I am an invisalign user that recently had my trays stop fitting properly. New impressions were done so that new trays could be made. I was exactly half way through my treatment. The new trays took 6 weeks to come, so I was on hold. When they arrived, 22 extra trays were added, extending my treatment another 14 months. I still have not received an adequate explanation for this. The only thing that keeps being thrown around is a "mid-treatment adjustment." The possiblity of this was NEVER explained to me. As a matter of fact, it was the opposite -- that Invisalign is calculated by computer and that each tray will move your teeth exactly where they are supposed to. I am thinking malpractice of some sort. My new trays feel much different than the first set, as though the first set were never right to begin with. If there is anyone out there with a similar experience, would you please post it, especially if you are over 35? Thank you.

To Livid,
I would love an update on you and your teeth. I am 33, should be 8 weeks away from the end of treatment but my ortho has been very dodgy in answering my questions. My molars don't touch, which is very annoying, and he commented that we may need to extend treatment also. I purposely chose the dates of treatment so it would be done before my weddding, plus I am moving out of state and not sure how that will work as far as follow-up appts.
Last week he "slenderized" several teeth, both with the diamond-sandpaper thing and his own motorized drill-type thing. Now I have a gap where there was not one or did not need to be.
I am disappointed that Invisalign was not as accurate as planned.
Please write and let me know your progress.
csw

Hi Attitude --

I never did get an explanation for the change in fit. They blamed me and my doctor b/c I was wearing the trays for 10 days rather than 14 in an attempt to shorten my initial treatment, which was supposed to be 30 months. She claimed she had gotten permission from them for me to wear them 10 days. Their literature says "10-14 days." They claim they never allow that. You are constantly stuck between your doctor and Invisalign and they both protect each other.

I should have been done by 4/05. Now, I am looking at 11/05. BUT -- last month, the trays started to not fit again. So now they are making me new ones. The back and forth has already taken a month and my orthodontist just said ok to the clinchek on Wednesday. She wants to add elastics to them to speed up the process or just put me in invisible braces. I don't want either. But we can get no explanation from Invisalign as to why this keeps happening. With each time, they also compromise my treatment plan, giving me LESS perfection than my doctor originally ordered. Invisalign will not talk to me, only to my doctor -- she is their customer is their response. I am about ready to go to a different orthodontist for another opinion and possibly hire a lawyer. I am almost in these 2 years now and I am stuck because of the spaces in my teeth.

As to your situation -- I have read elsewhere on here about that shaving. My orthodontist does not believe in that b/c she feels the teeth will not fit properly if you do it -- I wouldn't allow it anyway. What I do notice is that so far my back teeth haven't totally closed together so that when I eat, I always must floss. This is annoying as I never got food stuck between my teeth before. She assures me the space will close, but I'm not confident. I am going to start contacting some state agencies -- consumer affairs, better business bureau and dental regulators. I have had it. My mouth is always sore and I am back to wearing them for the full 14 days -- still they stopped fitting and still no explanation.

Also -- if you move out of state, I believe you can call Invisalign to transfer your case to a new orthodontist there. They offered to change my orthodontist the first time these didn't fit. Hope you don't have to have them on for your wedding!!! But that was my additional concern. My bottom teeth only required about 15 trays initially. I finished them up last July. But I didn't think they looked straight, so she took impressions. I thought I would get a few extra trays and wound up with 13 -- that's 6 more months to "tweak" my bottom. So what if I need "tweaking" on the top after being in them for 3 years? It's ridiculous. Let me know how your situation turns out. You are the only one who responded about delays. Thanks.

There are two reasons that you would need refinement. If you where not compliant meaning you didn't where your trays 22 hours a day since the day you started. The other way is that you probably had adjustments that you where having done(some patients don't have to have these adjustments)it you missed the appointment and didn't have the adjustment done when you where suppose to that is very important. Or the dentist wasn't aggresive enough with his adjusting when it was time to do it.Meaning when he did it he didn't adjust enough off the teeth to make enough room for the next tray room for the teeth to move like they needed too even through they may have fit.My husband is going through refinement too. Other than the fact that now treatment is longer(his being due to not wearing them like he should) there shouldn't be anything else that bothers you. I could be wrong but you should be paying for this new treatment. At least that is the way it worked at the office we go to. We get the first refinement free and then if for any reason it needs to be done again then we get charged.As far as treatment goes. I have worked with invisaglin and i have only heard 14 days no shorter. You don't want to move things to fast that could cause alot of problems later for you. One the fact that you are not happy with them now because they are not straght enough for you. Plus you have to remember when you move teeth you have to move the root of the tooth. You have to be careful with that. The faster you move that the more chance of root reabsorbing. You don't want that. I have seen patients that had that with the metal braces and one way for that to happen is moving the teeth to fast. That can be bad the roots become shorter and then you don't have as much tooth structure as you once had in the done and that is not good for your teeth. The more support in the bone the more stable your teeth will be.Those gaps that you get with the adjustments are normal and the teeth will eventally move to close that up. These are just some thoughts and suggestions to help you guys out. I don't know everything that is happening and maybe you should get a second oppion. As far as transfering treatment shop around and make sure you get someone you are really happy with. I had a friend that started treatment at one office and was really happy. Her husband got a job in FL and they had to move. She flew home for a few months to have the treatment coutined(until she found a dentist in FL to take over). You have to find a invisalign certified dentist to transfer you case to. Remember the new dentist is going to charge you to take over your case. I know my friend paid $4,000 for her treatment. Then since she had to tranfer her case she had to pay another $2,000 for the new dentist to take it over. A new dentist isn't going to take if over with out charging you. They are not going to do the rest of the treatment for free. Right now your charge at your current dentist covers his time, material and the adjustments. I am sure the new dentist will base it on how long you have left. Good luck to you all.I hope i have answered some questions for you. I wish you guys the best. I am not try to stick up for invisalign. I sometime myself am not sure that i agree with the treatment. I wanted to do it when my husband is done. I had metal braces, but failed to wear my retainers. I am not sure that i agree with the adjustments shaving off some of the tooth. My husband loves them and is really happy (even though we have to start over it's due to him not wearing them like he should)with the results he has gotten so far.

