What does “Blue Diamond Invisalign provider” actually mean?

Invisalign's manufacturer ranks providers by how many cases they complete each year. The tiers are objective and worth knowing, because the label is otherwise meaningless to a patient:

Blue Diamond is the highest provider status awarded. Smile Solutions holds it.

The practical meaning is volume, and volume in orthodontics correlates with having seen your particular problem before.

What the tier is not

This is the part usually left out, and it matters more than the badge.

• It is a manufacturer's commercial classification, not a clinical qualification. It is awarded by the company that sells the aligners, based on how many of their cases a provider submits. It is not issued by AHPRA, the Dental Board, or any orthodontic body.
• It measures quantity, not outcome. No tier assesses the quality of the results, and none is audited by a regulator.
• It usually attaches to a practice, not to the individual treating you. A high-volume practice can have a low-volume clinician in it. Ask who will actually plan and supervise your case, then look that person up on Dentists and Registered Specialists.
• Tier names, thresholds and criteria are set by the manufacturer and change over time. Figures here are as published at the time of writing.

Volume is a genuine signal — a clinician who has run thousands of aligner cases has seen more ways they go wrong. It is just a weaker signal than registration, which you can verify independently and which does not move with a sales year. Specialist orthodontist vs general dentist: which is best for Invisalign? takes that comparison further.

What Invisalign can treat

For many adults, the thought of conventional braces is unappealing.

Invisalign can successfully treat a wide range of orthodontic problems including crooked, crowded or spaced teeth, and in some instances more complex cases such as overbites, underbites and cross-bites — the family of problems described as malocclusion, and how malocclusion is treated covers the range of answers.

Treatment uses a series of clear aligners custom-designed for you. Teeth are moved gradually, with aligners changed every one to two weeks, or as directed, until they reach the desired position. See Invisalign and Exploring Invisalign.

What it does less well

Aligners are very good at some movements and poor at others. Honest cases to know about:

• large rotations, particularly of round-rooted teeth like premolars and canines
• moving roots bodily rather than tipping crowns
• substantial vertical movements — extruding or intruding teeth
• closing extraction spaces in cases needing teeth removed
• severe skeletal discrepancies, which are a jaw problem rather than a tooth problem and may need surgery — see Jaw Surgery

Where these are involved, fixed braces may simply be the better tool, and an orthodontist who says so is doing their job rather than losing a sale. Some cases are best treated with a combination — conventional braces vs lingual braces vs Invisalign sets the three side by side, and how to get straight teeth without braces covers where aligners do suffice.

Two things also surprise people who expected aligners to be entirely invisible and entirely removable:

• Attachments. Small tooth-coloured composite bumps are bonded to teeth to give the aligners something to grip. They are visible at close range, they stay on for the whole treatment, and they are removed at the end.
• IPR (interproximal reduction). A fraction of a millimetre of enamel is sometimes polished from between teeth to create space. It is routine, it is permanent, and you should be told before it happens, not during.

Wear time is the treatment

Aligners work only while they are in your mouth — 20 to 22 hours a day, every day. They come out to eat and to clean your teeth, and go straight back in. How to protect your aligners covers the practical side of living with them.

This is the single biggest determinant of whether aligner treatment succeeds. Patients who cannot commit to that get slower treatment, poorer results, and more refinements — additional sets of aligners made partway through when teeth have not tracked as planned. Refinements are normal and expected in many cases; ask at the outset whether they are included in the quoted fee or charged separately. On the timeline generally, see how long orthodontic treatment takes.

If you know you will not wear them, fixed braces are the better choice, and saying so early saves money and time. Orthodontic Braces, all your conventional braces questions answered, and the most common complaints about conventional braces so you know what you would be choosing.

Who treats you — the more important question

At our Melbourne CBD practice you are treated by a registered specialist orthodontist throughout, rather than a general dentist.

Registered specialists have completed a dental degree plus three or more years of full-time postgraduate university training, and hold specialist registration in orthodontics with the Dental Board of Australia. “Orthodontist” is a protected title. A specialist orthodontist:

• works only in orthodontics, and therefore has a great deal of experience across all forms of it
• is best placed to spot the pitfalls in a proposed aligner plan, reducing the likelihood of dissatisfaction
• can change approach mid-treatment — adding fixed appliances, elastics or other mechanics — when the aligners alone are not achieving a movement

That middle point is the substantive one. The planning software will produce a simulation for almost any case submitted to it. The simulation shows teeth moving; it does not guarantee that they will. Recognising which cases the aligners will not actually achieve, before treatment starts, is a clinical judgement rather than a software output.

General dentists provide aligner treatment lawfully and many do it well, particularly in mild cases. The difference is training and the range of cases routinely handled, not permission. Specialist Orthodontists and orthodontic treatment: general dentist vs specialist orthodontist.

Check for yourself

You can verify any practitioner's qualifications and registration free on the AHPRA public register at ahpra.gov.au, or by calling 1300 419 495.

