Services › Clear aligners
Clear aligners, planned by an orthodontist, delivered by your dentist
Your treatment plan is designed and reviewed by an orthodontist before a single tray is made — then carried out here, by the dentist who knows your bite. Straightening teeth is not only a cosmetic exercise: how the teeth meet decides whether the result lasts, whether the jaw aches, and whether the edges chip in five years.
What they can fix
A series of clear, removable trays, each one slightly different from the last, moving the teeth a fraction at a time. You change them on a schedule and wear them around 20–22 hours a day.
They handle crowding, spacing and gaps, mild to moderate overbite, underbite and crossbite, and relapse after braces you had as a teenager — which is one of the most common reasons adults come in.
Straighter teeth are also easier to clean. Crowded teeth trap plaque in places floss cannot reach, and that is a gum disease problem long before it is an appearance one.
Severe crowding, large bite discrepancies, impacted teeth and cases needing jaw surgery are better served by an orthodontist treating you in person with fixed braces — a different thing from one planning aligners. We will tell you that at the consultation rather than start something that will not finish. If aligners are not right for you, we will say so and point you to someone who is.
Aligners only work while they are in your mouth. If you know you will not wear them 20 hours a day, fixed braces are the more honest choice.
How it works
Digital scan — no impression trays
A handheld scanner builds a 3D model of your teeth in a few minutes. No tray of putty, no gagging.
An orthodontist plans the movements
The scan goes to an orthodontist, who maps out how each tooth moves and in what order. You see a simulation of the finished result and roughly how long it will take. If you do not like the plan, nothing has been ordered and nothing has been paid.
Wear the trays
Each set moves the teeth a little further. Out for meals, out for coffee, in the rest of the time. Most treatments run six to eighteen months depending on how far the teeth have to travel.
Check-ins
Short appointments every few weeks to confirm the teeth are tracking the plan. If one is lagging, it is far easier to correct at week eight than at week forty.
Retainers — the part people skip
Teeth drift back. Every case finishes with a retainer, and wearing it is the difference between a result you keep and one you pay for twice. We would rather be blunt about this at the start.
Aligners or braces?
Both work. They are good at different things.
Your case is mild to moderate, you want it to be discreet at work, you would rather take them out to eat what you like, and you will actually wear them. Cleaning your teeth stays normal — nothing is glued on.
The movements are large or complex, teeth need rotating or bringing down into place, or you would simply rather not have to remember anything. They work whether or not you are disciplined, because you cannot take them out.
We treat with Candid, a clear aligner system supplied to dental practices rather than advertised to the public. Every treatment plan goes to an orthodontist, who designs and reviews the tooth movements before your trays are manufactured. You are then seen in person, here, by the dentist responsible for your bite and the rest of your mouth.
That combination is the argument for doing it this way: specialist planning, without being handed off to a practice that has never met you — and nothing like a mail-order impression kit with nobody watching.
If you are considering veneers or crowns at the front, moving the teeth into the right position first almost always means less tooth has to be removed afterwards. It is the less obvious sequence and usually the more conservative one.
Cost and insurance
The price depends on how many trays your case needs, which the scan determines. We quote the whole course in writing at the consultation — including the retainers — rather than a starting-from figure that grows.
Many PPO plans carry a separate lifetime orthodontic maximum that most adults never use. We will check whether yours does before you decide.
Financing is available. Note that our membership plan's 20% treatment discount excludes orthodontics, so aligners are quoted separately.
Common questions
How long will my treatment take?
Most cases run six to eighteen months. Minor crowding or a relapse after childhood braces can finish faster; bigger movements take longer. The simulation from your scan gives you a realistic estimate before you start.
Will anyone be able to tell I am wearing them?
Rarely at conversational distance. Some cases need small tooth-coloured attachments bonded to a few teeth to grip the tray, and those are more visible than the tray itself — we will tell you up front if your case needs them.
Do they hurt?
Not sharply. Each new tray brings a day or two of pressure and tenderness, which is the teeth actually moving. It settles. Switching to a new set in the evening means you sleep through the worst of it.
Can I drink coffee with them in?
Water yes, anything else no. Hot drinks can warp the plastic and coffee, tea and red wine will stain it. Take them out, drink, brush or rinse, put them back.
What if I lose a tray?
Call us. Usually you go back to the previous set while a replacement is made, so you lose a little time rather than the whole plan. It happens more often than you would think and it is fixable.
Do I have to wear a retainer forever?
In some form, yes. Full-time at first, then nights only. Teeth have memory and will drift back given the chance — this is true after braces too, and it is the single most common reason people need treatment twice.
Who actually designs my treatment plan?
An orthodontist. Your scan and records go to one, who plans the sequence of movements and reviews it before the trays are made. We handle everything in person — the scan, the fit, the check-ins, the final retainers — and we are the ones accountable for how your bite ends up.
Is this Invisalign?
No — we use Candid, a clear aligner system supplied to dental practices rather than marketed to the public. The treatment works the same way: a digital scan, an orthodontist-designed plan, a sequence of trays, in-person check-ins with us, and retainers at the end. What differs is the label on the box.
Can I straighten my teeth if I have gum disease?
Not until it is under control. Moving teeth through inflamed, unsupported bone makes things worse. The gums get treated first — and because a board-certified periodontist works out of this office, that does not mean going anywhere else.
Let's get you a time this week.
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6565 W Jewell Ave, Suite 9, Lakewood CO 80232 · info@synergydentistryco.com
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