Can Clear Aligners Protect Your Teeth from Grinding (Bruxism)?

Bruxism (teeth grinding) affects millions of UK adults. Learn how clear aligners may offer a protective barrier while straightening your teeth, how they compare to night guards, and when a clinician assessment is essential.

If you grind your teeth at night, you already know the consequences: worn enamel, jaw pain, headaches, and that nagging anxiety about long-term damage. You may also be considering clear aligners to straighten your teeth. So a natural question arises: can clear aligners actually protect your teeth from grinding? The answer is nuanced — aligners can offer a degree of protection, but they are not a substitute for a dedicated night guard, and bruxism itself requires careful clinical consideration before starting any orthodontic treatment.

📌 TL;DR

Clear aligners can act as a physical barrier between your upper and lower teeth, which may reduce the direct damage caused by teeth grinding (bruxism). However, they are not designed as bruxism guards and will not stop the grinding habit itself. Severe bruxism can damage aligner trays and affect treatment outcomes. A clinician assessment is essential to determine whether aligners are suitable for you if you grind your teeth.

Who This Guide Is For

This article is for UK adults who experience teeth grinding and are considering clear aligners for teeth straightening. It may be relevant if you:

Grind or clench your teeth at night (or during the day) and want to understand how this interacts with aligner treatment
Are wondering whether aligners could serve double duty as both a straightening tool and a protective guard
Have been told you have bruxism and want to know if invisible braces are still an option for you
Currently wear a night guard and are considering switching to aligners
Want an honest, balanced explanation of the benefits and limitations

⚠️ When to Seek a Clinician Assessment First

If you experience severe jaw pain, frequent headaches on waking, significant tooth wear, chipped or cracked teeth, or locked jaw, you should see a dental professional before considering any orthodontic treatment. Bruxism can have underlying causes — including stress, sleep disorders, and bite problems — that may need addressing before or alongside aligner therapy.

Key Definitions in Plain English

Bruxism

Bruxism is the medical term for grinding, gnashing, or clenching your teeth. It can happen during sleep (sleep bruxism) or while you are awake (awake bruxism). Many people are unaware they grind at night until a partner mentions it, or a dentist spots the telltale signs of worn enamel.

Night Guard (Occlusal Splint)

A night guard is a custom-made or over-the-counter device worn over the teeth during sleep specifically to protect them from grinding damage. Custom-made guards are fabricated from hard acrylic or dual-laminate materials and are designed to distribute the forces of grinding evenly, reducing wear and jaw strain.

Clear Aligners

Clear aligners are custom-made, removable plastic trays used to gradually move teeth into better alignment. They are worn for approximately 22 hours per day, including during sleep, and are changed every 1-2 weeks as the teeth progress through the treatment plan.

Other Terms You May Encounter

Attachments: Small tooth-coloured composite bumps bonded to specific teeth during aligner treatment. They help the trays grip teeth for more controlled movements. Grinding can place additional stress on attachments.
IPR (Interproximal Reduction): Carefully removing tiny amounts of enamel between teeth to create space for alignment. A routine part of many aligner treatments.
Refinements: Additional sets of aligner trays produced after the initial series to fine-tune the result. Many cases need at least one round of refinements.
Retainers: Custom-made devices worn after treatment to hold teeth in their new positions. Essential for long-term stability.
Tracking: How well your teeth are following the planned movement sequence. Bruxism can sometimes affect tracking.
3D scan: A digital impression of your teeth using an intraoral scanner, forming the basis for treatment planning.
Bite ramps: Built-in features on the inside of upper aligners that help correct a deep bite by guiding the jaw into a better position.

What Causes Bruxism? Common Drivers

Teeth grinding is remarkably common — estimates suggest it affects around 8-10% of the adult population regularly, though occasional grinding is even more widespread. Understanding the causes helps explain why aligners alone cannot "fix" bruxism:

Stress and Anxiety

The most commonly cited trigger. Emotional stress, work pressure, and anxiety can lead to increased muscle tension in the jaw, particularly during sleep when conscious control is absent.

