SureSmile® Clear Aligners in Bellevue, WA
 SureSmile® clear aligners give patients in Bellevue, WA a discreet way to straighten their teeth, and Bella Dental Care now offers them alongside our other cosmetic dentistry services.
SureSmile is a clear aligner system from Dentsply Sirona that uses digital scans and custom-fabricated trays to move your teeth gradually into better alignment, without brackets, wires, or the look of traditional braces.
Clear aligners have changed what straightening teeth looks like. Instead of metal brackets and wires, you wear a series of removable, nearly invisible trays that shift your teeth a little at a time, and most people you pass during treatment won’t notice you’re wearing them.
If you’ve thought about straightening your teeth but didn’t want braces, or you had braces years ago and your teeth have drifted since, clear aligners are worth a closer look. Whether they’re the right fit comes down to your specific bite, which our team evaluates during your consultation here in Bellevue.
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What Are SureSmile® Clear Aligners?
SureSmile clear aligners are a complete teeth-straightening system from Dentsply Sirona, built around digital scans and custom-made trays rather than brackets and wires. Each set of aligners is made from a high-performance, virtually transparent material, and you wear them in sequence, switching to the next set as your teeth move into place.
What sets SureSmile apart from a generic tray is the planning behind it. The process starts with a quick digital scan that replaces the goopy putty trays most people remember. From there, technicians at the SureSmile digital lab map the path each tooth will take before your first aligner is ever made, so the movement is planned out rather than improvised.
Is SureSmile Right for You?
Clear aligners work well for a range of common concerns, though not every case is a fit. During your consultation in Bellevue, our team looks at your bite and your goals to decide whether aligners will get you where you want to go. Aligners are often a strong option for:
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Crowding – teeth that overlap or sit too close together
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Gaps and spacing – visible spaces between teeth
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Relapse after braces – teeth that have shifted since earlier orthodontic work
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Mild to moderate bite concerns – certain alignment issues that affect how your teeth meet |
Aligners move teeth, but they don’t change the shape of a tooth, so if reshaping is part of your goal, that’s a job for treatments like Bioclear rather than aligners. More involved bite or jaw issues sometimes call for a different approach too, and we’ll tell you honestly if that’s the case for you.
Your Clear Aligner Dentist in Bellevue
Clear aligner treatment at Bella Dental Care is led by Dr. Samar Haghighi, who earned her DDS from the University of Washington School of Dentistry. She took first place in the Washington Academy of General Dentistry’s competition for restorative dentistry research, and she spent several years caring for patients in the Woodinville community before joining our Bellevue practice. Her approach starts with listening, then walking you through your options in plain language so the decision stays yours. More in Dr. Haghighi’s bio.
She practices alongside Dr. Rima Abifaker, who has cared for Bellevue patients for more than 29 years and holds Bioclear certification. That pairing gives your treatment the backing of a team comfortable on both the cosmetic and restorative sides of a case, which matters when you’re deciding how to improve a smile you’ll have for decades.
The SureSmile Treatment Process
Most SureSmile treatment moves through four stages, and your consultation and scan often happen at the same first visit, so you’re not making extra trips to our Bellevue office.
Your Consultation
Treatment starts with a conversation about what you’d like to change, followed by an exam of your teeth and bite. This is where our team confirms whether clear aligners are the right tool for your case, or whether something else would serve you better, and you get a straight answer before any treatment begins.
Your Digital Scan and Treatment Plan
Next, we capture a 3D digital dental impression of your teeth in a few minutes, with no putty and nothing to gag on. That scan goes to the SureSmile digital lab, where technicians map your treatment tooth by tooth, then we review the plan with you so you can see how your smile is expected to change before you start.
Wearing Your Aligners
 Once your aligners arrive, you wear each set as directed and switch to the next on the schedule we give you, with your teeth shifting a little at a time. You come in for short periodic checkups so we can confirm everything is tracking the way it should. Because the trays are removable, you take them out to eat, brush, and floss, then put them right back in.
Retainers and Aftercare
When your teeth reach their final position, you move into retainers to hold them there, since teeth naturally drift over time without something keeping them in place. We set you up with retainers and show you how to keep your new smile stable for the long run.
Benefits of SureSmile Clear Aligners
 The biggest draw of clear aligners is that they straighten your teeth without announcing it. The SureSmile trays we use are made from a virtually transparent material, so for most of your day, the people around you won’t realize you’re in treatment, and our Bellevue patients often tell us they forget the trays are there.
Being removable is the other big advantage. You take the trays out to eat, brush, and floss, so meals and cleaning stay normal, and there’s nothing bonded to your teeth to work around. For a lot of the people we treat in Bellevue, that flexibility is what makes aligners feel doable in the first place.
