Invisalign: Tooth Filing

[Phantom Muse]

Hi, all!

I am expecting to need a bit of tooth-filing at my next appointment, and I was hoping someone might have an opinion about whether or not it was easiest to have the ortho do it "by hand" with the floss, or if it might be more precise using the electric filer I have heard about. What has been your personal experience?

I know much is dependent upon the skill of the ortho, but this is the part of treatment that makes me nervous! I will share my concerns with him, but I find that I am always less uptight about things that make me feel uneasy if I am fully informed ahead of time. A bit of reassurance will settle my nerves, hopefully!

Thanks in advance for your help!

12-U
7-L

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

The IPR will be done using diamond strips, a diamond disc on a rotary tool, or a bur on a high speed handpiece. The instrument used is going to depend on the location, amount of IPR required, and comfort level of the doctor.

I let our patients know that they will feel some vibration on their teeth, and that there will be a possibility of a unpleasant smell/dust from the teeth. Many of them are surprised at how minimally invasive and comfortable this procedure is. Good luck!

[Phantom Muse]

Thank you, Dr. Tam! I feel better already. Whew!

[superfcbear]

Hi Phantom Muse,
May i ask if these are fillings for decays? Since removing a few teeth, i can see a small patch of brown on one of my top teeth. i suspect it's decay . Didn't know yoru ortho will do the filling for you... thought i had to go back to my normal dentist! i should ask when i go in!

[germangirlinva]

I had IPR done on quite a few teeth and the dentist used some kind of rotary tool to file the teeth. I had IPR done on the front teeth and some on the back. He gave me shots because he had to drill in between the teeth and close to the gum line. I did not feel discomfort during the IPR, but afterwards my gums were a bit sore and I took two tylenol. He also advised me to gargle with warm salt water three times a day to prevent infection.

I personally did not like the IPR, but I guess, it beats having a tooth extracted. It had to be done to make room for the teeth to move. I now have a noticeable gap between my front teeth and my dentist promised me that this will close during treatment. I feel that my teeth now look worse than they did before, but one cannot tell the gap when I wear the invisalign tray.

One of my premolars had 0.5 mm IPR done and the molar next to it has a crown, so now I have to be extra careful to floss because food gets trapped in there all the time. It is a real pain and the area is still sensitive even after two weeks now.

I'm getting tray #2 on Wednesday and I have more IPR done on this day. I'm definitely NOT looking forward to it.

I'm almost thinking that I probably should have had metal or ceramic braces instead of the invisalign. I have quite a bit of crowding and an overjet and I hope and pray that my doctor knows what he is doing.

Good luck to you and it probably won't be so bad. Think about the end result - I do all the time. It is what keeps me going.

[Sunny]

superfcbear your mark could be staining. I recommend you visit your dentist and have it checked out.

IPR is to produce a small amount of space between teeth, when extractions are not needed. I've had it done a few times and found it painfree, although the time it was done using the electric hand piece did result ina nasty smell. It only lasted seconds ... but was something I remembered clearly for a few weeks.

Most recently I had some 'manual IPR' on my upper front left incisor, as it had worn unevenly due to it having crossed the right incisor. This IPR means that my front incisors now meet together from the gum to the biting surface.

It's great that crowding can be sorted with IPR when an extraction would result in more space than is necessary!

[Phantom Muse]

Thank you, all!

From my understanding, the IPR really doesn't take more of the tooth than might naturally have worn away if it had been properly positioned next to another tooth (rather than "jutting-out" with its sides not touching any tooth). This places my mind at ease a bit more... Fortunately, my ortho is good about listening to my concerns, and I will have no trouble telling him that I am nervous - and to PLEASE do as little filing as is necessary!

My ortho (during our initial consult) thought he might have to do IPR before I started tray #1, but he did none, and I won't see him again until I get tray #4 from him in another two weeks. Because I am only supposed to have 7 lower trays and 12 upper trays, I hope that whatever filing is necessary will be minimal. I do think one of the biggest challenges with having any sort of braces is that sometimes things look worse before they look better. It requires so much trust, but that is why it is so important to have a practitioner with whom you feel comfortable. My one front tooth is now even more snaggled than before, but I am trying to be patient. That is not always easy for me!

Sunny, I do still "remember" the smell of having teeth removed when I was a child MANY years ago. I had eight teeth pulled when I had metal braces, so contrary to what my mother thinks, I must have a small mouth! I suspect the IPR smell is similar. ICK.

As an aside, my daughter just had her metal braces removed yesterday (!), and to avoid having to go through braces again at a later date, she will wear her retainers as prescribed! Just my reminder to all!

Thanks again for everyone's responses. It is appreciated!

[350GT]

I'm do for some slenderizing in two weeks before I start my eighth tray. Hope they make these big teeth look not so big.

[liccledevil83]

I'm not a fan of having that kinda thing done and the Ortho managed to break the filing tool in my mouth when I had my first lot done, but even with that it wasn't too bad, although not particularly pleasant. I agree the burning kinda smell is not good either. expecting to have another lot at the end of March when I get my next set of trays.