Simple Aligner ^TM

Simple Aligners are an affordable & effective way of resolving minor alignment issues. They were designed based on a state-of-the-art thermoforming plastic that allows teeth to move quickly.

Originally, the Simple Aligner was developed as a flexible retainer aimed towards individuals that had difficulty wearing a retainer on a regular basis (i.e. at night, every night). Why? We must begin with the "Classic Life-Cycle" of a traditional retainer.

Here is the Classic Life-Cycle: The patient is done with braces. Yippeee! They admire their lovely teeth and believe that it was worth all the effort. Just then, they are handed their acrylic/ wire retainer. A retainer is born.

In mid-life, the retainer gets worn for about 6 months FULL TIME so that the teeth can "settle" or "harden" into place. Then the patients are asked to wear their retainers at NIGHT ONLY for a few years.

When patients begin to wear their retainers at night, sometimes the patient misses a night due to forgetfulness. Sometimes they miss two nights in a row. Sometimes three! After only a few missed nights with traditional retainers, patients' teeth WILL MOVE! If enough movement occurs, the poor patient becomes unable to fit a conventional acrylic/wire retainer in his/her mouth. Why? The traditional retainer is too rigid to fit the now SLIGHTLY crooked teeth. As a result, the no-longer-fitting traditional retainer is completely abandoned, doomed to a retainer case, which now serves as a retainer casket. A retainer has died.

Unfortunately, teeth get crooked with age. It is just a fact. This reality has taken on many names, including "relapse" and "physiologic recovery." Fancy terms indeed. Put simply, all beauty fades. Like wrinkles, crooked teeth develop over time. When a person gets a face-lift….it is not permanent! Another face-lift will likely be sought.

Crooked teeth as a function of age: They start out "a little crooked" and progress from there. The average adult has at least 3 to 4 mm of crookedness in their lower incisors by the age of 35….even AFTER they have had braces! That should surprise you!

Surprised by the words crooked AFTER braces? Refer back to the birth and death of a retainer. It is a classic cycle. Any solutions? How about "flexible retainer."

The Simple Aligner started out as a "flexible retainer." It was designed to be flexible enough to accommodate forgetfulness in patients. As much as two weeks could go by and the retainer could still fit, though very tightly. Unfortunately, the life-cycle of these retainers were also short….though not for the same reason as a conventional acrylic/wire retainer. "Flexible" retainers had a short life-span due to the fact that the material was not durable enough to withstand the normal "wear & tear" of the mouth. So, I started searching for a more durable, and still flexible, alternative.

After studying Orthodontic Biomaterials at the Boston University Department of Dental Biomaterials, I stumbled upon an interesting material that appeared to have high durability and flexibility qualities. Additionally the material could be made to be transparent. It was clear!

The long and the short of it is that the material became my preferred retainer for my patients. My patients loved their clear, flexible, durable retainers….and still do. They fit quite snugly, but comfortably. They are clear. And they are "forgiving" to patients that are "forgetful." I started calling them "forgivers" rather than "retainers" in my office.

Over time, I noticed that some patients were so very forgetful when it came to their retainers that I needed a new type of material to improve upon my "forgivers." These individuals did not want braces again (often due to finances), but their "forgiving retainers" were not enough to resolve their crookedness issues. I started searching for something that was more forgiving.

After many attempts and failures, often using my own teeth as guinea pigs, I found a material that was so forgiving that I called it an "aligner."

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Simple Aligner TM

Simple Aligner ^TM