Services
Clear Aligners
Straighten your smile discreetly with clear aligners from our Sarasota team, with flexible financing to help you get started.
Why choose us
Benefits of Clear Aligners
Discreet Smile Straightening
Clear aligners gently shift your teeth without the look of traditional metal braces.
Removable for Daily Life
You can take your aligners out to eat, brush, and floss as usual.
Care From Familiar Faces
Our Sarasota team guides your treatment right here in the same office where you get your regular checkups.
Options for Teens, Adults
We see patients ages 9 and up, so we can talk with you about whether aligners fit your stage of life.
Flexible Payment Choices
We offer flexible financing with a quick pre-qualification that won't affect your credit.
If you've ever caught yourself hiding your smile in photos, or noticed crowding that makes flossing a chore, you may have thought about straightening your teeth. Many adults put it off because they picture years of metal brackets and wires. At Lefton Family Dentistry, we offer clear aligners as a more discreet way to move teeth into better alignment, with care from the same Sarasota team you trust for your checkups and cleanings.
Clear aligners are a series of thin, transparent, custom-made trays that fit snugly over your teeth. Each set is designed to apply gentle, steady pressure that shifts your teeth a little at a time. When one set has done its job, you move on to the next, and over the course of treatment your teeth gradually move toward the position we planned together. Because the trays are clear, most people around you won't notice you're wearing them.
Aligners can help with a range of everyday concerns, such as teeth that overlap or feel crowded, gaps between teeth, and teeth that have shifted over the years. Straighter teeth aren't only about appearance. When teeth line up well, they're often easier to brush and floss, which supports the preventive care we emphasize at every visit. Because aligners are removable, you can take them out to eat, brush, and floss as usual.
Not every smile is a fit for clear aligners, so treatment starts with a conversation and a thorough dental exam. We look at how your teeth and bite fit together and check the health of your gums and existing dental work. If we find decay or gum concerns, we'll address those first. Because we also provide fillings, gum disease treatment, scaling and root planing, and other restorative care in our office, we can help you get ready for aligners without sending you elsewhere.
Commitment matters as much as candidacy. Aligners only work while they're in your mouth, so they need to be worn consistently throughout the day and night, coming out mainly for meals and cleaning. Our practice sees patients ages 9 and up, and we'll talk honestly with you about whether aligners suit your goals, your daily routine, and the type of tooth movement you need. If another approach would serve you better, we'll tell you.
Living With Aligners and Protecting Your Results
Daily habits make a real difference during treatment. Here are a few practical routines our patients find helpful:
- Remove your aligners before eating or drinking anything other than plain water.
- Brush and floss before putting your trays back in so food isn't trapped against your teeth.
- Rinse and gently clean your aligners each day to keep them clear and fresh.
- Store your trays in their case whenever they're out, not wrapped in a napkin where they're easy to lose.
- Keep your regular cleanings and exams so we can monitor your teeth and gums along the way.
Once your teeth reach their new positions, the work isn't quite over. Teeth naturally tend to drift back toward where they started, so we'll talk with you about how to hold your new alignment in place over the long term. Ongoing visits with our dental hygienist and dentists help us catch small changes early. For some patients, finishing aligner treatment is also a natural time to consider other cosmetic options we offer, such as in-office teeth whitening or composite bonding, to complete the look they want.
Making Treatment Affordable and Getting Started
We want cost to be something you understand clearly before you begin. We welcome self-pay patients, and we offer flexible financing with a quick pre-qualification process that won't affect your credit, so you can explore your options without worry. Our team will go over your treatment plan and estimated costs with you in person so there are no surprises.
To keep the rest of your smile healthy during and after aligner treatment, many patients also take advantage of our $395 in-house membership plan, which covers exams and cleanings. It's a simple way to stay on track with the preventive visits that support lasting results, especially for patients who don't have traditional dental insurance.
Dr. Marc D. Lefton founded our practice in 1997, and for more than 25 years we've cared for families throughout Sarasota in a welcoming, technology-driven office. Today, Dr. Lefton and Dr. Jensen Bouton combine general, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry under one roof, so your aligner treatment fits into the bigger picture of your oral health.
If you're curious whether clear aligners could work for you, we'd love to meet you. Contact our office to schedule a consultation, and we'll take the time to answer your questions, look closely at your smile, and help you decide on the next step with confidence.
The process
What to expect
- 1
Smile Consultation
We examine your teeth, listen to your goals, and let you know if clear aligners are a good fit.
- 2
Wear Your Aligners
You wear a series of custom aligners as directed while we check your progress along the way.
- 3
Protect Your Results
After treatment, we help you keep your new smile healthy with ongoing exams and cleanings.