Impress Aligner: How good is the new aligner provider from Spain?

How well do the new Impress aligners work in practice and how does the treatment go? We took a closer look at the invisible braces from Spain.

In this article, we will once again focus on a competitor from the world of tooth correction: Impress Aligners.

Tooth correction with aligners has established itself as a popular alternative to conventional braces and offers a discreet, efficient and comfortable solution for a radiant smile.

Impress aligners represent a new era in orthodontics in which state-of-the-art technology and individual design go hand in hand to ensure customized treatment for each individual patient.

They are virtually invisible, easy to use and perfect for the modern, active lifestyle.

In this article you will learn all about how Impress aligners work, the treatment process, the advantages over traditional methods and what makes them so special.

However, we also take a critical look at impression aligners and present alternatives that may be more suitable.

The promise: A tooth correction in a few months, which is also affordable, painless and discreet. But can this really be true?

Who is actually behind the brand name Impress?

The digital orthodontics brand Impress, based in Barcelona, is aiming to expand into the European market.

In a Series B financing round, the company, which specializes in aligner treatments in hybrid clinics, was able to raise an impressive 125 million US dollars.

The investors include the French private equity company LBO France and Norgine Ventures, a British investor with a focus on the healthcare sector.

Founded in 2019 by orthodontist Dr. Khaled Kasem and entrepreneurs Diliara and Vladimir Lupenko, Impress is positioning itself as a leading brand in Europe.

The company has more than 130 clinics in eight different countries, including Spain, Italy, France and the UK, and also operates clinics in German cities such as Hamburg and Berlin.

Impress recently opened one of the largest research and development facilities in Europe as well as a production plant for clear aligners, the company announced.

Impress has recently introduced a new subscription model that requires an additional fee and is available to both existing and new customers who were not previously handled by Impress.

The model offers patients the opportunity to continue using various services such as medical interventions, follow-up examinations and consultations even after their treatment has been completed.

However, compared to other providers – such as DrSmile – there is relatively little information about Impress Aligner on the Internet.

The aligner startup also has a much smaller presence on social media and YouTube.

While DrSmile’s invisible aligners are already available in over 100 partner practices across Germany, Impress Aligner patients only have 16 locations to choose from.

These are primarily located in and around major cities such as Hamburg, Munich and Berlin.

How does tooth correction with Impress aligners work?

Invisible aligners, also known as clear aligners, are a modern and aesthetically pleasing alternative to conventional braces.

Here you can find out how the invisible impression aligners work:

• Your path to a straight smile begins with an initial consultationwith an orthodontist or dentist. Here, your teeth will be examined to determine whether invisible aligners are suitable for your specific needs.
• If you are suitable for treatment, digital impressions or scans of your teeth will be taken. With the help of these images, the specialist develops a detailed treatment plan that shows the gradual movement of your teeth into the desired position.
• Your aligners are custom-made based on your individual treatment plan. These clear aligners are made from a soft, flexible plastic material and fit snugly over your teeth.
• You start by wearing the aligners. These should be worn for around 20 to 22 hours a day to achieve the best effect. You can take them out for eating, drinking, brushing your teeth and cleaning.
• The aligners exert gentle but continuous pressure on certain teeth to gradually move them in the desired direction. Compared to conventional braces, this process is often less painful or uncomfortable.
• Every two weeks you switch to a new set of aligners. Each new set moves your teeth further in the desired direction. It is important to follow your practitioner’s instructions exactly.
• During treatment, you will have regular appointments with your practitioner to check on progress and make adjustments if necessary. Alternatively, you can also make appointments via the app.
• After treatment, it is important to wear a retainer to hold the teeth in their new position and prevent them from moving back.

Who are Impress aligners suitable for?

Impress aligners can only be used to make slight to moderate corrections to the visible front teeth.

Impress also offers the so-called “Impress Advanced”. However, this is a therapy with microimplants and not with classic aligners.

In the case of complicated malocclusions – such as severe overbite, underbite, crossbite or other types of malocclusion – the invisible braces from Impress reach their limits.

Incidentally, this applies to most aligner providers, including Smile Direct Club, Inman Aligner, Bestsmile, Harmonieschiene, Smileunion, Six Month Smiles, Braceless, LetSmile and PlusDental.

