Dental Forum

Your dentist will not redo your entire case to remove the attachments and make new trays. It may be the tooth with the attachment breaking is not currently being moved, so the attachment is not important.

I'm so glad I found this site! I started a new thread, not realizing this was the place to post!

I started my invisalign 12-18. I went for my initial consultation back in May as my mothers day gift. I needed braces as a teen, but money was tight and both my brother's teeth were worse. So, they got them, I didn't. Now at 35, here we go! I needed some restorative work first (that I stalled on), so that was part of the delay in starting.

It took 8 weeks from my impressions to tray delivery. I never was shown a clinichek or even heard of it, until I read about it here. I will ask about it at my next appt. I think it will be highly motivational to see. I did ask to see my last set of aligners for some perspective. I will be thrilled if my teeth look like that when I'm done. I will need 21U / 22L.

I am currently on tray 2 and will be until 2-8. I wore the first for 3 weeks, had 6 attachments put on and was intructed to wear it for 1 additional week, then switch to tray 2. I cracked tray one and had to move to tray 2 four days ahead of schedule, but I had wore it for 3 1/2 weeks by this point, so I'm assuming no issue.

Hopefully, I will be able to move onto a 2 week rotation of aligners after my next appt. It is frustrating that it will have taken me 2 months to get through 2 aligners, but I know it was because my dentist wasn't availble to put my attachements on at my first visit and he is only in this office 1 time per month.

Generally, it hasn't been that bad. The biggest adjustment has been giving up my diet Coke, I used to sip on it all day long. I am proud of myself, as I have not been drinking it with my aligners in.

I find that I can't leave the aligners alone. I am constantly, sucking on them, biting down on them or grinding my teeth. Please tell me that I will forget they are there at some point. Right now, the front seems baggy and I keep getting bubbles in them when I talk. O.K. you are all probably sick of my rambling by now.

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Originally posted by throwjojo:
Hi, newbie here.

I'm so glad I found this site! I started a new thread, not realizing this was the place to post!

I started my invisalign 12-18. I went for my initial consultation back in May as my mothers day gift. I needed braces as a teen, but money was tight and both my brother's teeth were worse. So, they got them, I didn't. Now at 35, here we go! I needed some restorative work first (that I stalled on), so that was part of the delay in starting.

It took 8 weeks from my impressions to tray delivery. I never was shown a clinichek or even heard of it, until I read about it here. I will ask about it at my next appt. I think it will be highly motivational to see. I did ask to see my last set of aligners for some perspective. I will be thrilled if my teeth look like that when I'm done. I will need 21U / 22L.

I am currently on tray 2 and will be until 2-8. I wore the first for 3 weeks, had 6 attachments put on and was intructed to wear it for 1 additional week, then switch to tray 2. I cracked tray one and had to move to tray 2 four days ahead of schedule, but I had wore it for 3 1/2 weeks by this point, so I'm assuming no issue.

Hopefully, I will be able to move onto a 2 week rotation of aligners after my next appt. It is frustrating that it will have taken me 2 months to get through 2 aligners, but I know it was because my dentist wasn't availble to put my attachements on at my first visit and he is only in this office 1 time per month.

Generally, it hasn't been that bad. The biggest adjustment has been giving up my diet Coke, I used to sip on it all day long. I am proud of myself, as I have not been drinking it with my aligners in.

I find that I can't leave the aligners alone. I am constantly, sucking on them, biting down on them or grinding my teeth. Please tell me that I will forget they are there at some point. Right now, the front seems baggy and I keep getting bubbles in them when I talk. O.K. you are all probably sick of my rambling by now.

Thanks for all the great info!

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You seem to have alot in common with me. I also needed braces as a teenager but my parents couldn't afford it. I started mine on 12-13. It took me about 10 weeks to get my trays after I had my impressions taken, and I never got to see my clincheck between those times either. fortunately I have seen it and it looks good so I'm not worried about that. I have 28 U/28 L so we're pretty close in numbers too.

Like you I had my first set of trays for 3 weeks. I had 9 attachments put on during week 2. Currently I am on my third set. I wish I had your self motivation to not drink anything with them in. I am constantly drinking things I shouldn't be, but I always drink through a straw hoping that will help a little bit.

I had my buttons removed today and my retainers supplied to me. The dentist had them produced in his lab. They look a bit strange, the edges are much sharper than the Invisalign's ones, and what's more disturbing, they are really really lose on the teeth. I'm afraid they might fall off on their own. I pointed it out to the doc, and he said it's OK, but of course I don't believe him. I left there thinking to give it a go anyway, and see by next week, when I have another appointment. Right now I'm not liking them, they feel too big and unfitting on the teeth, I can hardly close my mouth (as in locking the jaws) with them. Might wear them for one night so I could tell him I did try next week, and ask him for a different solution.

