Attachements/buttons duration

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#1 Post by **armopearls** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:20 pm

I was hoping ya'll can help clearify this whole attachments/buttons business for me.
What exactly do the buttons do?
Are the attachments suppose to stay on your teeth for the rest of the treatment or they removed after a certain period of time?
Has anyone had them break off from the teeth?
I have 5 top and 7 bottom buttons and its a pain to deal with them...the worst is when i have the aligners out and am trying to eat, the buttons get bothersome because they're rough and i feel like my bottom lip gets bruised...any tips or advice on this?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

#2 Post by **sandra** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 2:05 pm

The more time passes the less annoying the buttons are to me.

I guess they allow the aligners to hold on to the teeth better than if they weren't there. I think they stay the whole time, but I have heard from someone here who had one fall off and the dentist didn't see the need in replacing it.

I have 17 buttons all together and they definitely can be bothersome. But it's all good in the end, right?

#3 Post by **waiting2smile** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 2:05 pm

Hi Armopearls,

I know for my case that the buttons are there to help move certian teeth in a way that would be difficult for the aligners to do alone. I'll have them until the end (2 1/2 years in so far). My lips felt bruised also in the beginning and I don't know how far along you are but I can tell you that my buttons have most definately smoothed out overtime so I dont even notice them anymore. I sometimes wonder if I'll need mine redone before the end

I was told that they can chip, fall off ect... but they said it was rare, I've never had a problem with mine.

The best advise I can give you is try rinsing with salt water daily, drink lots of water and just hang in there. It will get better I promise

#4 Post by **armopearls** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 2:51 pm

Thank you so much for your advice. I am glad to hear that it gets better.

P.S. I'm on my second tray and just had the attachments placed 2 days ago. Thanks again for your reply!!

#5 Post by **torontoscuba** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:23 pm

armopearls - I had 4 upper and 6 lower attachments put on at the end of July last year. Truthfully, I like them because they allow you to snap the trays into place so you know there are fitting properly. As time goes on (now 1 year later for me), they have worn down a lot from brushing I suppose, and just recently had 1 completely fall off (a fake tooth) and another broke a small piece off as well. Since it is so late in my treatment, I did not get them replaced as their gripping power on the plastic doesn't seen to be as crucial now that the teeth are coming together well. Just picked up my last 3 lower trays so.. the attachments should come off in 2 months and then I might get regular braces on the bottom for a few more months to perfect what Invisalign couldn't