New! A few questions: staining, broken attachments

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#1 Post by **Bellalalala** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:19 am

Hi!

I just started my invisalign treatment yesterday on my top teeth (I have metal brackets on the bottom).
I have a few questions

1: just how bad is it to drink coffee while wearing my retainer?

-I'm in dental school and I have to study pretty much from morning until night. I neeeeed my coffee. However, I usually drink it throughout the whole day, not just with breakfast.
How gross will my retainers get from drinking coffee? Will they be yellow and disgusting?
I try drinking it with a straw, but I have no idea if this will help.

2: my attachment on one side broke off

-my dentist tried re-attaching it several times, but it broke off each time I removed my retainer. He said that because of the position of the attachment on the tooth, this was not going to stop happening. It is still firmly snug due to all of the other attachments that are adhering just fine.
However, has anyone else experienced this? Did it affect your treatment?

Thanks in advance for your replies.
I really appreciate having a community to turn to.

#2 Post by **Bellalalala** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:09 am

After a few hours of reading through many pages of this forum, I've come to realize that there isn't really an obvious answer to my questions.
Oh well, we'll just have to wait and see!

Also, after reading, I've decided to try eating with my aligner in. Some people have had a lot of success doing this, and I am a constant snacker.
I have an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner, so I'll just pop my aligner in there after eating.

I'm only on day 2 though, so we'll see how it goes.

#3 Post by **Wireless** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:39 pm

My understanding is coffee and other hot drinks can warp the aligners. I have gone 9 months with caffiene deprivation and have 8 more months to go. I have had to limit myself to one cup with breakfast in the morning. I have had iced tea and other cold beverages without any problems although I usually try to rinse my aligners and mouth afterwards. I'm not sure how iced coffee would work - I prefer mine hot!

I suggest asking your dentist are there any long term consequences for not having the missing attachment. If it was there, it had some function so it would be good to find out early what the plan is to work without it. I have had one break off in the aligner and my orthodontist wanted to replace it as soon as he could. It hasn't broken off since.

Did you start attachments immediately with the first trays? Many patients don't get them until two or three trays later to allow time to get use to the aligners and removing them. I do have several attachments that are thick rectangular shapes and I have to remove them by having one finger pulling down the rear of the tray while I use a second finger to pull the tray out from the attachment. Some people use appliance hooks, but my fingernails work best so far for me. This is where I think everyone ends up figuring it out for themselves.

Good luck!!

#4 Post by **andrea26** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 5:26 am

hi,

my orthodontist told me to drink anything but red wine with aligners in. he said coffee and tea are fine unless they have cooled down to room temperature. I am on set 12 of 22 and havent had any stains on my aligners. I always rinse them out after i had my coffee.

#5 Post by **weirdteeth** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:37 pm

I don't generally drink coffee, so I can't help you there. I did,however, drink green tea while wearing one set of retainers and then would rinse them and my mouth afterwards. I didn't have any noticeable stains on the aligners, but they were more "yellowed" than the other sets. I didn't notice it while wearing them , but when they were out of my mouth, they were definitely a different color. I now tend to avoid eating or drinking with them in except for the day or 2 before I change to a new set.
Good luck!!

#6 Post by **Mr Rich Uk** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 5:05 am

You know, I did worry a bit about the coffee thing as well as I had about three shots of espresso during the day, which is the equivalent apparently to around 7 cups of instant coffee. Since having them in, which is about 2 weeks now, I have quite coffee altogether.

I went through a period of about a week where I felt terrible but now I have to say I feel more awake than ever. I'm making sure I drink plenty of water and I have to say I feel better in the morning than I ever did when drinking coffee. It's quite liberating.

#7 Post by **myhollywoodsmile** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 3:56 pm

Hi there,
According to my orthodontist you definitely shouldn't drink anything above room temperature with your aligners in as the plastic can soften and warp. He also recommends nothing but water with them in because of the possibility of the sugars getting between your aligners and teeth. I personally wouldn't eat or drink anything with them in as I think they would get a little stinky.

However I do know that different orthodontists have different recommendations. One thing I can tell you is that after 8 months it takes me less than 3 seconds to remove my aligners, so I can whip them in and out for coffee and snacks a little too easily. So much for my Invisalign diet!

#8 Post by **Bellalalala** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:46 am

So, it's been about a week.

I am drinking luke-warm coffee, which I really don't mind and it's certainly not staining the aligner to any appreciable degree.

I am eating with my retainers in and them cleaning them in my ultra-sonic cleaner afterward. Again, no appreciable staining, even after eating curry-like dishes containing super-staining turmeric. With the ultra-sonic cleaner, it just comes right off.

I'm also in the habit of popping it off and rinsing it well every time I use the washroom. I just do it automatically now after I wash my hands.

I probably only have my aligner out for 10-15 minutes a day.

