Dentist modified aligner by hand as teeth were not moving??

[abitnervous]

Hi, this is my first post. I'm in my 30's, on my 7th tray. At my last visit, my dentist said that my top teeth weren't moving as they should have moved (I hadn't seen him for 4 weeks, he had given me 3 sets of aligners, and told me to change them every 2 weeks as normal). I hadn't experienced any problems, they felt like they were fitting ok. He took the top aligner and manually bent it with a tool, he said he hoped that would make the teeth move quicker and "catch up", and to put the next tray in in a week. That modified tray felt very tight, and the new tray is still hurting my teeth/feels very tight after a week (no other tray had been anything more than a little uncomfortable for a few days). Has anyone else experienced this? Does this sound ok? I'm just thinking, won't this then have thrown the next aligner out of line? Thanks for any input, I'm worried!

[DrJasonKTam]

There are ways to modify the aligner so that it contacts the tooth differently. This is ok as long as the "dimples" or "bends" are put in precise locations. There are special pliers to do this and it may actually prevent you from needing a further set of trays if enough movements are achieved this way.

[abitnervous]

Thank you so much for your reply. That has made me feel a lot better. I really didn't want to question the expertise of my dentist, I just got a little nervous because I hadn't seen anyone mention that before. But I will stop worrying now! Thanks again.