Aligners

Looking for a plant-based alternative to the traditional plastics used in these devices? Check out GT FLEX ® GREEN.

What Are Aligners?

Orthodontic aligners are custom devices designed to apply continuous, gentle force to your teeth and guide them gradually toward an ideal smile.

They are made of thin, flexible plastic and shaped to fit closely over your teeth, but with subtle differences from your current smile. Because of these differences, each aligner must flex slightly as it gets placed over your teeth. The gentle force of the flexed plastic trying to move back to its original shape is what makes aligners work to move your teeth.

Aligner treatment involves a series of individual aligners. Each one is typically worn for about two weeks and is responsible for a small, step-by-step movement toward the final smile goal.

Are Aligners Right for Me?

Aligners can be a great solution, but they’re not for everyone. Whether aligners are right for you depends on two questions:

Is your case mild enough?

Your dentist will help answer this one for you.

In general, the more complex the case, the less likely aligners are to be the best option. If your case requires complex or extensive movements to get your teeth to the ideal position, standard wire braces might be the better choice.

Some providers do tackle more complex cases with aligners. With careful planning and the right choice of material, certain types of complex cases can, in principle, be addressed with aligners.

But the more complex the case, the longer you need to wear your aligners – and that requires commitment.

Are you able to commit to wearing your aligners?

For aligners to work, they need to be worn as prescribed. And most types of aligners are designed to be worn full-time – all day and night, except for when you’re eating – for the entire course of your treatment.

That’s a challenging schedule for many patients to keep. And it gets more challenging the longer the treatment continues.

Aligner treatment for mild-to-moderate cases can last from just a few months to about a year. A lot of folks can handle that level of commitment. But treatment for complex cases can extend well beyond a year. It’s difficult for anyone to keep up a full-time schedule with aligners for that long.

So even if your dentist suggests that you might be a good candidate for aligner therapy, you really need to ask yourself if you can commit to wearing them. If you’re not sure, then braces might be the better option.

What to Expect from Aligner Treatment

Aligner treatment generally follows the same core steps:

1. Clinical Evaluation

   Day 1 (Start)

   Your dentist will evaluate your overall dental health and captures detailed records of your teeth, typically including photos and an intraoral scan (or physical impression).

   These records, along with other relevant details about your case, are used to design your treatment plan.

2. Treatment Planning

   Approximately 1-3 weeks

   Your dentist and the aligner design team create a digital model of your ideal smile and map out the step-by-step movements required to achieve it.

   Each aligner in your series is designed during this stage as well.

3. Aligner Production

   Approximately 1-3 weeks

   Your custom aligners are manufactured and then shipped to your dentist.

4. Initial Aligner Try-In

   Approximately 2-6 weeks after your first visit

   You’ll return to your dentist to try in your first aligners. Your dentist will confirm fit and review instructions for wear and care.

5. Aligner Wear

   A few months to over a year, depending on case complexity

   You’ll wear your aligners in sequence, typically changing to a new set every two weeks or so. Each aligner makes small adjustments to your smile, gradually moving your teeth toward their planned, ideal position.

You can expect your treatment to follow these same general steps if you choose aligners from GT Smiles.

Aligners from GT Smiles

GT Smiles works directly with dental providers to integrate aligner care into their practices. The GT Smiles aligner team and system bring:

• Years of experience providing orthodontic aligners
• Advanced treatment planning designed to enhance aesthetics and function
• Specialty materials engineered specifically for orthodontic aligners.

Material Options

We currently have the following material options for GT Smiles aligners:

GT FLEX ® PRO	GT FLEX ® MAX	GT FLEX ® GREEN
Traditional Plastic	Traditional Plastic	Plant-Based Material
Clear	Clear	Pearly White
Long history of use by thousands of patients; trusted and reliable	Our thinnest material option; designed for added comfort	100% free from traditional plastics; for anyone looking for plant-based alternatives
Available Now	Available Now	In Development*

* GT FLEX ® GREEN is expected to begin clinical evaluations as an aligner material in 2026. We currently anticipate wider availability of GT FLEX ® GREEN as an aligner option in 2027 at the earliest.

Should I wait for GT FLEX ® GREEN?

If you prefer a plant-based option and both you and your dentist agree that there’s no particular urgency for you to begin orthodontic treatment, then you might consider waiting until GT FLEX ® GREEN is available.

But if you need or want your orthodontic treatment to start sooner, you shouldn’t wait.

If you need aligners today, you can always start with GT FLEX ® PRO or GT FLEX ® MAX traditional plastic materials. Then when you’re finished with aligners, you can switch to GT FLEX ® GREEN for your retainers (whenever it becomes available for retainers, which, at the moment, looks to be soon).