Because we plan your case through the SureSmile digital lab, you also see your projected result before your first tray goes in, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of the decision. SureSmile’s results tend to be predictable as well: the manufacturer, Dentsply Sirona, reports that 3 out of 4 completed aligner cases required one or fewer refinements.
Many of our patients finish by adding professional teeth whitening once the trays come out for good, so they walk out of our Bellevue office with a smile that’s both straight and bright.
Why Choose Our Team for Clear Aligners
Plenty of offices can sell you a set of aligners. What matters more is who plans your treatment and how closely they follow it. We build your case on a 3D scan from our own in-office scanner and plan it through the SureSmile digital lab, then the same Bellevue team watches it from your first checkup to your last, so nobody loses track of your progress along the way.
We also see plenty of patients who’d rather have a dentist handle this than a chain or a mail-order kit. Your consultation is complimentary, we examine your teeth and gums in person before anything starts, and if clear aligners aren’t the right route for your goals, we tell you so before you’ve committed to treatment.
Straightening is also just one part of a smile. Because our Bellevue office handles both the cosmetic and restorative sides of care, we can fold aligners into a larger plan, like a smile makeover that pairs straighter teeth with whitening or bonding, instead of sending you to a different office for each step.
Clear Aligner Cost and Financing in Bellevue
Cost matters, and we’ll be straight with you about it. The cost of clear aligner treatment depends on a few things: how much your teeth need to move, how many aligners your plan calls for, and whether any other dental work is part of reaching your goal. Because every case is different, the only way to get an accurate number is an exam and a plan built for your mouth.
Some dental plans help with clear aligner treatment and some don’t, so it’s worth checking your specific benefits. You’ll find how we handle coverage and payment in our insurance and financing options, and our front desk can verify what your specific plan includes. Flexible payment plans are available to spread the cost over time, and if you’d like a personalized estimate, a quick call to (425) 208-0032 is the fastest way to get one.
Schedule Your Clear Aligner Consultation
A straighter smile can start with one visit. Call Bella Dental Care at (425) 208-0032 or set up a complimentary consultation to get started. We’re at 1550 140th Avenue NE, Suite 110 in Bellevue, WA 98005-4500. You can also contact us with any questions before you schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a general dentist provide clear aligner treatment?
Yes. Clear aligner systems like SureSmile are designed for both general dentists and orthodontists, and general dentists routinely treat the crowding, spacing, and mild bite issues that aligners handle well. At Bella Dental Care, our team leads your care from the first scan through your final retainer, and if your case would be better served by a specialist, we’ll tell you that at your consultation rather than after you’ve started.
Will people be able to tell I’m wearing clear aligners?
For most everyday situations, no. The SureSmile trays we use are made from a clear material that’s hard to spot across a table or on a video call. Up close, someone might notice the edge of a tray or a small tooth-colored attachment if your plan uses them, but these are far more subtle than the metal brackets and wires of braces.
How are clear aligners different from braces?
Braces use brackets and wires that stay fixed to your teeth for the whole treatment and are tightened in the chair. Clear aligners are a series of removable trays you change on a set schedule, so nothing is bonded to your teeth and there’s nothing to work around when you eat or clean. The trade-off is that aligners only work while you’re wearing them, so consistent daily wear matters more than it does with braces.
Are clear aligners uncomfortable to wear?
Most people feel mild pressure or tightness for a day or so after switching to a new set, which is simply the feeling of your teeth moving. It usually eases quickly and tends to be milder than the soreness many people remember after a braces adjustment. There are also no wires or brackets to rub against your cheeks, which removes one of the most common irritations of fixed braces.
Will clear aligners change the color or shape of my teeth?
No. Aligners move your teeth into better position, but they don’t whiten them or change the shape of a tooth. If you also want to brighten your smile, professional whitening handles color, and for reshaping a chipped or uneven tooth, treatments like porcelain veneers do that work. Our team can map out which combination fits your goals at your consultation.
What happens after my clear aligner treatment is finished?
Once your teeth reach their final position, you’ll wear retainers to keep them there. Most patients wear them full-time briefly, then switch to nights only, often for the long run, because teeth tend to drift throughout life without something holding them. Keeping up with retainer wear is what protects the result you spent your treatment earning.
Am I too old for clear aligners?
Age isn’t the deciding factor. As long as your teeth and gums are healthy, adults of nearly any age can straighten their teeth with clear aligners, and many of our Bellevue patients start treatment well into adulthood. What matters more than your age is the health of your gums and the bone supporting your teeth, which we check at your consultation.
How much do clear aligners cost in Bellevue, WA?
There’s no flat price, since the total depends on how much movement your teeth need and how many aligners your plan requires. The useful part to know is that the consultation where you’d get your estimate is complimentary, so finding out what your treatment would cost doesn’t cost you anything. Dental insurance sometimes covers part of aligner treatment, and our front desk can check your insurance and financing options against your plan. |
