South Kensington
- 20 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3DL
- Open seven days a week
- 020 7183 2362
Orthodontics · Wimpole Street, Marylebone
Orthodontics in Marylebone
Adult tooth straightening at Wimpole Street is built around clear aligners: transparent trays designed on a digital scan, worn most of the day and swapped every week or two until the teeth reach the position the plan mapped out. It is a dentist-led service, so the person who scans you plans the movement, sees you at each review and decides when a refinement is needed, rather than a technician in a remote laboratory. Fees are fixed by tier, from £2,000 for small corrections to £5,980 for the most involved cases, and every plan ends with retention, because straightened teeth start drifting the day the last aligner comes out.
Treatments
Moving teeth, then keeping them there
Invisible braces
From £2,000
A series of clear trays planned on a 3D scan and changed every one to two weeks. Three tiers by complexity, each with refinements and reviews included.
Read moreFixed retainer
£450 per arch
A fine wire bonded behind the front six teeth so that a straightened smile stays put without relying on a nightly routine.
Read more
Suitability
Who aligners tend to suit
Aligners do most of what fixed braces do for mild and moderate problems, and they do it invisibly. They are weaker at a few specific movements and useless in a pocket. These lists are a starting point; the scan gives the answer.
Usually a good match
- Front teeth that overlap, lean or have rotated since your twenties.
- A gap you have always disliked, or several small spaces across the arch.
- Teeth that moved after braces as a teenager once the retainer was abandoned.
- An overbite, overjet or crossbite that the scan shows is dental rather than skeletal.
- A job or social life where visible brackets would be unwelcome.
- Healthy gums and no active decay, or a willingness to sort both out first.
Where another route may be wiser
- A large mismatch between the upper and lower jaws, where fixed appliances or surgery may be needed.
- Teeth that need to be rotated a long way or pulled down significantly, movements fixed braces still handle better.
- Someone who already knows twenty-two hours of daily wear is not going to happen.
- A mouth with untreated gum disease; moving teeth in inflamed bone risks harm.
The journey
From scan to retainer
- 01
Scan and simulation
A digital scan replaces impressions. Software projects where the teeth could finish and how many trays that would take; the dentist edits anything clinically unwise.
- 02
Tier and written fee
The number of aligners decides whether the case is Easy, Smart or Ultimate Align. The fee is fixed before anything is manufactured.
- 03
Wear, swap, review
Trays are worn around twenty-two hours a day and changed every one to two weeks, with a short check every six to eight weeks.
- 04
Refine and retain
Teeth that lag are brought back with a refinement set. Retainers, removable or a bonded wire, then hold the result for the long term.
Honest limits
What aligners will not do
Aligners move teeth; they do not alter the size or position of the jaws. A bite problem that is skeletal rather than dental can be disguised to a degree, but a candid consultation may conclude that fixed braces or a joint plan with an orthodontic specialist would serve you better, and we will say so rather than sell a tray-based plan that is likely to disappoint.
They also depend on you. Trays left in a pocket for an afternoon lose ground that has to be recovered, and refinements exist because teeth rarely follow a computer plan to the millimetre. If daily discipline is not realistic right now, it is worth waiting until it is, because the fee is the same whether the plan runs to time or not.
Finally, straight teeth do not stay straight by themselves. Retention is part of the treatment, not an optional extra, which is why the fixed retainer has its own page and its own fee.
Weighing it up
Comparisons, costs and the conditions they address
Marylebone, W1
Aligner consultations from 1 October 2026
Register for the Wimpole Street diary, or have the scan done at South Kensington or St Paul's now and move your reviews to Marylebone once we open.
Opening 1 October 2026
Wimpole Street is not yet seeing patients. Until then, please book or call our South Kensington clinic on 020 7183 2362 or our St Paul's clinic on 020 7183 3709. Questions about the new clinic: wimpolestreet@md.co.uk.
Until we open
Need an appointment before 1 October 2026?
The same clinical team already works from two other Medical & Dental clinics. Book at either one now and, if you prefer, move your ongoing care to Wimpole Street once the doors open.
St Paul's, City of London
- 5 Ave Maria Lane, London EC4M 7AQ
- Open Monday to Friday
- 020 7183 3709
