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Is There Long Term Damage Done when Skipping 5 Invisalign Trays?

I'm a 27 year old woman who has never had braces in the past. I'm currently doing the Invisalign treatment. I've completed trays 1-6 wearing each tray for 2 weeks. When I went to get set 7 from my dentist, he accidentally gave me set 12 which I've now been wearing for 4 weeks without knowing it was the wrong set. I've obviously been in a lot of pain for the past 4 weeks and they still don't fit flush down onto my teeth. What damage has most likely been done with this unnecessary rapid movement?

Doctor Answers 3

Try not to skip trays..

January 11th, 2013
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Hello!

That is unfortunate your dentist gave you the wrong aligners... but, this should not cause long term damage. The best thing to do is stay on set #6 until you can get back to your dentist to get the correct aligner. By skipping so many aligners, it will cause your aligners that you switched to to not fully track or "seat" no matter how long you wear them, and then you will have to be either rescanned or have new impressions taken over for new aligners. 

Jacqueline Fulop-Goodling, DMD


New York Orthodontist
3.8 out of 5 stars 15 reviews

January 11th, 2013

Try not to skip trays..

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

Hello!

That is unfortunate your dentist gave you the wrong aligners... but, this should not cause long term damage. The best thing to do is stay on set #6 until you can get back to your dentist to get the correct aligner. By skipping so many aligners, it will cause your aligners that you switched to to not fully track or "seat" no matter how long you wear them, and then you will have to be either rescanned or have new impressions taken over for new aligners. 


New York Orthodontist

Should be ok

January 10th, 2013
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Most likely you have done no damage.  Worst case scenario, your case no longer tracks and your dentists has to "reboot" it.  I would suspect that you just go to aligner 7 and it will be fine.

Bradley Matthew, DDS

Bradley Matthew, DDS
Los Angeles Dentist

January 10th, 2013

Should be ok

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Most likely you have done no damage.  Worst case scenario, your case no longer tracks and your dentists has to "reboot" it.  I would suspect that you just go to aligner 7 and it will be fine.

Bradley Matthew, DDS
Los Angeles Dentist

No damage

January 10th, 2013
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Very likely no damage has been done that can't be reversed.  I would simply find tray number 7 and continue as planned.  The teeth MAY not have moved enough to be a problem.

Web reference: http://www.DrTimmerman.com

Lance Timmerman, DMD, MAGD
January 10th, 2013

No damage

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}

Very likely no damage has been done that can't be reversed.  I would simply find tray number 7 and continue as planned.  The teeth MAY not have moved enough to be a problem.

Learn more: http://www.DrTimmerman.com

Lance Timmerman, DMD, MAGD

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.