Hi everyone,
It's been months since I've checked this board. For some reason I thought it had been discontinued. I started Invisalign last October, and I'm on my last set of aligners (18 on top and 19 on the bottom) and due to see my dentist next week. I'm thrilled with how my top teeth look! I never thought they could look so good!
But I do have a couple of concerns: First, my bottom front teeth look a little "off." They are all different heights. I wonder if the dentist will recommend "filing" them so they're more even. Has anyone else experienced this?
The thing that is really bothering me though is for the last few weeks I've noticed that my right molars meet much more strongly than my left molars. This is not very noticable when my aligners are in. But when I take the aligners out and bring my teeth together and have no food in my mouth, my right molars meet and there is a space between my left molars. When I chew, I notice my right molars making little sqeaking sounds as though they are wearing on each other. I also notice the squeaking sounds when I'm not chewing food, but just swallowing saliva when my aligners are not in. Has anyone else experienced this and what was done about it? Thanks, everyone!
Almost Done - Molars Not Meeting Correctly
Moderator: bbsadmin
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Second Time Around
- Posts: 47
- Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:13 pm
Hi DeeMinou. I'm not sure if you are being treated by an orthodontist or a dentist. If you are being treated by a dentist, I would recommend that you visit an orthodontist to have your bite assessed. He/she can recommend the best course of action to fix the bite issues caused by Invisalign.
Most of my top and bottom teeth do not touch after I had an Invisalign treatment last year (18 trays in total). In my case the two back molars "over-erupted" (i.e. they became longer than my other teeth) due to poorly fitting trays. I was told that those molars need to pushed back into place so that the rest of my teeth can close properly. Unfortunately for me that meant 21 new Invisalign trays with a new provider. Your case may be easier to treat; however, your bite isn't functioning properly at this point, so you will have to research your options.
Most of my top and bottom teeth do not touch after I had an Invisalign treatment last year (18 trays in total). In my case the two back molars "over-erupted" (i.e. they became longer than my other teeth) due to poorly fitting trays. I was told that those molars need to pushed back into place so that the rest of my teeth can close properly. Unfortunately for me that meant 21 new Invisalign trays with a new provider. Your case may be easier to treat; however, your bite isn't functioning properly at this point, so you will have to research your options.
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myhollywoodsmile
- Posts: 218
- Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2009 1:20 am
- Location: Brisbane
- Contact:
Funnily enough, since reading about this I have realised that my molars don't really meet any more. I am on 16/34 lowers so hopefully that will change, but when I press my teeth together I now realise that only two teeth on the left hand side are meeting. Thanks for bringing this up, I'll ask my orthodontist about ti next time.
Update: Molars Not Meeting Correctly
It's now been a month since my final Invisalign appointment.
First in regard to the problem I mentioned about my bottom front teeth being different heights, I guess this was from years of their hitting the backs of the top front teeth. My dentist filed a couple of them a tiny bit and added some bonding material to one to give it a little height. Now they are all aligned and the same height.
As far as the molars on the right meeting much more strongly than those on the left, my dentist said that is because different parts of my teeth are meeting than previous to my Invisalign treatment. He did adjust one of the molars a bit, filing it (if that's the proper term). After he filed it, I found that it was improved, but did not fully correct the problem. However, he said he did not want to adjust the teeth too much at one time. He thought it better to wait a bit before doing any more filing.
I now have a retainer, which is similar to the Invisalign aligners, just a bit sturdier and less flexible. My instructions are to wear it at night. My dentist also told me that if I want to wear it some during the day as well, then so much the better. I wear it about 10 hours at night and about 5 hours during the day. The interesting thing is when I first get up in the morning and remove the retainer, I notice that the issue with the molars is the most pronounced. However, I typically leave the retainer out for a few hours after lunch, and then I notice that the feeling with my molars being "off" is much less. Interesting!
I go to the dentist for a cleaning the end of September, and I'm going to mention this at that time. I'd like to hear if anyone else has had this experience.
