Although clear aligners have always been linked to Invisalign, the pioneering laboratory in this technology and the most widely used in the world, in which our clinic holds the Diamond Provider category (the highest), as we treat more than 400 cases a year, today other brands and laboratories have appeared, the best known being Spark or Angel Aligner, which we also work with at the clinic.
This often generates doubts in some patients when starting orthodontic treatment, because many of them ask us:
Which is better? ó How can the use of one brand or another affect my orthodontic treatment?
In reality, and regardless of the brand selected, what is fundamental is the orthodontist. It is as if we were talking about a musical instrument or, as my colleague Ana exemplified in this video, a camera:
The different brands can have an influence, that is true, as each one has certain characteristics that differentiate it from the rest, such as a special button, a way of including the attachments or even a different plastic. But these differences are not crucial and do not make a treatment more or less effective in itself, as they only influence the way in which we, the orthodontists, have to plan and carry out your treatment, but not the final result.
What is really important, in short, is the experience of the orthodontist and his or her ability to treat any case with aligners.
However, this sudden growth of commercial brands has generated a certain mistrust on the part of professionals, who are wary of new entrants in a market where, on the other hand, they already dominate their reference brand, whatever it may be.
In addition, sometimes new brands or business models appear where the aligner system itself sends the aligners online to the patient's home, sometimes with methods as dangerous as an initial record taking sent by the patient himself, "as if it were Amazon" (an advertising claim that is often used), but this type of treatment, without a professional behind it, is quite dangerous for oral health.
At the start of orthodontic treatment at a reputable and competent dental clinic, a series of intraoral and extraoral records are taken, including a 3D scan of your mouth and any necessary X-rays. This is repeated several times during the treatment to make sure that everything is going as it should.
The difference between this way of working and not paying any attention to the patient is, as you will understand, abysmal, and so is the difference in the results.
Remember that the orthodontist is the only specialist qualified to carry out a thorough study of your mouth, in order to subsequently provide an exhaustive diagnosis and a fully personalised treatment plan.
And given her or his training and experience, she or he will be the one to decide which brand of aligners to use, which is something you shouldn't have to worry about.