Needing fillings during Invisalign treatment

[alicemiddleton]

Hello. At first my orthodontist saw no reason why I could not press on with the Invisalign treatment immediately so we arranged to have my impressions taken and I am currently wearing my first trays. When I went to have these fitted he suggested I have a general dentistry checkup to check the condition of particular teeth where the attachments for the braces will eventually go; the poor condition of two of these particular teeth along with a few other decay issues means that I have been advised to have some fillings done before I have the attachments put on to my teeth and the second set of braces fitted.

Since the impressions for my teeth have already been taken and Invisalign have sent my orthodontist most (if not all) of the trays I will needing for my 40-week treatment, can I assume that having multiple fillings done will cause these trays to no longer fit on to my teeth? I was wondering if anybody knew the likely outcome of this, as it seems my orthodontist is very eager I get this dental work done. Will I have to have new impressions taken and new trays made for my treatment and do you suspect these new trays will be an additional cost?

Thanks in advance.

[Rosieee]

I had dental work done (not fillings) but my dentist made sure that the work done did not affect the fit of my trays.

Rosie

[telleki]

I read post awhile back from someone who'd had a filling done during their invisalign treatment, and the poster said that they took a previous tray to the dentist with them to help him get the shape right.

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

Generally, all restorative work should be completed prior to any orthodontic or Invisalign treatment. Certainly there are times when cavities can develop during aligner therapy, but that is usually due to poor hygiene practices.

It is very difficult for restorations to be matched precisely to any aligner. If the filling is too large, it may compromise the fit, and create undesired movements as the filling may be contacting the tray prematurely. If the tooth is underfilled and the aligner is not in contact with the required tooth surface, it may prevent proper movement from occuring. That being said, carefully placed restorations generally will not interfere with you continuing Invisalign treatment.

Definitely bring your aligners with you and make sure the dentist checks their fit before leaving the office. Keep in mind that you can always go ahead with mid-course correction, but Align Technology specifies that a lab fee will apply if new impressions are required due to lack of patient compliance or dental work that has been required.

Good luck!