A profile reading “General & Specialist” indicates a registered specialist and names the specialty; “Dental Practitioner – General” indicates a general dentist. The register also shows any conditions on a practitioner's registration. See Our Team.

A warning about mail-order aligners

Direct-to-consumer aligner companies send trays based on an impression or scan you take yourself, without an in-person examination, without radiographs, and often without a clinician ever examining your mouth.

The Australian position is unambiguous. The Australian Dental Association states that it does “not recommend Australians have DIY orthodontic treatment”, warning that such treatment “can lead to permanent damage to your teeth, gums, and jaw joints”, and recommending instead “in-person treatment with a dentist or orthodontist which includes a thorough assessment before starting treatment and ongoing supervision.”

The things a proper assessment catches are the things that go wrong in these cases: undiagnosed gum disease, untreated decay, root resorption risk, teeth that cannot safely be moved, and cases that needed fixed appliances. It is the cheapest option and comfortably the riskiest. See Bleeding Gums for the condition most often missed.

Retention — not optional

Orthodontic treatment does not end when the aligners stop. Teeth move throughout life, and the only thing that holds a result is a retainer — a bonded wire behind the front teeth, a removable retainer worn nightly, or both. See Will my teeth need retainers after braces?

Plan on retention indefinitely, and budget for replacing retainers over the years. A relapsed result is the most common complaint after aligner treatment, and it is almost always a retention problem rather than a treatment failure.

Risks to know

Aligners carry the same recognised orthodontic risks as braces: root resorption, gum inflammation and recession, decalcification where cleaning is poor, relapse, discomfort for a few days with each new aligner, and occasional jaw joint symptoms. Aligners have one advantage here — they come out, so cleaning is easier and decalcification is less common than with brackets. See Hygiene benefits of Invisalign and Dental Cleans & Hygienists.

Am I a candidate?

We offer a complimentary consultation with a specialist orthodontist to assess your suitability and determine which option is right for you. Confirm the current terms when you book — what the appointment includes, whether records such as scans or radiographs are part of it or charged separately, and whether any deposit applies.

You receive a comprehensive quote and treatment plan, and a projection of what your smile could look like at the end. That projection is a planning tool generated from a digital model: it is an illustration of the intended outcome, not a guarantee of the result, and the actual result depends on biology and on wear time. Before and After Gallery

When comparing quotes, check what is included: records and imaging, all review appointments, attachments and IPR, any refinements, retainers at the end, and post-treatment reviews. Those are where quotes differ. See Invisalign cost in Melbourne, what braces cost and Price Guide.

Payment plan options are available if you decide to proceed. Where a plan is advertised as interest free, that describes the plan term only — a deposit may be required, an establishment fee and ongoing account fees may apply, and charges can apply if the balance is not cleared within the agreed period. Approval and the applicable terms are set by the finance provider and depend on the amount financed; they are set out in writing before you commit — ask what the deposit and the establishment fee are, in dollars, and what the total will be by the end. Payment Plans.

Common questions

Are clear aligners actually invisible?

No, and the Australian Dental Association says so in as many words: “although the aligners are clear plastic, they are not invisible.” At conversational distance most people will not notice them; in a photograph, in bright light, or close up, they can be seen. Add the attachments described above — tooth-coloured composite bumps bonded to the teeth for the whole of treatment — and “invisible” is not the right expectation to set.

It is worth knowing where the alternatives sit on the same scale, because the ADA is careful about this too. Ceramic braces — the same brackets as metal ones but in white or tooth-coloured ceramic — are, in the ADA's words, “not completely invisible but are less obvious than metal braces.” Lingual braces, fixed to the inside surface of the teeth, it describes as “practically invisible” — which is the strongest wording any of the options attracts, and still short of invisible.

So the honest ranking on appearance alone is lingual braces, then aligners, then ceramic, then metal. Appearance is only one of the factors, and for some movements it is the least important of them — see the list of what aligners do less well, above.

Can I drink anything while wearing them?

Water, and that is the short answer. The ADA's instruction is that the trays “should be worn at all times other than when eating and drinking liquids other than water” — and it gives a specific reason that goes beyond staining: “drinking liquids such as fruit juice or soft drink while wearing clear aligners can trap the liquids against the teeth, which can cause damage to the teeth if it happens frequently.”

That is the acid-and-sugar mechanism described on our sugar and acid wear pages, with the aligner making it worse rather than better: the tray holds the drink against the enamel and keeps saliva off it, which removes exactly the buffering and washing that would normally limit the damage. A coffee with sugar sipped through a morning while wearing aligners is close to the worst version of it.

The practical rule that follows: take them out for everything except water, and put them straight back in. That is compatible with the wear time above — the aligners are out for the meal, not for the hour afterwards.

How do I keep my teeth and the aligners clean during treatment?

The ADA's guidance separates the two jobs, and both are easy to get wrong.

The trays. Clean them when you clean your teeth, ideally twice a day. The ADA's method: “the trays can be cleaned with an antibacterial liquid soap and a spare toothbrush. Rinse well following with warm water.” Note warm, not hot — heat distorts a thin plastic tray the same way it distorts a mouthguard.

