Essix retainer not as sturdy as I thought!

[havingitdoneintheuk]

Well I was just about to whip my retainer out and someone walked into the office so I did it very quickly and managed to crack it, dammit.

Will have to wear final aligner again for a week or two now whilst waiting for appointment and new one to be made

[Sunny]

Damn ... that's so frustrating!

[kezzakattami]

Ditto Havingitdone!!

I have had a few minor cracks in mine since i began with it in October, but werent big enough to hamper my alignment! I noticed a longer one down the front of the upper tray, two days ago and managed to get in at my ortho's yesterday for new moulds.

Was pleased that he said it was still under warranty (not sure how long for) and that he would get them to make it slightly thicker next time. Looking at my mouth though, he was confident its not affecting my alignment whilst I wait...good job!

Hope you get yours all sorted

[havingitdoneintheuk]

D'oh, glad you are getting yours under warranty, I shall ask about that tomorrow!

I've kept wearing it and the crack hasn't got any worse but I don't want to be worrying that it might totally snap at some point!

Mine is down the front too!

Wonder if our orthos get the retainers from the same place seeing as we are both west mids...

[kezzakattami]

Humm, yes thats a thought... I do have to wait two weeks before I go back to collect so that may explain.

Am pleased that theyre making them a bit thicker but as I wear mine a few hours in the mornings at work, I dont want them any more noticable than they already are!! Ah well, we cant have everything our own way it seems, eh?!!!

[LizzyM]

I had an Ezzix retainer made for me back in August last year to hold my bottom teeth whilst I waited for my uppers to finish. I cracked it in about 2 weeks. It wasnt that I was rough with it when I was taking it out and putting it back in, I was just grinding though it.
While I was waiting for my refinements to come through in May, I was made another retainer, that one lasted about 2 weeks as well.
I am afraid that when I am in retainers full time that I am going to eat through them all the time

[havingitdoneintheuk]

Crikey lizzy you must be one hell of a grinder! Be interesting to see if kezza's thicker ones help, you might be able to request the same when you get to retainer stage...

[myhollywoodsmile]

Wow, two weeks. My sister in law has been wearing the same retainer for 15 years. Seriously. I'm not sure exactly what type it is, it looks like thicker plastic than Invisalign. I'm sure it must be very unhygienic and even warped by now, but she says she is happy with it!

[havingitdoneintheuk]

15 years sounds good, I want one of those!

the good news is I don't have to pay for a new retainer.

Kezza my ortho said she has seen it before, its something to do with the heat when they make it and the fact that at the edge it is much thinner than the bits covering the teeth so like you I will be having a thicker one!

They have sent the broken one back so I am back in the final invisalign tray - it feels so flimsy and it is weird having the bumps for the attachments again!

[kezzakattami]

Ahh thanks for the update Havingitdone!! That would make sense as that's where the crack started on mine too. I wear mine for 3 hours in the day at work, as well as night time...need to get out of that habit if Im going to be wearing a big thick retainer now lol ah well!

[havingitdoneintheuk]

Next time you speak to yours kezza,find out what lab they use and I'll ask mine, be interesting if its the same one!

Wow you are doing well on getting the wear time down Mine is off anything between 8 and 10 hours - teeth seem to be settling a bit now, not moving so much out of line...

[LizzyM]

I could swear that I don't grind my teeth ha ha. I know that I crunch down though from having something strange in my mouth. When I was on my first tray, I gave myself an almighty headache from the crunching.

Hopefully there are stronger ones for munchers like me.

[havingitdoneintheuk]

Haha hope there are stronger ones for you Lizzy!

I've got the new retainer, feels exactly the same as the last one - sturdy and robust. I wore the last invisalign tray for a week whilst waiting and noticed how much easier it was to remove - I think it's because the essix trays go much higher up the gums and fit more snugly. Hope I can keep this one safe....

[Lucy1986]

Does anyone know if you can reorder your final invisalign trays and use them as a retainer? I reallly don't fancy a big thick retainer after the invisalign trays!!

[kezzakattami]

Although theyre thicker, I find the Essix's less noticable than the Invisalign trays because theyre so smooth and dont have attachments (famous last words before my 'thicker, more sturdier' ones arrive, ha ha!!)

[havingitdoneintheuk]

I agree with Kezza, they are much less noticeable than invisalign as they go up higher so you can smile wider!

[Phantom Muse]

Lucy - I did ask my ortho today about having Invisalign make an extra final set of trays to use as a retainer. In fact, my ortho prefers to use the final trays as retainers for about 6 months, but then wants me to move to the retainer made by Invisalign (Vivera, possibly?). He said it is thicker so it is less "stretchy" and more durable for long term wear. By that point, I should be wearing the retainers only at night, so hopefully it won't be too much of an adjustment (although from the sound of it, UK and Kezza seem to like the thicker plastic just fine...)

[Lucy1986]

ooh thanks Phantom Muse. The trays do seem to hold up quite well. I waited around 4-5 months for refinements and had been wearing my final trays and they look and feel totally fine.