Well, thanks for your reply. I have had no refinements or adjustments to my teeth. I have read that many dentists do that shaving of the teeth, but it is not a good idea because the teeth cannot and will not fit properly when they are finally moved to where they are supposed to be. As far as being compliant, I am. I am an older person, not a child. I didn't want to be in these any longer than I needed to. Also, if the reason they weren't fitting properly any longer was b/c of not wearing them long enough, then I would imagine that keeping the first ill-fitting tray in an extra week or two would have adjusted for this. As far as the 10 days -- yes, I have heard about moving the teeth too quickly; however, Invisalign's own "informed consent" literature (which I also did not get until AFTER I already had my Invisaligns) specifically states that patients wear the trays from 10-14 days. That is where we got the idea. Finally -- I did not sign up for 30 months of Invisalign -- my orthodontist had told me 18 months, not to say the 37 or longer I am now going to be in them. Therefore, I absolutely refuse to pay for extra time/treatments. Invisalign evaluated my case and said they could do the job in 30 months. I simply cannot wear these any longer than I have been. But b/c of the point you make, I am going to start keeping a log of my wearing time. The problem with this whole situation is that you are caught between a physician and a product manufacturer. I want people to know what can and does happen; how they each blame each other; how there is little you can do about it and how just as you did -- Invisalign and your doctor always have an out -- YOUR noncompliance or your individual case of teeth not moving the way they predicted. Once these things are on your teeth, spaces begin to open between them. If things go wrong, as in my case, YOU are the one with the problem. And your only solution is to keep ever increasing the amount of time you stay in the Invisaligns or to go to traditional braces of some type -- the very situation you attempted to avoid by getting Invisaligns in the first place. Additionally, I believe that any company that keeps you waiting 6-8 weeks when their product fails you (thus adding an additional 2 months to your time right there) or a company that refuses to stand behind their product with you and do something as small as let a professional get on and explain your situation to you and attempt to rectify it -- shouldn't even be in business. This is purely a money-making proposition both for Invisalign and for the orthodontists. There is very little work or apparent liability for them if it doesn't work. It's all up to YOU and your teeth. I think it's pure BS. My orthodontist never did anything more to me than watch me put in my next tray and listen that it "clicked" on. She works only 2 days a week and these are not even full-time days. I have seen her "roster" of Invisalign patients and for someone who works that amount of hours, it is obscene.

Hi...I am an Invisalign wearer also and have had them since last year around this time. I was to wear 27 on the bottom and 56 on the top teeth. What happened in my case is that in March/April timeframe of this year I got a very bad flu and it was really hard to wear the aligners as long as I normally did. There was just a very bad taste in my mouth and so I found I was taking them off a lot more. This messed things up of course and the bottom ones I was almost finished with and then the new tray did not fit either on bottom or top. So my orthodontist made a retainer for the bottom, which fits just like the aligners which I have to wear for the bottom teeth so they do not move anymore until I am finished wearing the top aligners. I am on 24 of 56 for the top and really should be further along than that but due to the problems in March and April they didn't fit so he had me go back and use ones that fit as the newer trays did not.

He had told me anyway before this had all happened that at the end of the trays , when I was all through with it, if there were adjustments to be made new trays would be made for further correction. All this is part of the fee that I paid to begin with and there is no extra charge for that or anything that has to be added as far as more trays due to this situation that arose due to March.

