56 trays for invisalign!!!!!!! why

[sammie88ny]

so i have 56 trays for upper and lower but when i went the ortho told me 18 months but do the math its 2 1/2 years i dont get it can i ask him if i can change them every week, i called the receptionist told me to wait until next month for my appt to ask Any one else experience this or went threw this... I cant picture wearing these for 2 1/2 years thats wayyyyy to long... I never heard anyone having so may trays either... ughhh

[sammie88ny]

i guess no answers, no one delt with the same experience? guess i'll have to wait until feb 17th to find out how long it will actually be

[sammie88ny]

Anyone else have so many trays?

[sessana]

Hi Sammie,
I too have a lot of trays... 47 U and 44 L and am on Day 3! This is my first forum post! I also have concerns why it takes so long but I do have some teeth which require a lot of rotation which I understand needs to be done very slowly. Initially I did consult with another cosmetic dentist who told me my treatment would take 9 months! 22 months and 9 months is very different! However I'm pretty confident with the cosmetic dentist that I have chosen (who is one of the top providers in Australia) and that he has devised a treatment plan that will work, even though I have to be very patient! Good luck with it!

[debaudrn]

I am on tray 5 of 51 upper and lower. Two years for me and I am 52 years old.
I also have many teeth that need rotation. It will be worth it at the end.

[synapse]

I personally don't get the point of such a long treatment.
I have been told by my orthodontist that the expected error in the teeth movement is a quarter of millimiter, per tray. Multiplied 56 times, that's a lot of expected error.
I'm not expert, but wouldn't it be a better idea to go for something like 30/35 trays and then take new impressions and start away again?

[sammie88ny]

Yes it is a long time and I have to wait until my next appointment to find out why and two attachments fell off on two different teeth but they called me back and said to wait until feb 17th, that its not a big deal and they always fall off. On my next appointment I'm going to ask if I can change trays every 10 days and that will cut my time to a year and a half hopefully he says yes, because two years in a half I just can't do seems way to long for that i would've gotten regular braces...

Sessana wow glad i'm not the only one, did you ask if you can change them every ten days or no?

debaudrn see thats so long my ortho said 18 months I guess time goes by but idk I just don't think its right...

[debaudrn]

Well it is a long time. I've waited a long time to do this though!
It's small movements with each tray. Some of the teeth have to move first in order to make room for the other teeth to move later. Does that make sense? As my mom tells me "this too shall pass". I just keep reminding myself that it will be worth it in the end. And that two years is nothing!

[reevsy25]

Well if its any consulation, I'm really suprised how the time has passed for me. I'm almost at the end of a 9 mth process- yes I know a lot shorter than yours, but firstly, I had braces as a child, so I suppose a lot of the work had already been done, secondly when you first get your aligners they do feel weird an unnatural and bulky, but you get used to them! In fact I now find it strange not having them in! I actually forget they're there, and people don't notice, so I suppose that makes me feel comfortable that I don't notice! It does sound like a long time, but just think of those beautiful teeth you'll have at the end, and how everyone will be envious of your smile! It really will be worth it! Time flies when your having fun!

[sammie88ny]

Yes very true, I'm still going to ask if i can do 10 days per tray and just see. A year and a half is better than 2 years and a half. Right now is uncomfy because 3 attachments fell off but my ortho said it can wait until my next visit so thats three weeks and a half away... So I just hope no more fall off....

[ChicagoB]

Earlier in treatment, I asked if I can also do a 10day rotation and they said no. Your teeth are moved during the first days of a new aligner and the last days are spent settling them in. She also mentioned a condition called root absorption which I wanted nothing of. Just follow the treatment plan and you'll be done sooner than you think.

[sessana]

Hi Sammie,
Sorry for my slow response...
I really think that the reason why it's going to take longer is because one needs to be careful when rotating teeth, there are velocity limits. I slowed my clin check down and noticed that there was a phase when only my rotated teeth were moving bit by bit... and the others weren't moving much at all.
Let me know how you go after your next appointment, I am intrigued! I get frustrated when I read advertisements saying that invisalign treatment is generally finished in less than a year! Anyway I'm sure my doctor knows what he is doing. I figure that it would be in his interest to get me out of his office as soon as possible to free up space for new patients... but am glad that he is focused on doing my treatment properly. Incidentally I checked out some new invisalign photos from the other doctor that told me a 9 month treatment time and the photos of results on his website were nothing special!

How are you finding your treatment so far?

[mogriff]

Dont feel too bad...I recently read of someone having 96 trays!!!!! I always tell myself that there's always someone out there in a tougher predicament no matter what the situation is. Hang in there and best wishes!

[karis515]

I have 56 trays also! Well, 52 for the top, 56 for the bottom. And I just had 17 attachments put on today, two on each of my front top two teeth. The trays are really tight now and I think they are really noticeable, but my husband says they are nowhere near as obvious as I think they are. I just started set #2 today. Good luck with your treatment!