Having the aligner on the top and regular brackets on the bottom makes eating with it a lot easier than I expected. I mostly eat soft foods though and cut everything into little pieces.
I do this anyway because my lower brackets have a nasty habit of popping off it I chew anything hard.

So far, so good. We'll see what my dentist says when I see him next.

#9 Post by **smilesunset** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 1:41 pm

Wow, Bella, we could be brace twins! I also have fixed on the bottom (metal and ceramic on the 'social 6') and invisalign on top and I eat with my aligner in. I'm very happy to have found someone else who does the same! I was braced in January and I'm on 23 of 33 aligners on top and, although my teeth are still crooked as all hell, I'm getting there. Good luck with your journey and keep us posted how it all goes.

P.S. I have 22 perfectly clean and unstained used aligners in my bathroom cupboard, so don't worry about staining, really.

#10 Post by **BraceFace2o1o** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 5:30 pm

I wouldn't recommend drinking anything other than water or perhaps tea/coffee without sugar... drinks that contain sugar are not a good idea, you really do not want to get sugar trapped between your teeth and your aligners!!! Your Ortho really should be saying that themselves surely.

I have read over and over on Forums and even from my own Ortho not to eat or drink with your aligners in (especially sugary stuff) as you could end up with cavaties and tooth decay.

#11 Post by **smilesunset** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 9:29 pm

I wouldn't recommend drinking anything other than water or perhaps tea/coffee without sugar... drinks that contain sugar are not a good idea, you really do not want to get sugar trapped between your teeth and your aligners!!!

Well, yes, if you do not brush after eating/drinking, then that is exactly what would happen. But Bellalala said: "I am eating with my retainers in and then cleaning them in my ultra-sonic cleaner afterward". Isn't eating/drinking with your aligners in and then brushing straight afterwards exactly the same as taking them out to eat and then brushing straight afterwards?

Your Ortho really should be saying that themselves surely.

Actually, many orthos are recommending eating with aligners in as it guarantees total compliance. But it's horses for courses, as they say! Whatever feels best for you, you should do it!

.

#12 Post by **Wireless** » Sat Sep 05, 2009 10:48 am

Drinks like coffee can stain tooth enamel as well as aligners. Prior to Invisalign, I had cofffee stains on the rear of my front teeth that even the dentist found difficult to clean. I'm concerned that coffee trapped between my aligners and teeth could cause more stains to my teeth even if my aligners aren't affected. I also have very worn tooth surfaces because of my bite problems.

I'm being cautious on this one and leaving the experiments to others!!

#13 Post by **Bellalalala** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:56 am

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Just a little more about me:

I'm actually in dental school and around dentists and doctors all day, every day. So, I'm pretty good when it comes to knowing how to take care of my teeth...otherwise, I'm going to be a cr@p dentist

That said, invisalign is still a very young technology and the "only drink water" recommendation exists largely to cover their a$$es.

With a little education: knowing what acids and sugars do to teeth
A generous helping of common sense: don't expose plastic to heat, don't eat hard food, don't let food sit in retainer, etc
I think that eating with aligners in can be done responsibly.

A lot of orthos are in disagreement on this though, because there is no definitive answer yet.
Hence why I came here with my questions, my orthos couldn't give me straight answers.
You guys are going to have much more info on what can go wrong than any single orthodontist!

Sure, I'm taking a measure of risk, but since my teeth are looked at *constantly* by dentists, any detrimental effects will likely be caught early.

#14 Post by **Wireless** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 2:38 pm

Bellalalala,

I agree with your comments that Invisalign is protecting itself by the "water only" recommendation and that common sense is needed when deviating from guidelines. You are also fortunate to have the perspective of being in a dental school environment, so you have a better idea than most what is risky. Most of the readers on this board are probably not dental professionals.

Also, dental professionals don't always get it right. In my case, my dentist wasn't looking for the recurrence of a serious ortho problem in a patient my age. I was expecting that anything major would have shown up during 6 month checkups, which in my case were nearly perfect for 20 years. The problem wasn't detected until it was way too late and the gum irritation from my deep bite was initially diagnosed as a coffee burn.

Like everyone else, I don't perfectly follow Invisalign's recommendations. However, I don't think it is good to make general conclusions that may work for some but may cause a problem for others. Anyone taking risks needs to assess if problems are resulting and review with their orthodontist or dentist.

#15 Post by **Bellalalala** » Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:22 pm

Wireless,

I couldn't have stated it better myself.
I would not be nearly as willing to mess around with my treatment protocol if my teeth weren't examined on a weekly basis.

In the end, I encourage people to listen to their orthos when there is a question about what is safe during treatment.
This thread is simply a document of my personal experience.

In no way shape or form do I believe myself to be an expert capable of making orthodontic treatment recommendations.