Sleep Disorders

Sleep bruxism is strongly associated with conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea, snoring, and disrupted sleep patterns. If you have a sleep disorder, addressing it may help reduce grinding.

Bite Misalignment (Malocclusion)

An uneven bite — where the teeth do not meet evenly — can contribute to grinding. Interestingly, this is one area where orthodontic treatment may offer indirect benefits, as improving the bite can sometimes reduce grinding triggers. However, this is not guaranteed, and the relationship between bite alignment and bruxism is complex.

Lifestyle Factors

Caffeine and alcohol: Both have been linked to increased grinding frequency, particularly in the hours before sleep
Smoking: Smokers are approximately twice as likely to report bruxism
Medications: Certain antidepressants (particularly SSRIs) and stimulant medications can cause or worsen bruxism as a side effect

Genetics

There appears to be a hereditary component — if your parents grind their teeth, you may be more likely to as well.

💡 Important Context

Bruxism is often multifactorial — meaning several causes may be contributing at once. This is why a clinical assessment is important: a dentist can evaluate the pattern of wear on your teeth, assess your bite, and discuss whether any underlying factors should be addressed before or during orthodontic treatment.

Aligners vs Night Guards: Protection vs Tooth Movement

This is the core comparison that most people searching "night guard vs aligners" want to understand. The two devices serve fundamentally different purposes, though there is some functional overlap.

Factor	Night Guard	Clear Aligners
Primary purpose	Protect teeth from grinding damage	Move teeth into better alignment
Material thickness	Typically 2-3 mm (hard acrylic or dual-laminate)	Typically 0.5-0.8 mm (medical-grade thermoplastic)
Durability under grinding	Designed to withstand sustained grinding forces; lasts months to years	Thinner material; may crack, wear through, or distort under heavy grinding
Moves teeth?	No — designed to maintain current position	Yes — applies controlled forces to shift teeth gradually
Worn when?	Typically only during sleep	22 hours per day (including sleep)
Replaced how often?	Every 1-5 years depending on wear	Every 1-2 weeks as part of treatment sequence
Barrier protection?	Yes — primary function	Yes — incidental benefit; plastic sits between upper and lower teeth

The Key Takeaway

A night guard is designed for protection. Clear aligners happen to provide some protection as a side effect of being a plastic tray that covers the teeth. This is a meaningful distinction. If your primary goal is protecting teeth from grinding, a night guard is the right tool. If your primary goal is straightening teeth, and you also grind, aligners may offer some incidental protection during treatment — but this needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

What Clear Aligners Can Do (and What They Cannot)

What Aligners May Help With

Physical barrier: While worn, aligners create a layer of plastic between the biting surfaces of your upper and lower teeth. This can reduce direct tooth-on-tooth contact and may help minimise enamel wear from grinding during treatment.
Force distribution: The aligner tray distributes grinding forces across the full arch rather than concentrating them on individual teeth, which may reduce localised wear.
Bite improvement: If your grinding is partly driven by an uneven bite, correcting the alignment and bite relationship may — in some cases — reduce grinding triggers. However, this is not a guaranteed outcome.
Frequent replacement: Because aligners are changed every 1-2 weeks, any wear damage to the tray itself is temporary. A worn-through night guard can go unnoticed for months; a worn aligner gets replaced on schedule.

What Aligners Cannot Do

Stop bruxism: Aligners do not treat the grinding habit itself. The underlying neurological or stress-related causes remain.
Match night guard durability: Aligner plastic is significantly thinner than night guard material. Severe grinders can crack, wear through, or distort aligner trays overnight.
Provide the same force management: Night guards are specifically designed to manage occlusal (bite) forces and may include features like flat occlusal surfaces and balanced contacts. Aligners are designed for tooth movement, not force management.
Protect teeth after treatment ends: Once aligner treatment is complete, you transition to retainers. While retainers also provide some barrier protection, you may still need a separate night guard if grinding continues.
Replace medical management: If your bruxism is linked to a sleep disorder, medication side effect, or other medical condition, these require appropriate medical assessment and management.