[Tina]

I just started today. I have 45 upper trays and only 16 lower. I knew going in my lower teeth weren't that bad. Most of my crowding is on the top, but I wasn't expecting 45 upper. That is almost 2 years! But I know it will be worth it in the end. I currently have 6 attachments on top and 3 on bottom.

[karis515]

One week into my attachments and the trays are a lot easier to get out. We'll see how the next set goes. I am wondering if it will be hard for the first few days of a new set. Anyone else have that experience?

[sammie88ny]

Okay so sorry I'm so late getting back to everyone, glad to see I'm not the only one with so many trays and guess what !!!! I went on friday Feb 17th like i said when i posted and my ortho said switching every 10 days I can do it he also said my teeth are moving very fast and thats why i'm able to do every 10 days, omg im excited that means i'll be done in a year and 6 months , he also replaced my attachments three fell off, now none have fell off so far

Last but not least he doesn't think I will wear all 56 he said I have to wait until the half way point which is tray 23 then he will do another impression and send it off to see how many more trays I will need, I can't wait!!

So I'm currently on tray #4 and will be switching every 10 days He said he had one guy switch every 7 days but it was difficult and he is an actor, but I would be way to scared to do that I'm happy with the 10 days.

@ sessana it's okay at least we are doing something about our teeth
@ mogriff i know i read that same post 96 is crazy!!! but your completely right
@ tina 45 isn't so bad but 16 for the lower thats a big difference guess your bottom are really in good shape i have bad over crowding, overjet and overbite
@ karis515 o yes i agree now that i know how to take off the alignments without losing my attachments its much better

[LindaBinda]

WOW ... That seems like a lotta trays!

I'm glad they stepped-up your time between trays! I had 14 attachments added with my last tray (#3), and I'm having a hard time right now (sores in mouth, trays rubbing against my gums and making them bleed which gets caught in my trays and looks pink ...).

I only have 22 trays, so I'm feeling lucky about that however my dentist warned that he will very likely want to do refinements. I guess I'll have to be patient and let it play-out.

I have a cleaning in a few weeks and I hope I can get some answers at that point.

[sammie88ny]

22 that's great and yes the attachments are first are "terrible" but within a week you will feel alot better about them, I have 12 attachments and yes thank god they agreed to me switching every 10 days I'm on tray #5 and have a long way to go but my ortho said I shouldn't need refinements because he is doing precise movements and very litle movement each tray which is why I have 56.

[Craig949]

Thank you all for this post.....I am scheduled to start Invisalign on April 2nd. I was just informed that I would have 43 trays!!!. . This after an initial consultation where I was told my treatment would be "about 10 months". Which, for the dentist to keep that promise, I'd be changing every seven days. That's probably not going to happen.

I am going to ask for the 10 day compromise. Even the invisalign website states the average treatment time is 12 months.. Should I get a second opinion?

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

Thank you all for this post.....I am scheduled to start Invisalign on April 2nd. I was just informed that I would have 43 trays!!!. . This after an initial consultation where I was told my treatment would be "about 10 months". Which, for the dentist to keep that promise, I'd be changing every seven days. That's probably not going to happen. I felt like I had been baited and switched.

I am going to ask for the 10 day compromise. Even the invisalign website states the average treatment time is 12 months.. I still feel somewhat mislead. I question how much of this is at the dentist's discression. Are the more careful ones more likely to extend treatment?? Or should I say . . the overly cautious ones? Should I get a second opinion?

Experienced Invisalign doctors can give you a relatively accurate timeline for how long your treatment will take before the ClinCheck is developed because they have already mentally planned how your treatment will work. The majority of dentists make a complete guess at the amount of time treatment will take, and then rely on receiving the ClinCheck from Align to determine the duration of treatment.

The average Invisalign treatment is 12 months because most doctors do not treat much more than mild alignment issues with Invisalign. If there are more problems that need to be corrected, just like with fixed braces, the amount of time will be greater. In fact, there are only a few situations where Invisalign will be faster than braces, in most cases the same, and other cases slower than fixed. I will tell you that I have many patients who have aligners well into the 40s, but this was planned from the outset, and many expect that there may be refinement as well.

[Craig949]

So from your post I'm gathering that 43 may simply have been an estimate, and that number may go up or down during the process ?? So I guess it will be impossible to plan the treatment completion party until just before I'm done? What is your opinion on the 10 day graduation? Do you let many of your patients do this? Thanks for your response.

[Dax]

Hi,

I was told that I had to wear 27 trays both upper and lower teeth. However after we went through half of the treatment the orthodontist took new impressions and we got new trays. The teeth already look very good and I have got used to wearing the trays. It feels almost odd when I am not wearing them. Good luck!

[sammie88ny]

@ sessana so far so good im on tray #10 I don't see so much difference at all yet, i am Changing them every 10 days and my teeth are moving it never feels tight or uncomfy, so I can't wait till August I'll ne half way by then.... Long road ahead but its ok, I'm very used to the retainers already and wear them at least 22hours a day.