attachments question

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#1 Post by **VaniBella** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 6:35 am

I have a question. I have seen a lot of pictures online of attachments on the side teeth.
Do they ever put them on FRONT teeth?

I hope not because my front tooth is the crooked one =(

#2 Post by **Wireless** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 6:57 am

I have attachments on my upper front teeth, but they are on the back side where nobody can see them. I think this is at the doctor's discretion as Invisalign tends to put them on the front otherwise. If you find you'll have an attachment on your upper front teeth, discuss the possibility of hiding them. In my case, these are a little uncomfortable and make it more difficult to chew, but they are hidden.

#3 Post by **VaniBella** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 7:01 am

Thanks! I am jumping ahead of myself here, as I havnt even had my first ortho appnt yet, but...if all goes as planned and when the time comes, I sure hope if I do need one on my front tooth that they will put it on the back.

#4 Post by **John37** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:27 am

I asked my dentist about this because my upper lateral incisor needed to rotate. He said the problem with putting them on the back is your lower teeth will hit them when you bite down without the aligners in. With some people, maybe htis isn't a problem.

My attachment is on the front of the lateral incisor, but it's not noticeable. That may be because my teeth don't show that much unless I smile really big and even then the attachment is just below my lip.

My upper central incisors needed to rotate just a little but didn't need attachments.

I'd bet your front tooth being crooked stands out a lot more than an attachment will. So don't worry about it. Just do whatever is best.

#5 Post by **Wobblydeb** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 6:06 am

Yes, they do put them on the front teeth (I know another person now with Invisalign and I think she has one on her central upper incisor).

The important thing I have realised is that they only put them on the teeth they think will need them! They are there for a very important purpose - to help rotate/move/extrude teeth. The couple of teeth I am having problems with both have attachments. Invisalign obviously knew which ones were going to need the most help

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if they include them in the plan, then they are needed. They aren't that visible, and you'll get accustomed to them in no time at all

#6 Post by **Wireless** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:02 am

I think it is important to check out all options and let your ortho know your concerns up front and then come up with the best option. In my case, I let my ortho know up front that I did presentations and customer meetings and didn't want anything to mess up my speaking ability.

When we did my treatment review, he told me I would have attachments on the back of my front teeth without me first asking. There may have been other reasons besides appearance. They're smaller and not as thick as the ones on my bicuspids, which are larger rectangles. If these larger ones had been placed on the outside of my front uppers unexpectedly, I would have been really upset. Along with the aligner "bubble" they look as large as a typical bracket and to me worse than ceramic uppers with wires. They're relatively hidden where they are, so I'm not concerned.

If you ask questions up front, at least you will have checked the options and know the reasons behind your ortho's treatment plan. You'll have a better working relationship.

#7 Post by **PaulInc** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:03 am

When i found out about attachments i just about ruled out Invisalign as an option. I thought it was so stupid to ruin the invisible nature of the aligners. Anyway, that was then and this is now and my confidence has grown. I've had Invisalign 7 months now and have have an attachment on my upper central. The strange thing is, i wish i had more now lol.

I knew i'd need one on my upper central, so was always expecting it. My dentist is very experienced with invisalign and the initial plan provided by invisalign lacked the attachment, so he corrected it and sent the plan back. Having now felt the movements on this tooth and how the aligners are gripping it, i think this attachment was needed and his experience with Invisalign has paid off. The great thing is he predicted the exact time i would need the attachment, 14th aligner, and just had it put on for that aligner. It was timed perfectly.

They're funky little white blocks on my teeth, it's almost like a custom grill. They're still pretty hard to see though.

#8 Post by **acrd** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 4:57 pm

I have them on all of my front teeth. Okay it's not ideal, but 11 out of 18 trays in and I've stopped caring about them!

#9 Post by **VaniBella** » Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:20 pm

I actually asked today and she told me that she could request to the company not to have them put on my front teeth!

#10 Post by **PaulInc** » Sat Apr 18, 2009 1:11 am

Ugh, i don't like the sounds of that. Those attachments are there specifically for a reason, trust me i have them and know how they're working. If your plan includes attachments you almost certainly need them, and even if it doesn't you may need them anyway. A decision to be made by an experienced Invisalign dentist or ortho.

I have a large twist in my front central and so i need an attachment on it. I can feel the attachment working and could see there may be problems without it.

#11 Post by **John37** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 1:25 am

I agree with PaulInc. I believe the wedge shape of the upper incisors can cause the aligners to intrude the teeth (up into the gums) instead of rotating them. I and a couple others on here have had this problem with an upper lateral incisor that was supposed to rotate. Yours is a central incisor, so it may rotate better without an attachment or you could have the same problem.

You said that most of your teeth were straight, so if you only had 10 sets of aligners, I'd hate to see a problem because you didn't get an attachment, then end up having to get refinements and doubling your treatment time. I say get it right the first time and be done with it.

But yes, the doctor has the ultimate say over Invisalign of whether there are attachments or not. You can ask not to have them, but if she thinks you need an attachment then it's probably a good idea.

#12 Post by **alexshrugged** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:47 am

Does anyone with attachments on their front teeth have pictures? I've been searching for some online for days. I am getting 12 attachments - 6 upper and 6 lower, straight across all of my front teeth. I have a slight overbite and overjet and am a hard case for Invisalign, so I accepted that I would have to deal with the attachments on my front teeth but am getting cold feet. I speak a lot in public and I'm worried that they will be as bad or worse as braces.....would love to see pics/hear stories from those of you with similar attachment placements!

#13 Post by **alexshrugged** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:48 am

and by "overbite" i meant openbite. eek.

#14 Post by **april0100** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:19 pm

I've got attachments on a top and bottom front tooth. I was NOT happy about this at first, as I was initially under the impression that the attachments would all be placed on molars. A few weeks in though and I'm feeling more at peace with my bumpy teeth. Whether I would've still chosen Invisalign had known from the get-go about the front attachments...that's hard to say. At this point I think I still prefer Invisalign to the prospect of braces, but it's a much closer call than it was initially.

#15 Post by **alexshrugged** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 3:45 pm

Yeah, I knew I'd have to get them from the start -- although I didn't do enough research and now I really wish I'd asked about getting lingual attachments. Also, as the attachment date gets closer I'm feeling much less confident about it. I paid so much money that I can't really back out but I'm worried I'm going to end up having to explain to everyone that I'm doing invisalign which sort of defeats the purpose to begin with....