As I said in my original post, with the exception of the situation with my molars (which I'm hoping can be corrected a bit more), I'm thrilled with the results. When I first went for my Invisalign consult, I figured I was going to be told that my teeth were too far gone for Invisalign. But after only 10 months, I love my smile!
First in regard to the problem I mentioned about my bottom front teeth being different heights, I guess this was from years of their hitting the backs of the top front teeth. My dentist filed a couple of them a tiny bit and added some bonding material to one to give it a little height. Now they are all aligned and the same height.
As far as the molars on the right meeting much more strongly than those on the left, my dentist said that is because different parts of my teeth are meeting than previous to my Invisalign treatment. He did adjust one of the molars a bit, filing it (if that's the proper term). After he filed it, I found that it was improved, but did not fully correct the problem. However, he said he did not want to adjust the teeth too much at one time. He thought it better to wait a bit before doing any more filing.
I now have a retainer, which is similar to the Invisalign aligners, just a bit sturdier and less flexible. My instructions are to wear it at night. My dentist also told me that if I want to wear it some during the day as well, then so much the better. I wear it about 10 hours at night and about 5 hours during the day. The interesting thing is when I first get up in the morning and remove the retainer, I notice that the issue with the molars is the most pronounced. However, I typically leave the retainer out for a few hours after lunch, and then I notice that the feeling with my molars being "off" is much less. Interesting!
I go to the dentist for a cleaning the end of September, and I'm going to mention this at that time. I'd like to hear if anyone else has had this experience.
As I said in my original post, with the exception of the situation with my molars (which I'm hoping can be corrected a bit more), I'm thrilled with the results. When I first went for my Invisalign consult, I figured I was going to be told that my teeth were too far gone for Invisalign. But after only 10 months, I love my smile!
To myhollywood smile
Myhollywood smile, did you get to speak to your ortho about this?
I'm currently on tray 2/10 and my molars on the left side are meeting more strongly than the ones on the right. It feels like its actually one molar on top and bottom that meet more strongly, almost as if they're higher, but they are not. I notice it most when I remove the aligners in the morning and any other time I remove them as well. Not a big deal, but it is slightly uncomfortable to eat this way since I eat mostly on the left where the molars do indeed meet. I'm hoping things shift as my treatment progresses.
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Second Time Around
- Posts: 47
- Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 5:13 pm
I am almost halfway through my second Invisalign treatment (aligner 9 of 21) to correct a serious molar issue caused by a previous Invisalign provider- significant extrusion of the back molars. As I posted earlier in this thread, my current Invisalign treatment is supposed to push the longer molars back up in order to correct the uneven bite. I was becoming quite concerned that the open bite had not noticeably improved at the end of aligner 9.
I went for my check up today and my orthodontist (who is so much more attentive and knowledgeable than the previous dentist) noticed that I had a very small piece of enamel at the top of one of my molars that was causing only my right molars to meet. He shaved down that very small piece of enamel and it already made a noticeable difference! The open bite is not closed completely; however, the ortho feels that we can wait to see what progress occurs with the next 12 aligners, and then conduct any further filing of the back teeth at the end of treatment if necessary to close the bite as much as possible.
Needless to say I am so relieved to see some actual progress and the possibility of having a normal bite again! I learned the hard way that the experience level of the provider makes all the difference.
I went for my check up today and my orthodontist (who is so much more attentive and knowledgeable than the previous dentist) noticed that I had a very small piece of enamel at the top of one of my molars that was causing only my right molars to meet. He shaved down that very small piece of enamel and it already made a noticeable difference! The open bite is not closed completely; however, the ortho feels that we can wait to see what progress occurs with the next 12 aligners, and then conduct any further filing of the back teeth at the end of treatment if necessary to close the bite as much as possible.
Needless to say I am so relieved to see some actual progress and the possibility of having a normal bite again! I learned the hard way that the experience level of the provider makes all the difference.