wearing aligners for four weeks... WTF?!

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#1 Post by **Cheeeese** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 10:27 am

Still waiting for my aligners to come in BUT my ortho told me I would have to wear each new set for FOUR weeks because he sees better results that way. Does that sound ridiculous?

#2 Post by **BraceFace2o1o** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:48 pm

I've not heard of that myself... seems like rather a long time to wearh aeach aligner. The most I have heard people say they wear each aligner is 14 days.

Do you know how many aligners you're going to have?

#3 Post by **Wireless** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:38 pm

Four weeks doesn't sound right. I'm an older patient (almost 60) and I'm on a 2 week schedule. I would ask for an explanation of why your case is different from the typical 2 week Invisalign schedule.

I will note that I'm having a mid-course correction now and will post if my schedule changes afterwards.

#4 Post by **Cheeeese** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 7:56 am

He estimated I will have about 14 on top and a lil less on bottom. But this isn't set in stone since he had not even sent my molds to invisalign at that point. My treatment is supposed to be 12-15 months.

#5 Post by **Wireless** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 3:21 pm

Cheeese - I may not have given a good answer in my previous post. While I've been on a two week schedule, things haven't gone perfectly. When my ortho first discussed Invisalign with me, he told me I would be on a three week schedule due to my age (59). However, after I got my aligners and started treatment before my attachments, he told me a two week schedule. This seemed to work out so I stayed with two week until now.

My initial assessment was 18 months in braces, so when Invisalign came back with 21 trays (14 upper / 21 lower) this sounded really good, particularly with a two week schedule.

However, around tray 12, problems showed up with my lower attachments not tracking with my aligners. My ortho replaced a couple of attachments and this seemed to fix the problem. When I got to tray 14 where I was supposed to finish my uppers, one tooth was very slightly off. However, my ortho double check my lower attachments and determined they weren't doing what they were supposed to. He decided to grind off all of my attachments, take new molds and do a mid-course correction.

This was five weeks ago, during which I've had to wear my last set of trays full time. Even if my trays come in this week, I'll have lost six weeks of progress by the time I can schedule an appointment, so I'm averaging only one tray every 2 1/2 weeks.

I'm not sure if trying to do a tray every two weeks instead of every three was part of the problem or not - this is something I need to discuss when I go back in. Your comments reminded me this was an issue starting out.

Trying to go to a faster schedule may not guarantee that you'll finish faster. I don't know if case complexity or age entered in to your ortho's 4 week schedule. In my case, both are a factor. Definitely discuss why the long wear period and is this something expected of all patients or is there a specific reason for your case?

#6 Post by **Cheeeese** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:21 pm

Wireless Thanks for the reply! I'm 36 and my ortho said invisalign would be perfect for my case (closing spaces). During my initial consult he mentioned that I would probably have to wear aligners for 3 weeks, but when I took my final impressions he advised me that I would probably wear them more like 4 weeks and his only reasoning was that he saw better results that way.

I will definetly inquire further when I pick up my aligners. Most of the comments I see here, most people say by day 10 they are pretty bored with trays and ready to move on to feel some progress. I would hate to wear them for 30 days feelin like nothing is happening.

#7 Post by **Wireless** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 7:50 pm

If you haven't already, you may want to look at posts regarding Invisalign refinements. This is something I wish I had known more about in advance.

Your case is definitely simpler than mine. I am a poor Invisalign candidate and was supposed to have traditional braces. However, my ortho spotted a damaged tooth root from a previous treatment and did not want to risk more problems, so he recommended the Invisalign route. My problems and complications probably won't happen with a more normal patient.

Good luck!!

#8 Post by **redstar99** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:43 am

I was going to ask this myself. I am on tray 4 currently and have worn each try for 3 weeks except this tray which he told me to wear for four, my dentist also says he sees better results this way. I get tray five this friday.

I was a bit dissappointed initially but my dentist seems to know his stuff and at the end of the day an extra few months is nothing if the final result is better.

I also go back to my dentist for each tray, i am never given any in advance.

I am 31 and am having 19 uppers and 13 lowers.

#9 Post by **Wireless** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:40 am

It looks like the "one schedule fits all" may not hold as Invisalign tries to treat more diverse cases and ages. I've seen everything out here from 10 day to 4 week schedules with some postings claiming to were their aligners substantially less than 22 hrs. All is fine as long as tooth movement follows the aligners.

The problem is what happens when teeth don't move as expected - then the patient ends up with a correction or refinement. This requires the same process as starting out as a new patient - molds, new clincheck computer setup, then getting the aligners. A patient trying to adhere to a faster schedule can wind up with a major delay if teeth don't follow the trays. In my case, my correction is resulting in at least a six week delay, not to mention that I'm going to end up with more trays and attachments when I start back. I will probably have a longer treatment time than if I had gone with 3 weeks, if that would have avoided the problem.

Even more frustrating is I have no way of knowing how long my delay will be while I'm wearing aligners that aren't doing anything. If I call my ortho's office, they can only tell me if Invisalign has shipped or not. I have a friend about my age who is starting a second refinement and her treatment is running about 6 months over.

When I had my records consultation, my ortho went into great detail about the problems of treating a tooth with a resorbed root using regular braces. If I had gone this route, I would have had to have frequent xrays and periodic "stop treatments" if further root damage showed up. I was concerned this was going to take a lot longer and cost more (with the X-rays considered, Invisalign is cheaper for me than regular braces). I didn't realize at the time there were conditions where Invisalign treatment would have to be stopped and restarted and would have liked to have known more about this. It probably wouldn't have changed my choice (not that I really had one!) but I would have better understood what to expect.

Sorry if I'm getting into the "complaint department"! Seven weeks in the same aligners to date is starting to get on my nerves!!

#10 Post by **weirdteeth** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 9:54 am

Hi,
I am also on a 4 week schedule. I am 36 and am on #5 of 10 u/l. My ortho told me during consult that we would be changing aligners every 3 weeks. However, upon getting my first aligner, he said he now prefers the 4 week schedule. He also said he is seeing much better results with that schedule. As much as I prefer to go a bit faster through this, I would imagine the longer you wear the aligners, the fewer problems there will be. The thing I have found helpful is that I don't have to feel as guilty if I'm a bit shy of the 22 hr wear time once in a while (I'm very compliant usually!!)

#11 Post by **DrJasonKTam** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:36 pm

As mentioned in this thread, the number of weeks per aligner may still end up saving time in the overall treatment if it reduces the amount of refinement. The length of time per tray depends on a number of factors including amount of movement prescribed per tray by the orthodontist, patient compliance, and individual variation.

While 4 weeks is longer than most, it is not uncommon to wear trays for 3 weeks at a time. We generally go on 2 week cycles but have gone also have a few patients on 3 week intervals for the reasons described above.

Good luck!

#12 Post by **Cheeeese** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:19 am

THANKS everyone for your responses. I suppose I will just stick to whatever plan the ortho suggests (at least to start). I guess changing every four weeks will save on advil