One question I do have for you Invisalign wearers...do you find it hard to wear them for the 22 hours a day??? I find that if I am feeling a little off physically , let's say stomach wise, that I just am not tolerating wearing them as long as I should. I am trying my best to stick to the 22 but certain days it seems there is all this saliva that makes it hard to wear them as long as I need to. I am doing the 22 but it is not as easy a proposition as it was at first...

anyone else find this?

rmc

LIVID: I understand why you are upset and fraustrated with this whole experience. I have watch the shaving that they say needs to be done. I don't think that i agree with that. Removing tooth structure(i know that it is not alot like .2mm) i don't like b/c i have experience with dental procedures. That make me uncomfortable. My husband being not compliant and having to have the new trays made was because he wasn't wearing them for so long. He is 24 and should no better, but he serious wasn't wearing them for a month or more at a time and then wear them and then do that again.So that is why he need new trays due to noncomplaince. I also think that invisalign as a company doesn't do a very good job training the doctors that go to the training. I went to this training and it's a one day training. I don't think that the doctors are really trained well or longer enough to give the proper care. That is unforunte for the doctor and the patient. I think that when i do treatment for myself i will go and get the metal braces again. Like some of you have said it probably is diffcult to pick them in 22 hours a day. Well with the metal ones they make not look good, but a least i will get the result i want and i can't take them out. They are not coming out. I wish you luck with your treatment. I agree with you and your frausrations with the invisalign the trays,treatment and the company.

RMC12: Wow -- you have almost as many trays as me -- my original case called for 65 trays on the top. I only had one time where my mouth was so sore that I had to stop wearing them for three days. Then I just went on. I find that after about 7 days of wearing them, they are very loose. I think that the trays only really move the teeth for that amount of time and the rest is just holding them in place so they're not moved too quickly. I don't really know though. I know what you mean about the discomfort and inability to tolerate them sometimes. On many occasions, I just take them out and rinse them and rinse my mouth out -- leave them out for about 10 minutes. I have had the added problem, since I've been in them of them cutting my mouth and causing blisters inside my lips and along my cheek. I also have constant indentation marks along my cheeks in the shapes of the tray. Every tray, my orthodontist has to file down the edges. Sometimes she does a good job, sometimes she misses some spots and then I suffer. I really can't bear to be in these for another year or more and I am definitely not getting any extra ones at the end. By the time I am done, if everything goes ok with this next set, I will have been in these three years. I don't think if you need this many trays you really should be an Invisalign case -- that's just my opinion b/c everyone who has more than like 25 or so seems to have major problems. That's why I posted -- I wanted to see if there are others out there with this many trays and problems or whether our type cases make us guinea pigs. Good luck with your situation though.

Hi Livid...

yes I know what you mean it is a LOT of trays!! It is good to hear from someone who has been wearing them as long as you have and we have a similar amt of them.

For me, it has not been bad except for that time with the flu and then that messed the schedule up a bit. I am trying to be dilligent about keeping them in as I was prior to that episode. I too take them out for 5 to 10 min and rinse them and put a little toothpaste in my mouth to help if I need to.

I do not mind if I have to wear them a bit longer. I say this as this has convinced me that I would not be good with wearing the metal conventional kind. I feel that yes, it is true we can't take those out so there is no choice in the matter but I would find it hard to have them in all the time like that and I think they are much more abrasive to the mouth judging from those I know who wear them.

In my case I got them for gum health mostly as things were crowded and my bite is off so this makes flossing difficult (when things are crowded in back). I was having a lot of bleeding and always have and they were suggested over the conventional kind if I was a candidate for them as you can floss easier of course with them as you take the out. With the conventional ones yes you can floss but one has a harder time doing so and so flossing is not done as well. They had to pull 2 teeth at the start of me doing this all and that made things not as crowded to begin with and then with the fact that I have to take them off to floss and am flossing 3 times a day at least it has already made my gums a lot healthier and the movement of the teeth has also as there is not as much crowding.

Thanks for your input and good luck to you.

rmc

Hi Guys, I finally found people with Invisalign. I am a invisalign user too, just at the beginning. I only wore aligners for 4 days then I have to get one bad tooth removed. I have not to to see my orth yet. I am already very frustrated.

I can't express how disappointed I am with Invisalign. I had traditional braces when I was a teen and having experienced shifting in my teeth over the years, decided to go with Invisalign at the age of 39. I didn't want to go for the metal braces because I was afraid of cracking my enamel when it came time to remove the braces.

At the start of the process, I explained what I wanted done and from the looks of other cases I've seen online, what I was asking for was very MINIMAL aesthetic changes. The Ortho agreed that I would be a good candidate for Invisalign and order the aligners.

I completed treatment on my upper teeth yesterday after only 4 months (12 aligners) and the things I wanted changed ARE STILL THERE!!! I see no difference whatsoever in my teeth. In fact, I still have a huge space between 2 of my bottom teeth that doesn't even look like it's closed at all. I wore my aligners as prescribed all for nothing.

I have to go back today so that the Ortho can fit me with a metal retainer to try and fix one of the problems. Now I have to go in and tell him that I'm frustrated and disappointed with the results after several months of treatment at a cost of $4600 CDN. I'm hoping he can "extend" the treatment with the aligners rather than me having to wear a metal retainer.

I'd also like to ask him for an "after" mold to actually see what my money paid for, because I see absolutely no difference at all (except in my wallet).

I'm so angry....I don't know whether to cry or scream.