Metal Mouth Message Board

I'm one week in on a tray and there is a small tear at the top of the aligner (front tooth). So far it's not causing any problems but I'm afraid of it tearing more as I take it out/in. It's on the tooth next to one with an attachment which makes it hard to get off sometimes.

I'll call the dentist in the morning but if it takes 2 weeks to get a new tray in, i'll be changing it anyhow. I doubt my last tray would fit as this tray isn't as tight as it was when I put it in a week ago and the next one won't fit yet I doubt seeing as how this is still snug/pressure.

What do they usually do in this situation? Just have you wear it and be careful or what?

hiya I have the same problem I have 7 attachments on the top and 6 on the bottom and I will be moving to tray 4 on Thursday and every tray I have had they split on my back teeth - not all the way just a split between teeth in each one of the trays I called my dentist straight away when I noticed it first time and he saw me and said its just where I am pulling at them to get them out and not to worry as where the splits are shouldnt make a difference - hopefully yours will say the same - good luck )

Yes, he said that there really isn't anything to do but get a new tray, and by the time it comes in i'll be switching trays anyhow. It's not between the teeth, it's smack in the middle of a tooth, but a small enough tear that it's not impacting how they fit, so just have to be careful taking it in and out until I switch trays.

I had a tray develop a crack between two teeth for the same reason - trying to get my aligner off of stubborn attachments. In my case, it didn't make any real difference and I was able to move on to the next tray. I was extra careful not to pull much where the crack was. I showed the cracked aligner to my ortho at the next visit and he wasn't concerned.

Over time, I learned how to get my trays out with less trouble, plus the attachments get smoother over time so tray removal gets easier.

I had a tiny crack at the top of one of my aligners, above a tooth with an attachment. I think I was pulling in that area too much to take off the aligner and it started to crack a little. Luckily for me, it happened on a day when I was doing to change to my next trays that night, so no worries. But overall, I think if that crack is small and it's not affecting the attachment or how the aligner is fitting on the tooth, you should be fine.