead:

• Severe crowding or teeth that need large movements
• Significant skeletal bite discrepancies, where the problem is jaw position rather than tooth position
• Teeth that need substantial vertical movement or major rotation
• Patients who realistically will not wear the trays 22 hours a day

That last one matters more than any of the others. Aligners are the only orthodontic treatment you can accidentally stop. Dr. Prepchuk will tell you at the assessment if he thinks braces would get you a better result, and refer you when a case belongs with an orthodontist.

At Springbank Hill Dental, the ClearCorrect© aligner therapy is completed in 5 routine steps. Let us take a closer look at each to give you a general idea of what to expect.

Initial ClearCorrect© assessment

X-rays and a clinical examination confirm your teeth and gums are healthy enough to move. Aligners cannot be started over untreated decay or active gum disease. If anything needs treating first, we deal with it before the scan.

Digital scan and treatment plan

An intraoral scanner captures a 3D model of your teeth. Dr. Prepchuk plans the sequence of movements from that model and you see a simulation of the projected result before committing. The plan sets how many trays you need and how long treatment will take.

Your first set

Attachments are placed if your plan calls for them, and you get your first trays plus enough sets to reach your next visit. Expect a few days of pressure and a slight lisp with each new set. Both settle.

Progress checks

You will see us every six to eight weeks so we can confirm the teeth are tracking to plan. If a tooth is lagging, catching it early is far easier than correcting it at the end. These are short appointments, and we schedule them early morning or evening so they do not cost you a workday.

Retainers

Teeth drift back toward their original position after any orthodontic treatment. That is normal biology, not a failure of the treatment. You will be fitted with retainers at the end and you need to wear them nightly, indefinitely, to hold the result. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you a relapse.

Cost depends on how far your teeth need to move and how many trays that takes. A short case correcting mild crowding costs considerably less than a full-arch case.

Springbank Hill Dental follows the Alberta Dental Association Fee Guide. Many Alberta plans include a separate lifetime orthodontic maximum, distinct from your annual dental maximum, and clear aligners often qualify. We submit a predetermination to your insurer before treatment starts so you know exactly what is covered and what you will pay. Payment plans are available.

Book a clear aligner consultation at Springbank Hill Dental by calling (403) 454-4757 or booking online. We are at 133-7460 Springbank Blvd SW, open from 7:00 am Wednesday through Saturday and until 8:30 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. New patients are welcome, no referral is needed, and parking is free.