Step-by-Step: How Treatment Typically Works for Patients Who Grind

If you grind your teeth and want to pursue clear aligner treatment, here is what the process typically involves:

1. Clinical Assessment

A thorough in-person examination of your teeth, gums, bite, and jaw. The clinician will assess the severity of your bruxism — looking at wear patterns, checking for cracked or chipped teeth, evaluating jaw muscle tenderness, and taking X-rays to assess root and bone health. A 3D scan of your teeth provides the data for treatment planning.

2. Suitability Decision

The clinician determines whether your bruxism is mild enough to proceed with aligners, or whether it needs to be managed first. Mild to moderate grinding is usually compatible with aligner treatment. Severe bruxism — particularly with significant tooth wear or jaw joint problems — may need to be addressed before orthodontics can begin safely.

3. Treatment Planning

Your treatment plan is designed digitally, taking your grinding into account. The clinician may plan for slightly more conservative movements, build in extra refinement stages, or adjust the sequence to account for the additional forces your teeth experience during grinding.

4. Active Treatment with Monitoring

You wear your aligners for approximately 22 hours per day, changing trays on schedule. Regular check-up appointments (typically every 6-8 weeks) allow the clinician to monitor tracking, check for tray damage, assess attachment integrity, and adjust the plan if grinding is affecting progress.

5. Refinements

Patients who grind may be more likely to need refinements, as grinding forces can occasionally slow down or interfere with planned tooth movements. This is a normal part of the process — not a treatment failure. Learn more about refinements.

6. Retention + Ongoing Grinding Management

After treatment, you transition to retainers. If grinding continues (which it often does, as the habit is usually independent of tooth position), your clinician may recommend a dedicated night guard to wear over your retainers, or a combined retainer/guard solution. The retention plan is particularly important for bruxism patients, as grinding forces can accelerate post-treatment tooth movement if retention is inadequate.

Suitability Checklist

Not every bruxism patient is a suitable candidate for clear aligners. Here is a general guide — though only a clinical assessment can determine suitability for your specific case:

Scenario	Likely Suitable?	Notes
Mild occasional grinding, minimal wear	✅	Usually compatible with standard aligner treatment
Moderate grinding with some enamel wear	✅ (with caveats)	Clinician may adjust treatment plan; more frequent monitoring recommended
Severe grinding with significant wear	⚠️	May need grinding managed first; aligners may not withstand forces
TMJ disorder with grinding	⚠️	Needs specialist assessment; jaw joint must be stable before orthodontics
Daytime clenching only	✅	Often manageable with awareness techniques alongside aligner wear
Grinding caused by medication	⚠️	Discuss with prescribing doctor; grinding may be reducible by adjusting medication

Signs You Are Overloading Your Trays — and What to Do

If you grind while wearing aligners, watch for these signs that the grinding forces may be affecting your treatment:

🚨 Warning Signs

Visible wear-through: Holes, thin spots, or rough patches appearing on the biting surfaces of your trays — especially on the back teeth
Cracked or split trays: Aligners cracking along stress lines, usually from the edge inward
Trays not fitting well: Aligners that felt tight becoming loose prematurely, or new trays not seating properly (poor tracking)
Attachments coming off frequently: The composite bumps debonding from your teeth more often than expected
Increased jaw pain or headaches: Worsening symptoms during aligner treatment compared to before
Teeth not moving as planned: Your clinician noticing that certain movements are behind schedule at check-ups

What to Do

Contact your clinician: Do not wait for your next scheduled appointment if you notice significant tray damage or worsening symptoms
Keep your previous tray: If a current tray is damaged, your clinician may ask you to revert to the previous set while a replacement is arranged
Document the damage: Take photos of worn or cracked trays — this information helps your clinician understand the severity and pattern of your grinding
Be honest about symptoms: Report jaw pain, headaches, or tooth sensitivity at every appointment. These are important clinical indicators

