Week 1 - Unsure if I made a huge mistake!

[StraightTeef]

I'm nearing the end of week 1 and had a visit with my Ortho today to have IPR and the attachments...attached. This appointment went pretty terrible, in my eyes, and now I'm second guessing this whole thing. I don't want to waste all of my money, or time to just have my teeth look worse in the end than they do now. While putting on the attachments, 2 of them didn't adhere on the first try. The ortho then drilled off the composite that was left behind to try again. (This was actually pretty painful, but I just chalked it up to sensitivity...though I have a fairly high pain tolerance when it comes to my teeth due to all of the work I have had done in the past). They finally got them all on, IPR'd me up (which was NO BIG DEAL) and I went back to work. After lunch, I discovered that one of the teeth that they had to drill the composite off of looks SO much different than before. Like, they drilled part of my tooth off? The front of the tooth has kind of a concave appearance now near my gum...and seems thinner, and has a bit of a dark or translucent spot. Item number 2 is that as soon as I went to pop off the aligners to eat lunch, at least 1 more attachment - gone. (Some of them, I can't tell if they are actually attachments or just composite and the attachment is gone?) I called and they said they would just put it back on at my next appt. in 9 weeks. When I go back I am going to bring up my deformed tooth (since I don't think anything can be done to correct it now? If it needs bonding or a veneer it would have to happen post invisalign probably?) But my tooth doesn't need that attachment in the next 9 weeks? Should I request to come in and have it replaced? I'm ranting, but talk me off the ledge!

TLDR; Second guessing this, Ortho drilling off my tooth, not caring about attachments falling off!

[ItsFreyja]

Hi StraightTeef, take a deep breath! Your story does not sound as worrisome to me as it seems to be to you.

Attachment bonding failures are really quite common. If the ortho says you can wait to have this one reattached, I would believe him.

Polishing cement off of teeth happens to all ortho patients at some time or another, too. It's totally normal to be extra sensitive to the sensation of the polisher while your teeth are in the process of moving. But by all means ask about the tooth that you feel looks weird, next time you go in.

It sounds to me like the most serious problem you are having is one of communication with your ortho's office. I'm not sure what you feel he/they should have said during all of this to make you feel better, but if you can identify that, then you'll know what questions to ask next time you're in the chair.

Good luck with your Invisalign journey!

[StraightTeef]

Thanks! I am feeling a bit better about it today, and I know a misshapen tooth can be corrected. This is my third time with braces and I am so nervous that this time won't make a difference either. Breathing deeply for the next year and a half.

[lilyflower]

Attachments don't always adhere on the first try - especially if you have a lot of them being put on. In the office, at least 2 had to be put on during a second attempt and then two more came off at home in the first 24 hours. I had them rebonded - it was no big deal. Remember that anything that looks slightly "off" can be fixed at the end of treatment when the attachments are removed. Also with IPR you're definitely going to see a difference immediately (especially depending on how much was done).

Unless you're in extreme pain or something really is giving you the idea that your ortho did drill into you incorrectly, I think you'll be fine.

[Lorion11]

Any updates on this? I'm getting attachments in a few weeks when I get my aligners.

Hoping for the best for you and that it's just the bonding element!

[lilyflower]

Any updates on this? I'm getting attachments in a few weeks when I get my aligners.

Hoping for the best for you and that it's just the bonding element!

I can't speak for the OP but from my experience (2 months in) attachments are really no big deal. I have 21 - yes, 21. They're barely noticeable and unless you KNOW they're there you have to look for them. They are a little annoying when my aligners are out so it kind of forces me into the 22 hours compliance thing.

After my initial bonding problems, in the first 24 hours, they've been fine after. I did have one pop off when removing a tray (it wasn't a critical one just an extra anchorage one) and it was easily replaced at the next visit.

Getting them put on isn't as big of a deal as it sounds (and having one replaced if it comes off for some reason) takes less than 5 minutes. Yes, you probably will end up with cheek retractors - yes, if you're super sensitive it may cause minor pain. However, take an OTC pain killer before the appointment and coat your lips with something and you'll be fine. In the hands of a skilled ortho/dentist it's not a big deal at all.

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[StraightTeef]

No update yet. My next appt is the 19th. The attachments don't bother me - I have a ton. My tooth is was definitely drilled into incorrectly when they were trying to get the initial glue off. Luckily I have a before and after photo that shows it perfectly, because it will need corrected. In the photo I realized what happened - I had a white spot of demineralization on the tooth and that's exactly what was drilled off/into. The ortho must have mistaken it for excess glue. I'm living with it for now, but the tooth looks pretty terrible and thin to me now. I'll definitely be bringing this up as soon as I get there.

[ShrinkerLD]

I can sympathize, I really regretted getting the aligners the day they were put in. In terms of the glue, I found they didn't do a good enough job removing the excess. The glue was making it impossible to floss so I went back and they broke through the blockage and I've been okay ever since.

I hope things go well when you go back and show the pics.

[StraightTeef]

I raised my concern regarding the damage that was done to my tooth (on the upper left, right next to front tooth) to my ortho the other day. He relented without really admitting that he had damaged that tooth with the drilling off of the glue, especially once I showed the before and after photo. He decided to see me back in 4 weeks to take the attachment off of the damaged tooth, correct/bond the damage, and re-attach the attachment.

I also mentioned how much more wiggly this tooth felt than all of the others. This tooth was not one we were concerned about going into treatment (it was a rear molar that had a previous root canal and crown). It did not have any mobility prior to starting treatment. He mentioned it may just be that that particular tooth is moving now, but he wanted to examine it further.

He called me later, said he looked at my xray (which was taken pre-invisalign), and that this tooth showed root resorption which he claimed, "must be from my previous orthodontia". Which, by the way, those braces were removed about 15 years ago and I've had no issues since, and this has never been a concern in any of my xrays. Shouldnt he have examined the xray and noticed this prior to starting treatment? I also read that root resorption can be caused by damage to the tooth. While he was drilling off this portion of my tooth, I was really in a sh*tload of pain. Could this have been enough damage to cause the resporption? I don't know. He said he'd show me the Xray when I go in in 4 weeks. But, I don't know what I'm looking at, really. I'm hoping I won't need periodontal surgery to correct this. Anyone else have resorption rear its head during treatment?

[oldfart]

I would visit a dentist not your ortho asap.

[Catpotat]

That sounds like an awful experience and your ortho doesn't seem very sympathetic, I'm sorry you had to go through this! I "quit" my invisalign treatment because it wasn't going well. When I had my attachments filed off I feel like it changed the original shape of my teeth as well and I was regretting it a lot. After all that, I sucked it up and got braces which have worked wonders Wishing you all the best with your teeth

[Cyndi2016]

Hope things are better now