Do Braces Get Your Teeth Straighter Than Other Methods?

If you have severely misaligned teeth, braces may get your teeth straighter than other methods. If you have minor to moderate misalignment issues, aligners may be the best and most cost-effective choice for you.

Braces vs. Aligners

Braces have been the go-to dental appliance for straightening teeth for decades, but today, people have other options. With the growing popularity of doctor-monitored, at-home aligners, more people are interested in using this approach instead of metal-based braces and retainers.

Clear aligners can correct many misalignment issues, including gaps and crowded teeth. However, they may not be the best option for some more serious dental misalignments. 

Many people get braces in their teenage years, but teeth can still become misaligned in adulthood. Orthodontists report a 34 percent rise in adults pursuing straighter teeth, using a variety of orthodontic devices. 

The American Association of Orthodontists explains that children ages 9 to 14 can begin treatment with braces, as long as their adult teeth have come in. Some dental professionals use in-person aligners (like Invisalign) in their younger patients. At-home, doctor-directed aligner companies like Byte of

If you have a smile you are less than proud of in adulthood, you may start seeking out more subtle options than traditional braces. For mild to moderate cases, braces won’t get your teeth straighter than aligners, but for severe cases, they might.

Traditional Braces Work for all Misalignment Issues

Dental braces are appliances that use metal wires and either metal or ceramic brackets to push your teeth into alignment. These devices are able to correct most types of misalignment in your teeth, including crowding, crooked teeth, gaps or spacing problems, and malocclusions of your jaw.

How do Braces Straighten Teeth?

With braces, very small brackets are applied or cemented to the teeth, with bands or elastics placed over them. Wires (called archwires) connect the brackets. These wires are tightened throughout treatment during regular adjustment visits. The tightening applies pressure to the teeth in order to force movement into a new and corrected position.

Your braces treatment plan typically involves the following steps:

• Assessment: Your doctor uses a visual exam, X-rays, and dental molds to determine where your teeth are now and where they should be after treatment.

• Placement: Your doctor glues brackets to your teeth and connects them with wires.

• Adjustment: You visit your doctor every few weeks for in-person appointments. Your doctor changes the wires in these appointments to move your teeth per your plan.

• Removal: Your doctor removes the wire and applies a solvent to break down the glue and remove your brackets.

• Retainer: You wear a retainer per your doctor’s instructions for at least a year, if not longer.

Braces Materials

With advancements in materials like ceramics and stainless steel, current versions of traditional braces are more lightweight, smaller, and more effective than ever before.

Materials used in today’s braces include the following:

• Stainless steel brackets and wires

• Ceramic brackets with stainless steel wires

• Self-ligating elastic and metal bands

Types of Braces

The types of braces that may be right for you depend on several factors, including how serious your misalignment is, if you have an overbite or underbite, and how old you are. Adults have teeth that are more firmly rooted in their gums, so you may need a stronger option to make your smile straighter, particularly if you have these more serious issues.

Types of braces include the following:

Treatment Plan Duration

If you use traditional braces, your treatment plan will be customized to the severity of your misalignment and include other devices like a retainer after your braces are removed. The entire course may take between one and three years, on average.

If you follow your orthodontist’s instructions, you will wear braces for the least amount of time possible. If you accidentally snap a wire or band, for example, you may need to wear braces longer.

Clear Aligners for a Barely Visible Smile Treatment

Since Invisalign was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998, clear aligners have become the most popular option for adults who want to straighten their teeth. Typically, these aligners are considered invisible braces since they align your teeth by exerting pressure, similarly to traditional braces.

Several companies offer clear aligners through the mail. Some require only one in-person appointment and ongoing virtual sessions with an orthodontist. Others don’t involve any in-person visits. You take your own impressions at home, and your treatment plan is then created and overseen by a doctor.

Aligner Companies

Aside from Invisalign, options for straightening your teeth with clear aligners include the following:

• Candid

• Byte

• ClearCorrect

How Aligners Work

Clear aligners are removable and custom-made to fit comfortably over teeth and guide movement to proper alignment.

Teeth aligners treatment usually includes these steps:

• Assessment: Your dentist takes a detailed mold of your teeth and uses that data to determine where they should shift. Computer programming allows your dentist to detail how the plan will work, and often, you are provided with a 3D model of your future smile.