Risks, Side Effects, and Limitations

Transparency is important. Here are the honest risks and limitations of combining aligner treatment with bruxism:

Risks Specific to Bruxism Patients

Faster tray wear: Grinding can wear through aligner plastic faster than the intended tray change schedule, potentially reducing treatment effectiveness
Attachment loss: Grinding forces can debond attachments more frequently, requiring additional clinic visits for reattachment
Slower or unpredictable tooth movement: The opposing forces of grinding can counteract the planned orthodontic forces, leading to tracking issues and the need for additional refinements
Potential for increased discomfort: Some patients report that the combination of orthodontic pressure and grinding forces increases jaw tension or headaches, particularly when starting a new tray
Root resorption risk: All orthodontic treatment carries a small risk of root shortening (resorption). Whether bruxism increases this risk is debated, but the combination of grinding forces and orthodontic forces is something your clinician should monitor via X-rays

General Aligner Limitations

Aligners require consistent wear of approximately 22 hours per day to be effective
Oral hygiene must be maintained carefully — brushing after meals before reinserting trays
Not all orthodontic cases are suitable for aligners; some may require fixed braces
Results depend on compliance and individual biology; no guarantees can be made about specific outcomes or timelines

How Long Treatment May Take

Treatment duration depends on the complexity of your orthodontic case, not primarily on whether you grind. However, bruxism can influence timelines:

Case Complexity	Typical Duration	Bruxism Impact
Mild alignment issues	4-6 months	Minimal impact; may add 1-2 months if refinements are needed
Moderate crowding or bite correction	6-12 months	May extend by 2-3 months due to tracking adjustments or extra refinement rounds
Complex cases	12-18+ months	Grinding may affect more movements; additional monitoring and refinements likely

What changes timelines: Case complexity, wear-time compliance, severity of grinding, number of refinement rounds needed, and how well teeth are tracking. Your clinician will provide a personalised estimate after your assessment — and will update you if timelines need adjusting during treatment.

Costs in the UK

Aligner treatment costs depend on case complexity, what is included in the package, and the provider. Bruxism itself does not typically change the treatment price, though additional visits for attachment reattachment or replacement trays may incur costs depending on your provider's policy.

What Drives the Price

Case complexity (mild vs moderate vs complex)
Number of aligner trays required
Whether refinements are included or charged separately
Retainer costs (some packages include them; others charge extra)
Provider location (London practices typically have higher overheads)
Whether a separate night guard is needed post-treatment (additional cost)

You can review our pricing and what is included for a transparent breakdown. We would always recommend asking for a written cost breakdown before committing to any treatment — and checking whether refinements, retainers, and replacement trays are covered.

How to Keep Results: Retention and Aftercare

Retention is critical for every orthodontic patient — but it is especially important if you grind your teeth. Grinding forces can gradually shift teeth out of alignment if retention is inadequate.

Retention Options

Removable retainers: Custom-made clear trays (similar to aligners) worn at night. They provide some barrier protection from grinding, though they are not as robust as a dedicated night guard
Fixed retainers: A thin wire bonded behind the front teeth (usually lower). Provides continuous retention but offers no grinding protection for the biting surfaces
Combined approach: Many clinicians recommend both a fixed retainer and a removable retainer or night guard for bruxism patients

Night Guard After Aligners

If you grind your teeth, there is a good chance your clinician will recommend a custom night guard to wear once your aligner treatment and retention phase are established. This protects both your newly straightened teeth and any fixed retainers. The night guard is typically a separate device from your retainer and may involve an additional cost.

Aftercare Tips for Bruxism Patients

Wear your retainer consistently as directed — do not skip nights
If your clinician prescribes a night guard, wear it every night
Attend regular dental check-ups so your clinician can monitor for signs of grinding-related wear or tooth movement
Manage stress where possible — consider relaxation techniques, mindfulness, or counselling if stress is a significant driver
Limit caffeine and alcohol before bed
Report any new symptoms (jaw pain, headaches, tooth sensitivity) promptly

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I wear aligners and a night guard at the same time?

