Metal Mouth Message Board

ugh i went to my dentist for my cleaning and they said i have 3 cavities on my molars -- the dentist said i need to get them filled in. and he said it might effect how my aligners fit does anyone have any expierence with this? will getting my cavities filled affect how my aligners fit? thanks!!

i haven't been to the dentist since starting, but my ortho told me that i couldn't have any dental work done while in aligners because of the fit. I'm assuming fillings change the shape of your tooth so you aligner won't be the same. I am going to the dentist next month and just hoping that i don't have any cavities. if i do it will have to wait until i am done w/treatment (which is bad i know).

I would think that most fillings would change the shape of your teeth at least on top, causing aligners not to sit properly (we all know that a new filling is higher at first and wears down). So unless he was able to get your filling the same shape as they are now, chances are you'd need to get new impressions and redo the rest of your trays.

I had one tooth have a small piece crack off and he refilled it and built it back up with the white fillling material (so likely what they make the attachments with) and what he did was use my prior tray to press down to get the same shape to that tooth as was there prior - I'm not sure quite how he did it but it worked as my aligners after that fit just fine. I used my current dentist for invisalign as he was a provider and I have been going to him for ages and trust him. So if your dentist and invisalign provider aren't the same place they might not do this or know how to use the tray to get the right shape. My guess is mine figured a way to do it after having others than needed stuff done while in aligners.

I've had two fillings done while in Invisalign treatment. No problems at all. My ortho was very impressed with my dentist's work.

The ideas in this thread are correct. If the filling is made to be exactly the same as the tooth when impressions were taken, then there should be no issues. Of overfilling and underfilling, the latter will allow the aligners to fit better. However, if it is a critical part of the tooth that is being leveraged by the aligners for movement, it could be a problem.

We emphasize oral hygiene and brushing before reinserting aligners as this can cause a disturbance to treatment, requiring a mid-course correction. In situations where mid-course changes are required due to cavities, there may be fees from Invisalign since new aligners may be required.

Good luck!