During Treatment - FAQs

You are able to check the status of your case under Manage Orders in the Doctor's Portal. This is your default screen after you first login to your account. You can refine your search by using the Status and Category dropdown menus.

You'll need to call, email or chat (if available in your area) with Provider Services to cancel a case. Please note that cases where you have already approved the treatment setup will not be issued a refund.

To order a replacement aligner you can contact our Provider Services team by phone, email, or send us a quick chat (if available in your area). We will need the patient’s case number, which arch (upper, lower, or both), and which step needs to be remade.

If you want to delay or hold the shipment of a particular phase of aligners, contact our Provider Services team to discuss your options. Putting your treatment on hold in general is rarely beneficial, as it will not extend the 5-year Unlimited Treatment period or reduce the price of additional treatment.

• Full and complete fit of current aligners
• Patient able to easily remove and place current set of aligners 
• Loose contacts and spaces closed at Compliance Checkpoints
• Planned tooth movements have occurred

A sign that the aligner has done its job is unquestionable good fit of the current aligner. However, even if aligners appear to fit properly and comfortably, that doesn't guarantee that the teeth are actually moving as intended. For suggestions on how to identify unseen tracking issues before treatment goes off track, see our article on Tracking Issues. A tight fit of the next aligner may very well be due to a considerable amount of tooth movement programmed for the next stage.

Yes, precise tracking is very important for a successful treatment result, otherwise, a revision will likely be required.

One doctor asked:

I have a patient that is in the middle of treatment and I noticed that some of the teeth are mobile or feel loose. The patient did not have any periodontal problems before treatment and keeps their teeth clean. Should I stop treatment until the mobility goes away or should I not be concerned about this and continue with aligner treatment? 

Our Chief Technology Officer, Dr. James Mah, responds: 

Habitual tooth-grinding can make clear aligner therapy difficult—unless you are willing to work around it. The main problem with this issue is that the constant grinding of the teeth wears down the aligners to the point that the material loses its retentiveness. Therefore, the patient may wear the aligner out before it has a chance to move the teeth adequately during that step of treatment.

However, if you are willing to be flexible and manage the patient's treatment more closely, you can work around the grinding.

We suggest that you determine how long it takes your patient to wear down one set of aligners, then adjust their aligner wear schedule accordingly. Then, order replacement aligners of each step in order to actively progress through treatment. For example, if your patient grinds down an aligner in two weeks, have your patient switch to a one-week wear schedule. This should solve the problem.

Protecting the teeth and face against injury with a mouthguard while playing contact sports is extremely important, especially when your patient has invested time and money into their orthodontic treatment.

The patient may simply remove their aligners and wear a standard mouthguard during sports practice or games, then replace the aligners right after the activity is over. Instructing the patient to keep their aligner case in their sports bag (with Chewies to help seat the aligners) will also encourage compliance.

If you or the patient are concerned about removing the aligners for an extended period of time, you may instruct the patient to wear a mouthguard with their aligners. Companies like Shock Doctor make special mouthguards for patients with orthodontic treatment. Be sure to use an aligner that doesn't need to be worn anymore (or make a "sacrificial" aligner in your practice) when fitting the mouthguard to protect the integrity of the patient's current step.

Remember -- ClearCorrect aligners should never be used in lieu of a sports mouthguard, and the patient's teeth may move slightly during any time they are not wearing their aligners. Please use your best judgment when instructing your patients on treatment.

One doctor asked us:

I have a patient that wears a nighttime appliance for snoring/sleep apnea. What do I have to do to accommodate both clear aligners and the nighttime appliances while they are in treatment? Do the appliance trays provide adequate retention or do you have to make the appliance fit over the clear aligner?

As you know, clear aligners should be worn for at least 22 hours per day. If your patient removed the clear aligners each night to wear the sleep apnea appliance, not only would it cut into your patient's wear-time, the appliance could actively work against the aligners, pressuring the teeth back into their original positions.

So, tight-fitting custom sleep apnea appliances probably can't be used during clear aligner treatment.

If you use a loose-fitting sleep apnea appliance, it may be less likely to interfere with the aligners. You could also consider a non-fitted device, such as the aveoTSD or a CPAP machine.

Please note: We have not tested ClearCorrect for use with sleep apnea appliances. We cannot guarantee the safety or efficacy of any sleep apnea device when used with clear aligners.

If your patient just stops wearing a sleep apnea appliance during clear aligner therapy, remember that they'll probably need a new sleep apnea appliance at the end of treatment, to fit the new configuration of their teeth.

Dr. Virginia Hughson-Otte wrote in to say:

"I'm a fan of the aveoTSD during ClearCorrect therapy... In fact the CPAP machine can actually produce so much anterior pressure you'll end up fighting this with your aligners also and it can prolong TX."

More than one doctor gave us positive feedback about the aveoTSD device. Dr. Marion N. Wilson wrote:

"aveoTSD works great in place of the custom fitted appliances while wearing aligners. It is a good alternative during TX. In fact I use it extensively for my patients who will not use their CPAP machines."

We contacted Glidewell Laboratories, the US distributor of the aveoTSD, to ask them about using the device with clear aligners. Their VP of Sales & Marketing, responded:

"I personally wear clear retainers myself along with the aveoTSD virtually every night. The intra-oral dimension of the aveoTSD is very thin and since your tongue is held between your upper and lower teeth inside the silicone bulb it is completely comfortable and effectively keeps my airway open so I do not snore."

We should point out that, although clinical trials in other countries have found the aveoTSD effective for mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea, the FDA has only cleared it for use as an anti-snoring device in the United States.

We have no affiliation with Glidewell Laboratories, and we aren't getting any financial compensation from them. We have not tested the aveoTSD ourselves, so we can't recommend for or against using it. We're just passing along the feedback we've received.

We trim our aligners with a smooth contour, overlapping the attached gingiva, based on clinical research which demonstrated big improvements to retention using this technique.

Unfortunately, we are not able to accept custom trimming requests. We trim all aligners using the same standard protocol. If you want to customize your aligners, you can do so fairly easily in your office with a buffing wheel.

ClearCorrect aligners go through a multi-stage polishing process, so actual rough or sharp edges should be quite rare.

It is fairly common, however, to experience some discomfort for the first few days wearing an aligner. This often indicates that the soft tissue is getting used to having foreign material present in the mouth. Changes to the mucosa eventually fade away when the patient stops wearing aligners.

If the gums are being impinged, one possibility is that the gingiva were not captured accurately in the impression. We prefer 3-4 millimeters of gum to be included. Impressions that do not have the full 3-4mm of gumline captured will affect the production of the models.

You may also want to look for frenum pulls. These can be difficult to detect because the aligner may feel comfortable at first, but as the patient speaks and moves around, the frenum becomes irritated and ulcerated. Unfortunately this dynamic movement is not captured when taking the impression. Clear photographs can help to identify these. Gingival frenum pulls are rare, but when they occur, they are typically found in the maxillary premolar and midline areas. If this proves to be a problem, you may want to trim the aligner shorter in the affected areas.