Your teeth. Here the aligner is genuinely an advantage: the ADA says teeth “can be brushed and flossed as normal when having clear aligner treatments”, because there is nothing bonded across the surfaces. That is the main hygiene difference between aligners and fixed braces.

For comparison, the ADA's routine with braces is considerably more demanding, and worth reading if you are weighing the two options: brushing after every meal, because food lodges around the brackets; a pea-sized amount of toothpaste; the brush held at 45 degrees to the gums at the gumline, then turned down to clean the tops of the brackets and up to clean beneath them; removable appliances and elastics taken out first and rinsed before going back in; and, afterwards, “spit out the excess toothpaste but do not rinse your mouth with water”, which the ADA explains keeps the fluoride on the teeth for longer. Because string floss is awkward around a wire, it recommends floss threaders or interdental brushes, and notes that both manual and electric toothbrushes are suitable.

At what age should a child be assessed — and do we wait for all the adult teeth?

No waiting, and earlier than most parents expect. The ADA reports the Australian Society of Orthodontists' recommendation that children have an orthodontic assessment between the ages of 7 and 10, and is explicit that “all the adult teeth do not have to be present in the mouth for an assessment to be done” — an examination at that age “can allow for early intervention treatment should it be needed.”

An assessment is not a commitment to treatment. In many cases the answer is to review in a year or two, and knowing that is the point: the decisions that depend on growth have to be made while there is growth left.

Worth knowing what else is on the ADA's list of things orthodontics addresses, because it is broader than crooked teeth: crooked or crowded teeth, incorrect biting patterns, severe misalignment of teeth and/or jaws, and “past habits such as thumb sucking that have affected the position of the tooth and development of the jaw bones.” That last one is the reason a long-standing thumb or dummy habit is worth mentioning at a check-up rather than waiting to see.

See when should I take my child to an orthodontist? and Children's Orthodontics.

Is orthodontic treatment ever about more than appearance?

Sometimes, and the ADA puts it plainly: “orthodontic treatment is not just about straight teeth. It can correct a bad biting pattern, help with sleep apnoea, and prevent uneven wear of the teeth.”

Two of those three are uncontroversial. Correcting a bite pattern and reducing uneven wear are mechanical propositions, and both are checkable on your own teeth — wear facets and chipping on particular teeth are visible findings, not opinions.

The sleep apnoea limb deserves a caveat, and we would rather give it than leave the impression settled. The claim appears in the ADA's consumer material, but the wider evidence is weaker than that sentence suggests: we can find no controlled evidence establishing that orthodontic treatment treats obstructive sleep apnoea in children, and a 2024 meta-analysis found no association between teeth grinding and obstructive sleep apnoea (odds ratio 1.23, 95% CI 0.47 to 3.20) — which matters because the two are frequently bundled together in marketing. Sleep-disordered breathing is diagnosed by sleep study, not by looking at teeth, and treated by clinicians whose scope covers it.

So: if orthodontic treatment is being proposed to you as a treatment for sleep apnoea, ask what the diagnosis is based on, who made it, and what the evidence is for the proposed appliance in that condition. If it is being proposed for crowding, a bite problem or wear, the case stands on its own. See snoring and sleep apnoea.

Practical details

Smile Solutions, Level 1, 220 Collins Street, Manchester Unity Building, Melbourne VIC 3000. Phone 13 13 96, or theteam@smilesolutions.com.au. Monday–Friday 8.00am–6.00pm, Saturday 8.30am–1.30pm, Sunday by appointment. The Orthodontic Centre occupies Level 12 and the Tower. Full details on Contact Us.

Related: Invisalign® No Braces, Orthodontic Braces, Specialist Orthodontists, Children's Orthodontics, when to take your child to an orthodontist, Is having Invisalign as an adult worth it?, Which orthodontic treatment is best for me?, Invisalign Open Week.

Orthodontics is one of the thirteen recognised dental specialties in Australia, and specialist registration can be verified free on the AHPRA public register at ahpra.gov.au.

Quotations attributed to the Australian Dental Association in the questions above are from its consumer article Teeth straightening and braces at teeth.org.au, which also reports the Australian Society of Orthodontists' assessment-age recommendation.

Published 23 October 2018. General information only — it is not a diagnosis, a treatment plan, a quote or a promise of any particular clinical outcome, and it does not replace advice from your treating practitioner. Provider tiers are a manufacturer's commercial classification based on case volume, are not issued by a regulator, say nothing about clinical outcomes, and their names and thresholds change over time. Whether aligners are suitable for you can only be determined from records and examination; treatment times and results vary between individuals and depend substantially on wear time. Retention is indefinite. Nothing here is advice about sleep-disordered breathing, which requires diagnosis and management by appropriately qualified practitioners. Fees are indicative and subject to change; confirm at your consultation. Offers and payment plan terms are subject to their own conditions, set by the practice or the credit provider and changing over time; confirm current terms directly before you commit.

Smile Solutions trades under ABN 28 193 514 103.