Just started........tray 1 of 48 !!!

Message

#1 Post by **skmark** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 7:24 am

Hi All,

I've been soaking up the advice and reports on here for a while and have taken the plunge and I now on day 4 of my first tray. Very envious of all you peeps with 20 trays etc

.....suppose that's what I get doing this so late in life

.

All generally good so far, not that uncomfortable just a bit achey. I filed a couple of rough edges too, to keep my tongue happy

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Just noticed a small crack on my upper tray......plan is to be more carefull taking in and out and limp to the finish-line in 10 days for this tray rather than order a new one. I'm assuming if it breaks with a few days to go that I could move onto the next one a bit early.....good idea ??

Mark

#2 Post by **BraceFace2o1o** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 8:45 am

Hi Mark, I just wanted to say welcome to the forum and congrats on starting your Invisalign journey!

Sorry I can't offer any advice on the cracked aligner as I haven't got Invisalign myself, but I am sure someone with Invisalign experience will be along to answer your question.

#3 Post by **andrea26** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 10:45 am

Try to be careful so the crack doesn't get any bigger and you should be fine. You could change to tray no 2 a day or two earlier, I mean I am sure it would fit, however I am not sure whether it's a good idea so early in the treatment. Once I misplaced an aligner and they wanted to charge me 150pounds for a replacement! So not a good idea to order a new one unless you really have to.

Thu Sep 16, 2010 3:54 am

A small crack is probably okay, and you are doing the sensible thing in trying to be more careful and stopping it from getting bigger.

I've seen tonnes of comments online with people saying 'I cracked my aligner and the ortho says just to keep wearing it - is that right?!'. I'm guessing it varies from provider to provider. I think its likely that if the crack is small, then most of the teeth are still getting the pressure they require and the impact on treatment will be small.

I retrieved my first aligner from storage a couple of weeks ago to compare it against my newest (always looking for changes!) and noticed it had a small crack in it that must have occured while I was wearing it. I must have been so caught up in everything else about invisalign at the time I didn't notice! Doesn't seem to have done any harm. I'm on set 5 now and they fit fine.

As for moving on to an aligner early - I've never done that. Its probably okay but obviously the longer you can keep your current aligner intact the better.

Replacement aligners are expensive (I was told 170 pounds per tray), and you also have to wait for them, sometimes up to 4-6 weeks so that would delay treatment. If the worst happens and your aligner totally snaps you should weight up the extra cost/time vs the risk of your treatment not going right if you change to the next aligner too early.

Sorry for the long winded reply - hope it helps though!