• Printing: With your dental molds and the plan, your dental professional prints molds that fit your teeth. You’re provided with a series of aligners that you’ll wear in sequence, and they will slowly shift your teeth to new positions.

• Wear: You will wear your aligners per your doctor’s orders. Some programs require you to wear the trays all day, while others require you to wear trays at night only.

• Switch: Every few weeks, you will change your tray to the new version, as directed by your doctor.

• Retainer: You wear a retainer per your doctor’s instructions for at least a year, if not longer, when your teeth have achieved their final position.

Some types of aligners, such as Invisalign, require you to visit a doctor in person for assessments. Other programs allow you to work with your doctor via telemedicine, so you don’t have in-person appointments.

Better Oral Health with Aligners

In 2015, researchers published a study in the journal BMC Oral Health comparing the dental health of people using Invisalign or braces. In this study, 100 people were followed for more than six months. Each one went through clinical examinations of their periodontal health. They found that people using aligners had “significantly better” gum health than those who wore braces.

Since aligners are removable, it is easier for you to brush, floss, and care for your whole mouth. Better cleanliness could mean a reduced risk of oral health issues.

Adults who use invisible aligners also report greater overall satisfaction with their orthodontic treatment.

If you want to straighten your teeth, it is important to get an idea of the severity of your misalignment issues. While doctor-monitored, at-home aligners have advanced greatly and can improve many different types of issues, they won’t work for every case. If you have complex issues, you may still need traditional braces to get the straight teeth you want.

Conditions Treated by Braces vs. Aligners

​​Risks & complications of braces and aligners

Straightening your teeth can help to reduce your risk of issues such as cavities and gum disease. When your teeth are aligned, it’s easier to brush them and floss between them. However, braces and aligners can come with some risks.

Risks of braces

The British Orthodontics Society explains that braces can cause problems like enamel damage (such as white or brown spots on the teeth) and gum damage. Patients can avoid these problems by avoiding sugary foods and carbonated drinks. Brushing properly and using braces-friendly tools like water flossers can keep your teeth healthy, too.

Risks of aligners

Clear aligners can be removed for dental cleaning. That means these devices come with fewer risks of tooth decay and gum damage. However, they can cause other problems.

In studies of aligners, researchers have identified other risks, including the following:

• Allergic reactions

• Speech problems

• Tooth root complications

Working with a reputable aligner company can help. A doctor can perform detailed planning and watch your progress. If you develop allergic reactions, your doctor can help. And if your tooth roots are damaged, your doctor can address that, too.

Technological advances in braces and aligners

Do braces get your teeth straighter than other methods? Technological advances might help to answer that question. Both braces and aligners have gone through several transformations, and they could help to make your smile even better.

For example, dental professionals can now use digital imaging when they’re planning orthodontic treatment for their patients. Instead of looking at X-rays and guessing, they can upload those images to computer-aided design programs and create 3D images of what your smile looks like. Both braces and aligners can benefit from this technology.

That same technology has revolutionized aligners. Providers can use their scans and images to create detailed printing plans. Each aligner they print with these scans is custom-fit to their patient’s mouths.

Braces have changed, too. In the past, brackets were wrapped with tiny rubber bands to hold the wire in place. Now, self-ligating brackets are available. They hold the wires in place and can be opened/closed through special tools orthodontists use. These brackets are smaller and more comfortable than old versions, too.

Investigate the Best Options for your Smile

Aligners work as well as traditional braces, and they typically require less time to correct minor to moderate issues like gaps or crookedness.

They also offer a more discreet teeth-straightening option since they aren’t as obvious as metal or even ceramic braces. If you have an important meeting, you can remove the aligners for this short period of time. You don’t have this option with braces.

In some cases, however, braces can give you straighter teeth than aligners or other options. This is simply because some cases are too severe for aligners to effectively treat them.

If you have a severe overbite or underbite, several missing teeth, major jaw misalignment, and some other issues, braces may work best. You may need additional orthodontic appliances, such as headgear, or even jaw surgery to effectively straighten your smile.

Many people would first like to see if they are a candidate for aligners. You’ll take impressions of your teeth at home, mail them in, and a treatment team will then assess whether aligners will work for you. If they won’t, braces may be your best bet.

Braces vs. Aligners Frequently Asked Questions