New to Invisalign - Poor Fit?

Message

#1 Post by **amber10101** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 9:17 pm

Hi All,

I've been reading up quite a bit on the message boards here, but have not seen anything relating to my current quandary.

I received my first set of Invisalign aligners on Wednesday. When I tried them on at the dentist office, the uppers fit fine, but I don't have such a great fit on my lowers - where the teeth are most cooked and crowded.

My lowers don't seem to go down all the way over my teeth and there is a gap between the edge of the aligner and the gum line on the inside of my mouth.

I asked the lady (dental assistant) at the dental office about this as it was noticeable immediately. She said not to worry, and to come back in a few days if it's still not fitting right.

I took the aligners out for the day and began wearing them right before bed Wednesday night as was advised to me. It's now Saturday night and the lowers are still not fitting me properly. I can tell they are doing something as a few teeth are just a touch tender, but the fit is still rather off.

I have a feeling that my teeth shifted a bit in the time it took from getting the impressions made to the aligners arriving.

Have any of you experienced this?

Is there anything I can do about this other than to wait it out? Any advice or insight would be much appreciated!

Other than that, things are going well, pretty much no pain, just annoyance with the dry mouth. They are a little tough to get out. Having a fine time keeping them clean, and not talking like much of an idiot.

Thanks!

#2 Post by **gdriftr** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 1:55 am

I'm on my first tray and had this exact experience. When I first had the aligners on, the upper tray fit tightly but the bottom seemed looser round the rim and also didn't fit properly against the molars on one side, which also seemed to feel sensitive.

After a few days the tray seemed to start fitting much better and the sensitive feeling went away. I'm not sure what happened.....

#3 Post by **PaulInc** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:57 am

Give it time and a couple of aligners. Attachments might help hold them down on your teeth.

Try get an aligner chewy and chew it carefully for 15 minutes twice a day.

#4 Post by **myhollywoodsmile** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 7:44 pm

The fit of new aligners generally improves over a few days. If you are able to put them on they should be able to move your teeth.

I often find that I have to press my teeth together to get them to seat correctly on my teeth. If I were you I would wear them for at least a week, and make sure you stick to the 22 hours a day. If after that they are still not fitting I would consult your orthodontist for advice.

I think the fact that you can get them on is a good sign. You may just need to wear this set a little longer than normal.

#5 Post by **Wobblydeb** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 4:41 am

My lower aligners always fit badly when I put the next set in. After a few days they have settled somewhat, and by the end of the fortnight they are closer again. Basically they are the position your teeth will be in after moving ... so will not fit perfectly at first

BUT..... having said that, I am now on 16 of 17 lower aligners and my incisors are not quite where they are supposed to be. They're pretty close (I can get the aligners on okay) but I'll probably need refinements.

#6 Post by **amber10101** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 1:10 pm

Thanks for your feedback guys. Glad to know I'm not the only one with this.

The lower aligner seems to sit in there differently each time I put it in.

I'm just a bit worried because when it comes time to switch to the next aligner I'll be about 800 miles from home and my dental office, so won't be able to go in if I have problems.

Thanks again,
Amber

#7 Post by **Wobblydeb** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:58 am

The time to think about calling your dentist is not if the aligners fit poorly at the start of the fortnight, but if they're still fitting badly at the end. If that's the case, you might want to give them a bell and arrange a visit.

I did that, and my dentist did some of my IPR early which relieved a contact point. I then kept that aligner in for an extra week, after which time it fitted much better.

#8 Post by **amber10101** » Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:49 pm

I e-mailed my dentist and he wants me to stop in for a quick check.

I'll go in tomorrow. Better to find out now what's going on than have problems while away on vacation!

#9 Post by **pompompadom** » Thu May 21, 2009 3:27 am

Hi Amber 10101
How did it go?

I've got the same problem, i'm forever in my Orthos office and its hardly down the road for me.

I've got a gap between the gumline and aligner on one of my molars.
I'm on tray 4 and no two trays have fitted the same or overly snugly.

The tray I'm on now I thought I'd never get on, it looked so small!! I did and hopefully its doing its job.

#10 Post by **lemon tree** » Fri May 29, 2009 10:10 pm

have you tried chewies? (plastic tube like things that you chew on) I got mine with my starter kit and find that they help new trays fit a lot better. any gaps in the trays become minimal after the first few chomps.