Shaved off part of tooth during attachments?

[Niko]

Hello everyone! This is my first post, but I have been scavenging the forums here for a couple months and everybody seems so helpful! I am somewhat new to invisalign I just got tray 4 today (16U/12L). I went to my ortho to get attachments (six on my front teeth) and IPR done (bottom four teeth), and when I got home I noticed that my front left tooth looks misshapen and it slants slightly upward which I know it did not before because I obsessively check them out since I got invisalign. When looking at my teeth with the trays in there is a bit of space at the bottom of my left tooth and my right tooth fits perfectly into the space. The dental assistant is the one who put the attachments on and said that the drill she uses to get the excess glue off is very gentle and cannot remove any enamel, so is it even possible that she could have shaven down some of my tooth? There was no IPR done on my top teeth so that is not the culprit, I am certain that my tooth does not look the same and even more sure since it does not fit into the tray like it should. It is not drastic enough to affect treatment, it is more cosmetic than anything. Has anybody had this happen to them or heard of it happening? Sorry this post is so long but I am upset because I have spent so much money on them and actually really liked the shape of my teeth!

P.S. - Is it common for them to look worse before they get better? I kind of feel that way

Thanks so much!!

[Phantom Muse]

It's possible that the attachments make your teeth look different to you than they did prior to the attachments. In photos, although my attachments are not that noticeable, I still think one tooth on the side looks like it is sticking way out. It's not, but sometimes it looks that way to me!

Also, my teeth DEFINITELY looked worse before they looked better - especially on the top. Now that I am rounding the corner toward the end of my initial series, everything is settling nicely.

Hope this helps!

[Niko]

Thanks for your reply! My teeth definitely look just terrible without my trays on, I guess that is great motive to wear them all the time. I ended up calling my orthodontist and left a message telling her that I believe something happened to my tooth so I will be eagerly waiting for her call. I was mainly focused on the one tooth that I really did not pay attention to my bottom teeth that had IPR done. They look really narrow! Is that just an illusion due to my new gaps? She said she did about .25 mm and that I will have .25 mm done next time. It seems as if she did shave off quite a bit this time that I cannot imagine her needing to do more!

I hope I am just being paranoid but my teeth look so bad right now that of course I am wondering if this was a good idea. I really liked the shape of my teeth before and with the chipped tooth and the IPR I am afraid they will not look quite as I hoped when they are done. Maybe I am just being picky!!

[ChicagoJohn]

I've had a lot of IPR done on my upper front teeth back when I got my first trays and yeah, for a while there I was in panic mode about thinking that my teeth looked smaller or more narrow after having them shaved down so much. Then I popped in tray number 6 and a couple of days later I noticed a couple of the gaps had closed up and the teeth no longer looked too narrow or small. Whew!! I think that it's an illusion that your teeth just look more narrow with spaces between them. I'm certainly no fan of the "under construction" look that happens in the beginning of the Invisalign process. They don't show that part on the fancy and clean looking commercials and pamphlets.

[ChicagoJohn]

Also, Phantom Muse, I'm glad that the one tooth of yours that you were concerned about a while back has finally come around! And congrats on finishing with the bottom trays! I start my last bottom tray next week and I can't wait!

[Phantom Muse]

Thanks, John!

Congrats on starting the last bottom tray next week! I know there were times when you never thought you'd make it this far, either!!!!! So glad for you that it is getting easier.

It was my first big milestone when I finished the lower arch. I suspect I'll have a couple refinement trays there, but only because there is one tooth that could be in a little bit better place. I just started Tray 10 (of 12) on my upper arch last night, so I really do feel like progress is being made! I have to reserve judgment on refinements for another 4-6 weeks for the upper arch, so we'll see how it all goes...

Niko - My teeth have always looked better while wearing the trays until VERY recently. It's an incentive to keep them on, and things will improve! Patience is a virtue...

[jsully]

omg. I went for a cleaning(just a cleaning) the dentist used some tool i never saw before she told me to rins e& i spit little pieces of teeth out. now my teeth are very noticeably differently shaped. I am like you and very aware of my teeth (the shape) everything. I have been so upset since this happened and I finally came across your blog. Feels better knowing I am not alone. Even though it is extremely disturbing.

[patchouliii]

WTH?? What dentist is this??? Oh no! Do you have pictures of your teeth before?? Please show them to your dentist and have him/her restore your teeth. I'm scared!!! I'm very picky about my teeth too! Good luck!