Metal Mouth Message Board

does anyone else find that their trays split ?

my top tray has broken a number of times and my dentist is funny about ordering another one (the last took 8 weeks to receive a new one)

its my final tray before i get a refinement, and every tray for the last few have split (and catch my lip) so using the one before this one until a new one arrives is not an option as theyre all broken

your advice please

I've had several of mine split as well. Mine would have to order new trays as well but they would come in within a week, so not sure why yours takes so long. I've only had one that was split so badly that it caught my lip and I couldn't wear it for that week.

At one point (after the 2nd) he requested they make them a bit thicker - and since then I haven't had any issues/problems.

Hope the new tray comes in soon!

Aligner trays make crack on occasion. Often times this is due to how they are removed. Even though they are factory-produced, the quality control is quite good and the number of "defective" aligners is very low. Speak to your doctor and discuss various ways you can remove your aligners.

As for the time frame of new aligners... part of it is going to have to do with geography, while the other part is going to have to do with how long it takes your doctor to actually place the order.

KU... FYI, there isn't an option to have aligners made thicker. Vivera retainers are thicker than the aligners, but they won't be moving your teeth :).

Dr Tam - that's very interesting! They didn't seem much different, so wondered if they even were. Each tray fits and feels different so never knew if it was because of a new/next tray or that it was really a bit thicker.

Guess I'll count my blessings that I haven't had any issues since then! Not sure why he wouldn't have told me it couldn't be done, my only guess is he asked and was told they couldn't and figured if I continued to have problems he'd say something and try to figure a solution.

Hi there,
I have split a couple of trays too, usually all in the same place which is where I have a tooth growing at a very strange angle. In my aligners this seems to cause a lot of stress on this one point.

luckily I have usually been able to continue wearing them with one exception. If it is one point that keeps breaking you may just need to be incredibly gentle with the aligner in that area. I remove my aligner extremely gingerly now on one side and that seems to help.

Eight weeks seems like a long time. I live in Australia and mine take less than half that time.

Good luck with the rest of your treatment

Nearly every single tray broke, either a split over the back molars or between the two front teeth. I never had the tray replaced, i needed refinements, coming to an end of them now and i'm unhappy but just want this whole experience to end.