I am planning to keep wearing the last trays like I've been doing for the last couple of months. During the day as well, though he said I should already move to night time wear only. I last changed the lower trays less than 2 months ago and the upper trays 3 months ago. I feel my teeth need some more time, they still feel loose when I'm trying to move them, though it is getting better. Without the buttons the plastics are going to be fairly visible but I don't mind that too much, they have been visible for a while now, since one of my 'buttoned' tooth stopped moving as it was supposed to.

I'm going to try to get him to have invisalign produce my retainers. Another thing I'm stressed out about, and I mentioned that a few times before already, is that the lower and upper jaw do not match as the used to, and chewing small parts of food is less than optimal. He promised me it's going to be OK, but has been very vague about how he is fix it (have you noticed that is a common theme with many of our dentists?). Next week is when he's supposed to do it finally.

I had a temporary retainer made last year for use for a few months until my refinement series started and my doctor used a dental lab with a new impression and I couldn't stand it. The material was not trimmed, felt flimsy and was too loose in some areas. In fact the first one would flick off with my tongue just moving around! I complained immediately and my doctor had another one made, it was a little better but still uncomfortable. I just ended up using my last aligner from my initial series instead and luckily it lasted for the several months until my refinement series came in.

It feels rather strange to keep wearing them 'secretly' with the dentist telling me I won't need to anymore, certainly not during the day. I will try to cut on wearing time significantly, starting today, though I'm still apprehensive about it. I hate those things, but I've come to relay on them, and without them my mouth feels almost foreign to me, since so much has changed there in the past months.

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Originally posted by jil:
How many hours a day do you wear your retainers now?

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This month I'm typically wearing the retainers 16-18hrs/day (6-8 hours out) and thats working well.

My doctor told me to not reduce to overnight only (about 12hrs/day) wear until after 6 months. Since I'm at 4months wear now, I've been gradually reducing the wear time per day from initialy 20hrs/day to reach 12hrs/day in 2 more months.

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Originally posted by chris8796:
Those with retainer issues, are you considering a permenant retainer (i.e. a bonded wire or similar)? I think I would get tired of wearing retainers some much. I was originally against it too, but I may give it some more consideration when I reach retainment.

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I just noticed a tear in my aligner. It felt weird when I put it in, so I took it out and there is a tear next to one of my attachments. It feels like there is pressure. I don't have my next set of aligners to switch into. I am going to call dentist first thing in am. I have been wearing this set for exactly 2 weeks, but due to my dentist scheduling, I am not supposed to see him for almost 2 more weeks.

Questions
1. Why do I keep tearing these things? I pop them over my attachments which are towards the back and then work my way towards the front when taking them out. I know it isn't happening outside of my mouth, it has to be while in or while taking them out.

I think if you can get in to the dentist to pick up the next aligner soon than you'll be fine. I don't think two weeks of work will be lost in one day.

My only suggestion about the tearing is to see if you can find another way to take them out that doesn't place as much stress on the area that tears. Maybe try pulling away from the other side first if you are used to starting on one side.

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Originally posted by throwjojo:
HELP!

I just noticed a tear in my aligner. It felt weird when I put it in, so I took it out and there is a tear next to one of my attachments. It feels like there is pressure. I don't have my next set of aligners to switch into. I am going to call dentist first thing in am. I have been wearing this set for exactly 2 weeks, but due to my dentist scheduling, I am not supposed to see him for almost 2 more weeks.

Questions
1. Why do I keep tearing these things? I pop them over my attachments which are towards the back and then work my way towards the front when taking them out. I know it isn't happening outside of my mouth, it has to be while in or while taking them out.

2. Since I feel pressure, like the aligner isn't holding the teeth in place, am I going to be able to go onto the next set after wearing these like this for a day? I can't go back to set 1, as I tore them after 3 weeks of wear.

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im looking into getting invisalign. i have an ortho appointment on wednesday morning.

i just wanted to know, how old are most the people on this forum?

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Originally posted by supermal:
hello everyone!

im looking into getting invisalign. i have an ortho appointment on wednesday morning.

i just wanted to know, how old are most the people on this forum?

just because im only 16 but want invisalign because its my last year of school and i have a lot of big events this year i dont want normal braces for. from everyone who ive spoken to who have invisalign im always the youngest, and its making me wonder, am i just being a priss in not wanting my braces to be seen? becuase everyone else seems to have better reasons, like they work in front of lots of people.

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For me, I chose Invisalign for the main purpose of it not being as visible as conventional braces. I agree that I would rather not meet clients with "kiddie" braces. I already look younger than my age (25, 26 in March), ppl still think I'm 18 [It's horrible at bars, I'm the only one of my friends that gets carded when I'm the one oldest of the group]. My older sister had to get braces, since she wasn't a good candidate for Invisalign, and she looks younger w/ them on. Thank goodness I'm a candidate (I only have 1 tooth out of place, everything is straight, my dentist even thought I wore braces before but I haven't). She was so bummed that I didn't have to endure the same misery as her. =) She has to put up w/ braces for a couple years, when my treatment is estimated at around 9 mnths or so. I'm SOOOO excited to get mine started. My impressions were taken earlier this month, I guess I'm just waiting for the Clinicheck.

