Live Webinar · Thursday 20 August 2026 · 18:00 CET
Optimising Clear Aligner Therapy in Children and Teenagers
Clinical considerations for expansion, mixed dentition, appliances, habits, and treatment predictability.
A 45-minute clinical session with Dr. Steffany Martinez, orthodontist and Clinical Lead at ClearForward. We'll cover how much expansion you can realistically achieve, how to plan around erupting dentition, when aligners need support from additional appliances, and how to manage habits like thumb sucking and mouth breathing before and during treatment.
Free to attend. We'll send the replay to everyone who registers.
Register →Why this matters
Young patients follow different rules.
Treating children and teenagers with clear aligners is a different clinical challenge from treating adults. Teeth are still erupting, the skeleton is still growing, and habits like thumb sucking and mouth breathing can quietly work against every movement you plan.
Refinements are more common in younger patients, and expectations need careful management with both the patient and their parents. Knowing what aligners can achieve at each growth stage, and when they need support from expanders, auxiliaries, or elastics, is what separates predictable treatment from frustrating retreatment.
This session gives treating clinicians a practical framework for planning aligner therapy in growing patients: what to expect, what to monitor, and when to bring in additional tools.
"In growing patients, the treatment plan has a moving target. Predictability comes from planning for the change, not around it."
Key discussion points
Four areas we'll cover in depth.
Understanding expansion in growing patients
How much transverse expansion can we realistically achieve? We'll look at dental versus skeletal expansion, the role of age and growth stage, and the situations where aligners alone may not be enough.
Planning around dentition changes
Managing eruption and tooth development during treatment, why refinements are more common in younger patients, setting realistic expectations with patients and parents, and monitoring protocols for growing patients.
When aligners need support
Identifying cases that require additional appliances. Expanders, auxiliaries, elastics, and hybrid approaches, and how to combine orthodontic tools for predictable outcomes.
Addressing habits before and during treatment
Thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, mouth breathing, and other factors. How habits influence treatment outcomes and how to time intervention alongside aligner therapy.
Who this is for.
This session is for clinicians who treat, or want to treat, younger patients with clear aligners. Specifically:
- General dentists offering aligner therapy who want more confidence in case selection and planning for children and teenagers.
- Orthodontists looking to refine their aligner protocols for mixed dentition, expansion, and habit management.
- Clinical teams at DSOs and dental groups who want consistent, predictable protocols for treating growing patients across locations.
Your speaker
Dr. Steffany Martinez
Orthodontist and Clinical Lead · ClearForward
Dr. Martinez is an orthopedics and orthodontics specialist with a clinical focus on occlusion and TMJ. Born in Ecuador and raised in Costa Rica, she spent eight years at Align Technology (2014 to 2022) in clinical support, management, and continuous education before joining ClearForward as Clinical Lead.
For over ten years, she has helped doctors understand and improve their aligner therapy journey. Today she diagnoses and treats around 20 cases per day, giving her a daily, hands-on view of what makes aligner treatment predictable in real patients.
The practical details.
- Date
- Thursday 20 August 2026
- Time
- 18:00 CET
- 17:00 BST · 12:00 EDT
- Duration
- 45 minutes
- Including live Q&A
- Language
- English
- Recording captioned post-event
Free to attend.
Can't make it live? Register anyway. We'll send the replay to everyone who registers, whether you attend live or not.
Save your seat.
45 minutes with Dr. Steffany Martinez on Thursday 20 August at 18:00 CET. Free. We'll send the replay to everyone who registers.