Is it ok if i dont wear my trays for about 4 days?

[jj45]

Im planning on taking a trip with my friends and i rather not wear my aligners on the trip due to what ill be eating and stuff. The day we leave for the trip is the day i switch to the next set of trays. Would anything bad happen to my overall treatment if i choose to not wear my aligners for only 4 days? Im on my fourth set of aligners and I try to wear em as much as i can.

[Sunny]

JJ I think you need to talk to your orthodontist about this, as not wearing aligners will put your treatment back, but how long I don't know. I'd suggest you'd need to wear your current aligners for a week or two after your four day break, as switching to new aligners when your teeth will have moved backward could result in the roots of your teeth being damaged.

Not wearing aligners is discouraged and is a disadvantage of the invisalign system.

Please talk to your ortho and get the best advice from the person who's taking care of your teeth.

Have a great trip with your friends, and if you need to wear your aligners, I'm sure you'll find places to pop them in and out without too much concern, and best of all, you're with friends, so they'll be cool about it. Make sure you've always got water, a travel toothbrush and toothpaste ... and it should be easy to do.

Have fun!

[jj45]

Ive also considered just wearing them at night during the trip. Does that sound like a better idea? I will talk to my ortho when i get the chance.

[Janesays]

tough decision for sure.. but I would talk to your ortho... at night seems like a viable solution, but you really need those bad boys in there 24/7

[Zoso]

Not only would you be making no progress whilst the trays are off, but the potential is worse than just your teeth moving back. Since they have already been moved from their initial positions during treatment, it's also possible that they might move in unanticipated ways. At best you'll be setting treatment back such that you'll need to wear your current trays for some extra period of time (or probably the previous tray, since you would only just have been moving forward). But it's also possible you might throw things off so much as to require new impressions, and delay wiating for new trays.

Just wearing them at night may be a bit less risky. But I still think that you are being extremely silly to risk compromising your treatment in this way.

It seems as if Invisalign might have been a poor choice for you if something so trivial as a few days away is sufficient for you to feel unable to comply with the necessary aligner wear There truly is no reason that you could not wear your trays in the normal way for the duration of this trip, removing them only for meals, as usual.

Do discuss with your orthodontist.

[jj45]

One of the main reasons I dont want to wear them during the trip is because i dont want to lose them. I also dont know when or where were gonna be eating or if imma have a chance to brush after or what. Everything is unpredictable.

[Sunny]

JJ surely you'll be taking some personal care items with you ... aligners aren't very big, so I'm sure you'll be able to put them in a container and keep them with your personal stuff. Better still ... with your wallet, as I'm sure you'll going to keep in mind where that is at all times.

Knowing when or where you're going to stop, shouldn't be an issue. Keep water, a toothbrush and toothpaste with you, and you can clean after a meal anywhere.

Please don't turn this into a big issue, as think how many people with fixed braces travel every day/week/month etc ... and we cope without any issues. This year I've travelled overseas and within Australia for several weeks at a time. We've been places where there's no running water, and yet I can still eat and clean, as long as I follow my own rule of having water a toothbrush and toothpaste with me. I carry a travel sized brush and travel small container of toothpaste, plus a small container of mouthrinse ... so it's all very easy to clean, when I'm sitting in a car, bus, plan, train, the side of a salt water river ... or at the beach. Something like this will be as easy or difficult as you want to make it ... please make it easy and do the best for your teeth and the smile you're paying to have.

Good luck talking to your ortho!

[anastasia]

I think the best thing to do (except from discussing this with your ortho and take his/hers advice of course), would be not to change to a new tray but wear the old one for an extra 4 days. And try wearing it as much as possible! There surely won't be any problems wearing them at night? And I don't really see a problem with the eating either, but you can at least wear them until you eat and if you for some reason can't brush right afterwards you can do it whenever you get the chance. I would imagine that you have to visit a bathroom a couple of times every day anyway for other reasons..

I definitely think it would be better to wear them at night and some hours during the day than not at all for 4 days straight. If you wear your current aligner you won't have to be so afraid of losing it either - I mean, since you think you can cope without it, it wouldn't be a tragedy if you brought the tray and lost it after 2 days.. it's still better than going 4 days without!

[nan]

I don't think I'd go 4 days without wearing them. If I go 2 hours without wearing them, it hurts to put them back in. I would think you'd have to start over or possibly get new aligners depending on how your teeth have shifted.

Whenever I know I'm not going to be near water, I take a bottle of water with me. You can also buy travel toothbrushes that already have the toothpaste on them. I bring one of the invisaligner cases that my ortho gave me and I'll just stick in it my pocket or backpack. I've done this for times when we're in parks for long periods of time. We also tailgate for college football and making sure I have a bottle of water, my travel toothbrush and case works out just fine for me.

Personally, I've spent a lot of $$$ that could have gone to good use in other places. No way would I risk my teeth shifting b/c of travel. Maybe you should talk to your ortho about more traditional braces? That might be a better fit for you.