Just patiently waiting for now. It's been 3 wks since the impressions were taken. But, WOW, I get so giddy just thinking that I'm finally getting my smile fixed. I smile big (I mean BIG, to a point where most of my teeth show, it's natural I guess) although no one knows it but I'm so self conscious about it.

I'm not too worried about the lisp, I already have one because of that the crooked tooth. And my pain tolerance is pretty high, so pain is no problem for me. The only thing I am worried about is the fact that Invisalign possibly might not work and something goes wrong.

In response to age, I just turned 35. If I was only 16, I probably would have gone with traditional braces, just because of the compliance issues. I know what I was like as a teen and there is no way I would have worn these the way they should be and I probably would have lost every other aligner! Of course, you wouldn't have been able to tell me that ha ha.

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Originally posted by supermal:
hello everyone!

im looking into getting invisalign. i have an ortho appointment on wednesday morning.

i just wanted to know, how old are most the people on this forum?

just because im only 16 but want invisalign because its my last year of school and i have a lot of big events this year i dont want normal braces for. from everyone who ive spoken to who have invisalign im always the youngest, and its making me wonder, am i just being a priss in not wanting my braces to be seen? becuase everyone else seems to have better reasons, like they work in front of lots of people.

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Be aware most orthos only use invisalign for adults since teenagers may not comply with the 22hrs/day typical wear with the aligners. However I read that there is a new type of invisalign treatment coming out in a few months that is designed for teens and has a way for the aligners to measure the wear time, so compliance can be checked by the doctor. There are also some other unique features in that newer treatment specifically for teens.

Read about the announcment here:
http://investor.aligntech.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=285513

Invisalign Teen Addresses Orthodontist Demand for Product Tailored to Younger Patients

for me i would wear them 22 hours a day. my mum would make 100% sure of that. but i know what im like with thsoe things. i may not be committed to my schoolwork (naughty . ) but when it comes to my appearence i spend hours, manly cause i go to a school where looks are important (even our teachers make sure we look good ALL the time). so for me i would be comminited. i dont loose things EVER, so i would loose them.

First was the button that's supposed to be there. Then they took that off and just it be for a while. (That was the dumbest decision, in my opinion.) Then, I had an elastic on that tooth, which seems to have helped, but now they took that off and put the button back on. It's doing something because my mouth hurts like hell right now, so hopefully this will help.

I have to go back in 4 weeks for more buttons (sigh), and my ortho mentioned that he may just take new impressions and do a mid-refinement if it's still not sitting properly.

I just got my Invisalign today, and I must say they're pretty comfortable except for minor problems.. It just feels like plastic in my mouth.

One problem I have is taking them off! It's so hard to do, especially because of the buttons. How do you do it without struggling so much? Or is it just one of those things you have to get used to?

Also, I have a problem with the rightside of my tongue. It's brushing up against my invisalign and getting cuts, and it happens when I talk. I got dental wax, but I'm not sure how to use it~ Haha.

ANDD another thing! I know everyone loves Efferdent tablets? But, aren't they bad for the braces? In the Invisalign pamphlet it says not to use them, but I don't want to buy the crystal cleaning stuff.... Please help

I can appreciate your frustration at the possible delays. But, I think I would prefer a midtreatment refinement rather than waiting till the end and getting an additional 10 trays. Its almost refreshing to see an ortho "proactively" managing a case, rather than the typical my ortho don't care stories we hear too often.

Also Align Technology (manufacture of Invisalign) recently announced their new one year retainer subscription service and in the press release for that they mention typically clear tray retainers stay firm for over 3 months but after that may start to deform from the constant pressure. So they now send the subscribed patient a brand new clear invisalign retainer every 3 months (4 per the year subscription) and they state the cost to the doctor for the year subscription is under $300 for a set of dual arch retainers, of course the doctors probably add costs to that number.

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Originally posted by jil:
At the end we decided to wait another month while I'm wearing 'his' retainers, and then have impressions made again and send them to invisalign and ask for retainers based on them.

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Apparenlty your doctor isn't aware that for the invisalign retainers, Align Technology usually makes them based on a previous aligner stage like the final aligners in the series, not from a new impression. Of course if you want months and your teeth shift during that time, the final aligners might not fit? You might save your final aligners and try them on once a week to see if your teeth move from that positition. The final aligners should last for several months and could be used instead of the lab retainers until the invisalign retainers are made. If they are made based on the final aligner stage (not new impressions) they come in very fast, only a week or two from the order.