Currently, only Invisalign products are considered for serious tooth correction.

Important to know: Tooth correction with the classic Impress aligners is only possible for adults aged 18 and over.

However, the company also offers “Impress Teens” for patients who are not yet of legal age.

Wearing and caring for the Impress aligners

Each set of aligners is worn for a specific period of time – usually two weeks.

The invisible braces should remain in the mouth for at least 22 hours a day to achieve the desired result.

You should really only take them out for eating and dental care. Drinking is generally not a problem with the Impress aligners.

However, this only applies to drinks that do not contain sugar and do not have a coloring effect.

If you want to drink red wine, cola or black tea, for example, you should either take them out beforehand or clean them briefly after consumption.

This is because the color pigments contained in the liquid can cause the sensitive splints to gradually lose transparency and eventually become visible on the teeth.

Sugary drinks can stick to the invisible aligners and damage your teeth in the long run.

How does the treatment with the Impress aligners work?

This is how treatment with Impress aligners works step by step:

• Your adventure to a perfect smile begins with an initial consultation at an Impress clinic. An experienced orthodontist will examine your teeth and discuss whether the Impress aligners are suitable for you. The results you hope to achieve from the treatment will also be clarified here.
• If you are suitable for the treatment, digital impressions of your teeth will be taken. Using the latest technology, an individual treatment plan is created that visualizes how your teeth will move step by step into the desired position.
• The Impress aligners are custom-made based on your treatment plan. These clear aligners are specially designed to gently and efficiently move your teeth into the correct position.
• As soon as your impression aligners are ready, start wearing them. For optimum results, you should wear them for 20 to 22 hours a day and only take them out to eat, drink, brush your teeth and clean the aligners.
• You switch to a new set of aligners approximately every two weeks. Each set is shaped slightly differently to gradually shift your teeth.
• Throughout the treatment period, you willhave regular check-ups with your dentist or orthodontist to monitor progress and make sure everything is going according to plan. Alternatively, check-up appointments can also be conveniently made via app.
• After completing the treatment with the Impress aligners, you will receive a retainer. This ensures that your teeth remain in their new position and do not shift back.

Impress Aligner prices: How much does the treatment cost?

Impress offers individual treatment with fixed prices – you can pay once or in installments.

The amount of treatment required is assessed during a medical examination. In most cases, the price includes pre- and post-treatment.

The three price categories are as follows:

• Impress Super Light: For mild cases, up to 3 months of treatment – 2100 euros one-off payment / 38.29 euros per month (72 installments, 2756.28 euros in total)
• Impress Plus: For moderate to complex cases, 7 to 14 months treatment duration – 2799 euros one-off payment / 51.04 euros per month (72 installments, 3674.88 euros in total)
• Impress Teens: For moderate cases, up to 6 months of treatment – 2799 Euro one-time payment / 51.04 Euro per month (72 installments, 3674.88 Euro in total)
• Impress Teens Plus: For moderate to complex cases, 7 to 14 months treatment duration – 3799 euros one-off payment / 69.27 euros per month (72 installments, 4987.44 euros in total)

For mild cases, Impress aligners are therefore slightly above the average price on the aligner market.

For comparison: DrSmile prices for uncomplicated tooth corrections start at 1790 euros.

Unfortunately, the costs of dental correction for adults are not usually covered by health insurance.

However, we recommend that you don’t just look at the price when choosing an aligner provider.

Instead, rely primarily on authentic reviews and research lots of testimonials on the Internet.

Conclusion on Impress Aligner: Does the product deliver what it promises?

The experiences of former and current patients make it clear that discreet tooth correction with Impress aligners is definitely possible.

Invisible dental trays actually work well in many cases and it is not an empty promise.

However, there are only a few Impress partner practices in Germany so far and we found it somewhat difficult to find authentic experiences from former and current Impress patients on the Internet.

Other providers are already much further ahead: DrSmile has a lot of experience on the Internet, the price structure is transparent and the company can look back on over 150,000 successfully completed tooth corrections.

In addition to the good price-performance ratio, the company also offers a satisfaction guarantee if you are not one hundred percent happy with the result.

For this reason, the established provider DrSmile remains our recommendation for your teeth correction.

FAQs on the topic of impression aligners

Here we answer a few of the most frequently asked questions about impression aligners.