> Static text version. Controls do not run in this Markdown file. [Open the matching HTML page]() for available page controls, navigation and browser printing. SMILE\-FX / Miramar / Clear aligners # Clear aligner options and brand names Clear aligners are a type of removable orthodontic appliance\. Invisalign, OrthoFX and other offering names identify something more specific than that category\. SMILE\-FX publishes Invisalign, OrthoFX, NiTime and in\-house aligner offerings\. Understanding those names is useful, but the clinical goals, proposed components and individual directions explain how a named option would fit a person's care\. [Request a free in\-person consultation]() [Return to the clear aligners guide]() ## Explore this topic ### Category, offering name and treatment plan answer different questions The category describes the basic appliance: a series of custom removable trays used to apply planned pressure\. A brand or offering name identifies the option being discussed\. The treatment plan connects that option to the assessment, intended movements and progress review\. These layers are related, but one label does not contain all three explanations\. For example, 'clear aligners' identifies the appliance family\. A named system makes the proposal more specific\. The next useful information is why that approach was proposed and what it involves for the individual\. This order keeps a familiar name from standing in for the clinical explanation\. Read the category, the offering name and the plan as three levels of information\. Sources: [AAO: Clear aligners]() · [AAO: Understanding your orthodontic plan]() - [Understand the mechanism shared by the aligner category]() ### Names published by SMILE\-FX The clinic has a dedicated Invisalign service page\. Its clear\-aligner page also names OrthoFX, NiTime and SMILE\-FX in\-house aligners\. The table is an offering map: it identifies the published names and where to read the clinic's own information\. Keep the exact proposed name in your notes\. A page mentioning several options is a starting point for a discussion, rather than a statement that each option will be proposed for every visitor\. Published offering names, without a product ranking | Published name | Where the clinic describes it | How to read the name | | --- | --- | --- | | Invisalign | The clinic's Invisalign service page | A named offering within the broader aligner category | | OrthoFX | The clinic's clear\-aligner information | A listed option to distinguish from other names in a proposal | | NiTime | The clinic's clear\-aligner information | A published offering name; individual directions come from the actual plan | | SMILE\-FX in\-house aligners | The clinic's clear\-aligner information | The clinic's published in\-house offering name | The clinic's service pages are the source for its published offering names\. Sources: [SMILE\-FX: Invisalign offering]() · [SMILE\-FX: Clear aligner offering]() - [Read SMILE\-FX's Invisalign service information]() - [Read SMILE\-FX's other published aligner offerings]() ### Compare the explanation that accompanies a name A meaningful comparison starts with the same questions for each proposal: the stated goal, the named approach, any proposed additional components, the progress\-review arrangements and the retention discussion\. These describe the care being proposed\. The written estimate then addresses service scope and payment terms\. Keeping those categories separate is especially useful when one proposal is more detailed than another\. More complete wording makes a document easier to understand\. It does not, by itself, establish that the named product is clinically better or that the proposals are suitable for the same person\. Compare the clinical explanation before turning to the written financial scope\. Sources: [AAO: Understanding your orthodontic plan]() · [AAO: Clear aligners]() · [AAO: Understanding retainers]() - [Read the clinical parts of an aligner proposal]() - [Compare the written estimate's actual scope]() ### Worked example: two labels with different levels of detail Imagine a fictional conversation in which one note says 'clear aligners' and a second says 'a named aligner system, with the proposed goals explained separately\.' The first note identifies a category\. The second identifies a more specific option and begins to connect it to a plan\. The useful next step is to complete the explanation of the first note, rather than declare a winner from the labels\. Once both notes identify the actual proposed option and goals, the comparison can move to the plan and written scope\. No price or outcome follows from the product name alone\. Fictional naming example | Wording | Information present | Information still separate | | --- | --- | --- | | Clear aligners | Appliance category | Exact proposed option and clinical goal | | Named aligner system | A more specific offering name | Reason for the approach, directions and review | | Named system plus explained goals | Offering and intended purpose | Written service scope and payment terms | A more specific label adds information; the complete explanation still matters\. Sources: [AAO: Clear aligners]() · [AAO: Understanding your orthodontic plan]() ### Move from a name to a useful discussion You can arrive at a consultation knowing the available terminology without deciding on a brand in advance\. Start with your reason for considering treatment and the practical matters you want to understand\. The assessment and clinician's explanation can then connect those priorities to an individual approach\. Bring your priorities into the assessment conversation\. Sources: [AAO: Understanding your orthodontic plan]() · [AAO: Clear aligners]() - [Connect your priorities to the assessment and plan]() - [Compare aligners with fixed braces at the category level]() ### Explore this guide - [How clear aligners work]() Understand how a sequence of custom trays moves teeth, what attachments do, and how progress review and retention fit an individual clear\-aligner plan\. - [Braces versus clear aligners]() Compare fixed brackets and wires with removable trays by mechanism, handling, daily responsibilities, review and retention without choosing a treatment from a checklist\. - [Understand your aligner treatment plan]() Read an aligner proposal by separating assessment findings, goals, appliances, individual directions, progress review and retention from the written fee estimate\. - [How to read an aligner treatment estimate]() Separate treatment goals, included services, insurance estimates and payment arrangements\. Use an original printable comparison record before an in\-person Miramar consultation\. - [Aligner wear directions and follow\-up]() Separate a prescribed aligner routine from tray sequence and progress review\. Learn what to record and how a clear explanation supports an individual plan\. - [Retention after clear aligners]() Learn why active aligners and retainers have different purposes, recognize the main retainer categories and understand the information needed at the transition\. - [About this clear\-aligner guide]() Identify the SMILE\-FX Miramar studio behind this focused guide, understand its primary\-source method and find the complete explanations and in\-person contact route\. Prepared for SMILE\-FX with AI assistance\. Educational sources checked October 19, 2026\. No named clinician review is claimed\. [Plan an in\-person Miramar visit]() A conversation, at your pace ## Bring your questions\. We will take it from there\. Request a free in\-person consultation with the SMILE\-FX team in Miramar\. [Request a free in\-person consultation]() [Call \(954\) 824\-9707]()