8 bottom trays, 17 upper, wear the last bottom tray for 16 weeks?

[satire]

So I'm on tray 8 of 8 bottom trays and 17 upper trays. Everything is looking great and its amazing how much my teeth have moved in such a short period of time. Today I was told that I would be wearing this last bottom tray UNTIL I'M FINISHED. Ugh. I am grossed out at the thought of wearing the same exact try for the next 16 weeks. Is this normal? Is there a way around it? Has anyone else had to do this?

[nyliguy]

So I'm on tray 8 of 8 bottom trays and 17 upper trays. Everything is looking great and its amazing how much my teeth have moved in such a short period of time. Today I was told that I would be wearing this last bottom tray UNTIL I'M FINISHED. Ugh. I am grossed out at the thought of wearing the same exact try for the next 16 weeks. Is this normal? Is there a way around it? Has anyone else had to do this?

No experience with that, just wanted to comment and say I think its' BS if invisalgn does this to people with not a perfect #/# of upper/lower aligners. I can see having to wear tops and bottoms at same time for correcting the bite or something......but You'd think they would just give you the same shape bottom aligner so you can atleast get a new one every two weeks.

I'm only on a bit over the first week of my first tray, and already looking forward to never having to wear this one again. They get kind of funky and smelly.

Hope there's a solution for you othr than having to wear the same one that long. best of luck

[satire]

You'd think they would just give you the same shape bottom aligner so you can atleast get a new one every two weeks.

Exactly. I'm allergic to nickel so I don't really have the option of trying to get a retainer. So far my plan is to go in after a month and claim I've lost the bottom tray. And I guess to do that once per month depending on how much it costs me. But how sorry of Invisalign to do this to me. I'm just wondering if its my doctor's fault...she he have ordered me the same tray over and over?

My bottom teeth were already perfect...they only had trays to push them back to make room for my top teeth so its understandable why they are done, but still.

[little miss sunshine]

Hi I have the same problem with 7 trays different. :( Really the only thing that has disappointed me with invisalign. I have 28 lower and 35 upper. Should really give you a new retainer tray each time the same shape.

Currently on to
26/35
26/28

So close to that annoying time, keeping that bottom tray nice and fresh, especially because I am going on holiday during that time.

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

Invisalign has no responsibility to provide the exact same number of trays for the top and bottom. It is your doctor who ordered your aligners and designed your treatment to create this mismatch. Remember, it is the doctor who is responsible for your treatment plan, not Align.

There are ways to make sure the number of trays match up including modifying the velocity of tooth movement and use of passive trays.

That being said, as you move into retainers, you'll be having your retainer for much longer than the time you don't have a fresh aligner for the other arch, so there shouldn't be any issues about keeping it clean.

[satire]

Thank you, Dr. Tam.

Is it too late, you think, for my doctor to get the passive trays?

[bludvl01]

You have 8 trays for your bottom teeth because they are in better shapen than your top teeth. Your plan to my plan is to go in after a month and claim I've lost the bottom tray would work one time only. No dentist would keep re-ordering you that one tray number.

Use Retainer Brite to keep your aligners clean

[MCOMarkhamOrthodontist]

Once the treatment plan has been accepted, it cannot be modified. Also, depending on your contract with your doctor, there may be a cost for each additional replacement aligner.

As outlined above, you should be able to keep the aligner clean during this time period. Take it as a practice run for keeping your retainers clean. They will have to last you much longer than the last aligner.

[bluegray]

Though my bottom teeth needed far less correction than my upper teeth, my orthodontist timed my treatment so that I would have the same number of trays for both top and bottom to avoid wearing a single bottom tray for an extended length of time. Maybe you can discuss this with your orthodontist if you need refinements so that they can be timed together if there is a significant difference. I'd think that if you maintain a good cleaning routine with your aligners, then it should be ok for those weeks. Like Dr. Tam said, you wear the same retainer aligners for a much longer length of time, so I'd imagine you'd have to be pretty dilligent about keeping those clean as well. Good luck!

[Vicky88]

I probably wore my last Invislign bottom tray for 18 weeks. It was not gross as you might think it will be. That said, I cleaned my aligners 3 times a day.

[Bekster45]

I wore my trays for 7 weeks while waiting for refinements and had no issues (although 18 weeks + any additional time if you have refinements seems alot for a tray set during treatment). Re: "losing" your tray and getting it replaced - I'm not sure this will work for a couple of reasons. 1) Unless you are on the "teen" plan, I think there's an additional cost for lost trays 2) you have a waiting period of at least a couple of weeks to get a new tray (could be even longer). Not having a tray for that long will increase the chance that your teeth move back to where they started and then you've just extended your treatment with refinements. It is your provider who created this plan for you so you really should talk to her about it as if there is a refinement stage she knows you'd like to get the same number of trays during that stage.

I really thought I would have issues both with cleanliness and with them being loose over the 7 weeks. However, even after my attachments were removed, they didn't feel overly loose. Cleanliness - I followed some of Dr. Tam's advice re: using an ultrasonic cleaner and it really seems to be helping! Once a day, I use the ultrasonic cleaner with a solution of water, hydrogen peroxide and a couple of drops of Palmolive Pure & Clean soap. This has helped keep my trays cleaner. During the day, I just brush them with my toothbrush after brushing (after rinsing some of the toothpaste off). I use one of the gel or foaming toothpastes which seem to be less abrasive and haven't had any issue with scratching, etc. on the trays.
Good luck!

[Greenman]

My orthodontist also slowed the movement of the upper trays, so that I had the same amount of upper and lower trays. It can be done. Again, it's up to your orthodontist/dentist. It is their treatment plan.

[amster125]

I will be in a similar situation with my lower arch finishing many months before my upper arch. Somewhere I read about people beginning the refinement stage on the lower arch while the other finishes -- anyone else know anything about this? Or if you're happy with the lower arch to be finished, could you get the retainer for it early?

[CarrieMpls]

I've been on the same bottom tray since the end of May. I won't be done with my uppers till December.
When I first found out it was going to work like this I was pretty upset.

However, I've been able to keep my lowers quite clean without much effort at all. I brush them (just like the upper tray) every time I take them out to eat and I throw them in a cup w/generic denture cleaner while I enjoy dinner if they start to look a little grimy, which is usually about once or twice a week. And they’re just fine.

I was really upset, I admit, and it's turned out to be no big deal at all.

[Emeraldeyes21]

I'll be in the same boat as a few of you guys.
I have 16 lowers and 23 uppers, so i'll be wearing my final bottom aligner for an extra 3 months until my top teeth are completed. I have to say, I am dreading this as I wore one of my aligners for 3 weeks before (as i was on holiday), and they were pretty gross at the end of 3 weeks even though I am very conscious with my cleaning.
I'll cross that bridge when I come to it though.