Yikes â€“ having 9 attachments tomorrow

Message

#1 Post by **comedyfish** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 4:49 am

Just how will this affect my taking out the aligners â€“ Iâ€™m normally pretty quick and there is no inconvenience at all â€“ will it be alright pain now or are they easy once you get used to them?

#2 Post by **invisibyte** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:08 am

I am interested to know the same... I get my aligners on week 6 (for my 4th aligner) and so far I'm into my 2nd set with no problems and minimal pain taking them on and off - I could do it from the start with no mirror. I really hope the attachments won't make it incredibly difficult because I have a habit of taking mine on and off regularly for 20 min to half hour intervals throughout the day.

#3 Post by **PaulInc** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 6:01 am

Hi,

Get your self an aligner hook.

I have 8, and i'll be getting another for a total of 9 in 3 weeks.

Wed Feb 18, 2009 7:11 am

I have 7 attachments which I got after finishing my first set of aligners. When I first got the attachments on it took a day or two to get used to them. The aligners are harder to get off at first and I kept worrying I was gonna rip the attachments off with the aligner. But after a couple of days it got a lot easier.

I never have any trouble taking them off now using just my fingers. I actually completely forget that I even have any attachments most of the time, I don't even notice them anymore.

So yeah, in my experience it's very easy once you get used to them

#5 Post by **comedyfish** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:18 am

ahhh thanks guys!

I emailed my dentist and said make sure you have one of those pointy things!

He said sure thing, but don't think you'll need it

we'll see!

Report back friday I guess!

#6 Post by **PaulInc** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 11:35 am

Just letting you know, i cracked two sets of aligners trying to remove them by hand and using the back to front technique. The attachments grip the aligners and the leverage on the attachment usually pulls on the tooth causing a bit of pain, and can cause a cracked aligner. I've also popped attachments off this way.

Aligner hooks are easier, safer and less painful. Just IMHO. for $5 for two, you cant go wrong at least trying it.

#7 Post by **Wireless** » Wed Feb 18, 2009 8:35 pm

I have seven attachments. There are two on each side of my lower teeth that make my lower aligner very hard to remove. I have ended up using both thumbs to get it out. I have to put one thumbnail under the attachments while lifting up the back. This is quite a show in a public restroom. I'm on my third set of aligners and finally have the technique down.

When I was in the orthodontist's office I was having difficulty and they gave an elastics hook to try. This didn't work - I assume the appliance hook is a heavier gismo.

#8 Post by **PaulInc** » Thu Feb 19, 2009 5:16 pm

Well i have short nails and i find it hurt my thumb and fingers removing them. I can also feel it pull on the attachment and worried it would pop the attachment off. It did once, and if it happens again it would be a 2 hour round trip drive to my dentist i dont need. I am overly cautious of my attachments and aligners because of it.

I was already prepared with aligner hooks before i even got attachments, so i really wouldn't know about getting "used" to the manual way of things. I just dont think it's a good way to do it after trying it both ways.

I'm aligner 12 now, so 6 months in.

#9 Post by **comedyfish** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 3:21 pm

Ok so they were a lot harder to get off, I did have a hook to help but found it easier with my fingers.

Day 2 of this aligner and I had the half hanging syndrome

By day 3 it was a lot easier, seemed looser, popping them off in about 5 secs. Tonight though it was difficult to get off and after a big yank it popped out but I noticed a slight crack in it!

I have at least 10 days to go - what should I do? I emailed my dentist, but as I'm in London I think it will take a whole to get here.

Any advice?

#10 Post by **PaulInc** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:39 pm

lol, i'm trying to resist the urge "I told you so".

If it's a small crack, it shouldn't stop the aligners working completely, but cracks are never good.

I place the hook between attachments and then pull up and out carefully. It lifts the aligners off of the attachments without causing any stress on the aligner or attachments. You CAN do this with your thumbnail, but my god it hurts my fingers.

#11 Post by **Wireless** » Sun Feb 22, 2009 6:34 pm

I also had a small crack in my first aligner after getting attachments. This may have happened in the Orthodontist's office as I had a very hard time removing my lower aligner there. The crack didn't seem to affect anything, and I couldn't go back to older aligners as they didn't have the "bubbles" for attachments.

Since you have already e-mailed your orthodontist office, they hopefully can help advise . After I noticed the crack, my biggest concern was making it worse. I finally figured out that using two fingers on my upper and two thumbs on my lowers that I could get my aligners out fairly easily and not do further damage. I pull the rear of my aligner with one hand while putting my fingernail or thumbnail on the hand under the attachments. I have adjoining rectangular attachments on both sides of my lower teeth that make it very difficult to remove.

I'm now two aligners past the slightly cracked one and so far haven't experienced any related problems.

I have to agree with PaulInc about the sore fingers and thumbs! Nobody told me they would hurt as much as my teeth. I've finally gotten used to prying everything out without a mirror and without hurting my thumbs!!

#12 Post by **comedyfish** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 1:19 am

My dentist actually emailed me back within 10 mins (late on a Sunday night, nice guy).

Basically he said I could file down the crack (which I didn't understand) maybe he thought it was sharp and digging into me. He said I could come in tomorrow and he would file down the attachment until later on the treatment. It will take 10 days to get a new one so he said we can change up in a few days (it's ok if you do this once or twice in the treatment).

The aligner still feels snug the problem is not wanting to break it even more when I take them off, I took it off from the other side so it seemed OK. I'll just skip meals I think and leave them in as much as possible. Hopefully I can get another week out of them at least

#13 Post by **PaulInc** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:52 am

How big is the crack and where is it located?

When i've cracked mine, the cracks were normally just under an attachment, but i've also cracked them in the joins between teeth.

#14 Post by **comedyfish** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:21 am

PaulInc wrote:How big is the crack and where is it located?

When i've cracked mine, the cracks were normally just under an attachment, but i've also cracked them in the joins between teeth.

it is inbetween the teeth kind of thing - right down till halfway on the bottom.

I took it off from the other side this morning (to clean) and it seemed OK - I haven't eaten breaky or lunch - want to take my time over removing it in the comfort of my own home (was running a bit late this morning)

I think as it is in between teeth there is less stress on it - so hopefully if i keep taking it off from the other side I can get another week out of it however as soon as it feels like it's not offering support I will change up to the next one and leave it in for the remainder e.g. 3 weeks

#15 Post by **Wireless** » Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:52 am

Mine was cracked between two teeth that each had attachments. The crack was less than 3/16" (2 or 3 mm) and I didn't really notice it until a few days before I changed aligners. In my case, I didn't call my orthodontist but was very careful not to make the crack worse. Since I was ok with the next aligner change, I haven't been too worried.

I have started using two points to remove both aligners since then - one in the rear and a second lifting the aligner off of the attachments. I haven't cracked any more aligners since then. Before I had attachments, I could easily remove either aligner with one finger.