uh-oh...little tear in aligner!

Message

#1 Post by **gmf214** » Thu Feb 01, 2007 9:11 pm

hi, this is my second set of aligners and i'm on my second week (i'm supposed to keep them in for three weeks), and just now when putting my aligners back in after dinner i noticed there is a tiny (maybe 1mm?) rip or tear in the top of my upper aligner.

anyone else has this happened? what did your ortho do? i'm out of town for the next week so i can't really go see my ortho. will this mean i can't move on to my next aligner on time?

thanks for the help!! i'm totally panicking

#2 Post by **waiting2smile** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 8:39 am

Hi gmf214,

First off please don't panick, we all get nervous when things like this happen and your bound to hit a few bumps in the road during treatment but don' tworry - you'll be fine.

Now I am not an Ortho so I have to say your best bet is to probably check with your ortho. Now that being said, I'll give you my opinion of what I'd do - but first a couple quick questions for you regarding this tear:

1- Is it affecting how the aligner fits over your teeth, too loose too tight?

2- Is it sharp where it may cut you or cause a sore?

3- Do you have your next set of aligners?

If its fitting just as it was before you noticed the tear, its not hurting you and if you have the next aligner already then I would continue to wear it and if it got worse at any point I would switch to the next aligner, even though you may be a few days shy of when you actually supposed to switch.

I wear my aligners for 2-3 weeks depending on what the ortho says and how they are fitting me and I have popped in a new tray a few days early on a couple diffrent occasions without any issues so my guess would be that you'd be fine.

If they don't fit well and are causing you any pain (i.e. cuts or sore OUCH!) I wouldn't put in back in, I'd just switch to the next one.

Again this is what I'd probably due but everyones mouths and treatments are diffrent so why dont you give your ortho a call, even if its just for peace of mind

#3 Post by **Dawna** » Fri Feb 02, 2007 12:38 pm

It happened twice with me, both times in the same spot - bottom aligner, on my right hand side just where I take it off from. The first time it was just a few hours before my new tray, so no biggie, but it did affect the pressure of the tray totally. The next time it was 2 days before, but I was being careful so the tear was really small. I mentioned it at my ortho visit and he shaved down the attachment that's right there and I've had no problems since. I'd say if it's affecting the pressure of the tray to call your ortho right away.

#4 Post by **gmf214** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 10:10 pm

Thanks so much for your comments. They were very helpful. I did panic a little at first! It was a little tear and didn't hurt or didn't seem to affect the pressure at all. I guess I'll see how much it mattered when I put in my new aligners tomorrow...and when I go see my ortho, I think I'll ask him to shave down the attachment it seems to stick on.)

Thanks again!