Metal Mouth Message Board

Hey there,
So I started Invisalign treatment about a year ago in April 2011 (I think). Upper teeth had moderate gaps and lower teeth moderate bunching, with some overjet thrown in. Basically, nothing too terrible. I am currently on tray 22 of 29, and starting to see major improvements. (Movement had been occurring previous to this, just in the back of the mouth where it is not as visible.)

Despite my success thus far, I have to admit I have been pitifully non-compliant with wearing my trays, with my average daily wearing time around 12 hours a day. I have been moving from tray to tray at the recommended pace (every two weeks) and my orthodontist (an Invisalign premier provider or whatever) says everything is going very well.

I guess my question is then, is it possible that my teeth just move very easily, or am I kind of setting myself up for failure later on in treatment?

Thanks!

PS - Try to keep the lecturing to a minimum please?

I'm actually quite relieved to read this. I've been really anal about leaving them out up until now and convinced myself that they wouldn't work if out more than a couple of hours! Maybe I will relax a bit more now I'm not sure of any possible long term effects from having them out so long though? So having said that, think I'll stick to my 22 hour a day just in case!
Glad to hear it's going so well. x

This is totally going to depend on how easily your teeth move, the type of movement required, and the rate of movement per tray. Some doctors really decrease the movement per tray to allow for more non-compliance, but this results in more total trays.

It is possible that your teeth are improving but may not be moving exactly as your treatment was planned.

It may also be moving your crowns but leaving the roots in certain positions more prone to relapse.

Your treatment may be moving with this non-compliance, but this would be the extremely rare exception rather than the rule. Keep us posted!