No. You cannot wear both simultaneously as they are both fitted devices that sit over the teeth. During active aligner treatment, the aligners serve as the nightly tray. After treatment, your clinician will advise on whether you need a retainer, a night guard, or a combined device.

Will aligners stop me from grinding my teeth?

No. Clear aligners do not treat the underlying causes of bruxism. They may provide a physical barrier that reduces tooth-on-tooth damage, but the grinding habit itself typically continues. Some patients report reduced grinding once bite alignment improves, but this is not a guaranteed outcome.

Can bruxism damage my aligners?

Yes. Moderate to severe grinding can wear through, crack, or distort aligner trays. Because aligners are changed every 1-2 weeks, mild wear is usually not a problem. However, if you are consistently destroying trays before your scheduled change, your clinician needs to know — this may affect treatment planning.

Should I tell my clinician I grind my teeth?

Absolutely. This is important clinical information that affects treatment planning, monitoring, and retention. Your clinician needs to assess the severity of your grinding before starting treatment and may adjust the approach accordingly.

Is bruxism a reason aligners would not be suitable for me?

Mild to moderate bruxism is usually compatible with aligner treatment. Severe bruxism — particularly if associated with significant tooth wear, jaw joint problems, or untreated sleep disorders — may need to be managed before orthodontics can begin. A clinician assessment will determine suitability for your specific case.

Will fixing my bite stop me from grinding?

It might help, but it is not guaranteed. While bite misalignment can contribute to grinding, bruxism is most commonly driven by central nervous system activity during sleep, stress, and other factors that are independent of tooth position. Improving your bite may reduce one contributing factor, but most patients who grind will continue to do so to some degree after orthodontic treatment.

Do I need a night guard after aligner treatment?

If you grind your teeth, there is a strong likelihood your clinician will recommend a custom night guard for long-term use after treatment. This protects your straightened teeth, retainers, and any dental work from grinding damage. The specific recommendation will depend on the severity of your bruxism.

How much does a night guard cost compared to aligners?

A custom-made night guard from a dental professional typically costs between £150-£500 in the UK. This is a separate device from your aligner treatment and retainers. Over-the-counter guards are cheaper but less effective and less comfortable. Your clinician can advise on the most appropriate option for your situation.

Can I use my retainer as a night guard?

A removable retainer provides some barrier protection, but it is thinner than a dedicated night guard and is designed to hold teeth in position rather than withstand sustained grinding forces. For mild grinding, a retainer may offer adequate protection. For moderate to severe grinding, a separate, purpose-built night guard is usually recommended.

Will my aligners wear out faster if I grind?

They may show more wear, yes. However, because aligners are replaced every 1-2 weeks, this is often a manageable issue. Your clinician will check your trays at appointments and can advise if the wear is excessive. If trays are consistently being damaged before the scheduled change, adjustments to the treatment plan may be needed.

📚 References and Further Reading

Lobbezoo F, et al. — Bruxism defined and graded: an international consensus, Journal of Oral Rehabilitation (2013)
Manfredini D, et al. — Role of psychosocial factors in the etiology of bruxism, Journal of Orofacial Pain (2009)
NHS — Teeth Grinding (Bruxism)
Bruxism Association — Patient Information and Support
GDC — Guidance on Advertising
Kravitz ND, et al. — How well does Invisalign work? A prospective clinical study evaluating the efficacy of tooth movement with Invisalign, American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (2009)

Grind Your Teeth? Let Us Assess Your Options

Book a consultation and we will assess your teeth, evaluate your grinding, and explain whether clear aligners are suitable for your case — including how we would manage bruxism during and after treatment. No obligation to proceed.

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Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and does not constitute dental or medical advice. Treatment needs, timelines, and costs vary by individual case. Whether treatment is suitable and which approach is appropriate can only be determined through an in-person clinical assessment by a GDC-registered dental professional. Bruxism may require management by your dentist, doctor, or a sleep specialist depending on the underlying cause.