Rotate Canines, Will Invisalign Work?

Although canine teeth have long roots and are difficult to move, I have seen dramatic movements of canine teeth that I would not have believed possible.  This was done purely with invisalign treatment.  It may be necessary to use some additional help from wires but stick with the treatment, be patient, you might be amazed at the results.

Hi Shona,

First be positive and committed to wearing aligners 22+ hours a day.  We have treated worse cases that your situation with great outcome.  Attachments will certainly help especially if they are of proper design and thickness.  You will get used to them.  What’s most important is that your attachments always fall into proper space as you change into next aligner. If you do not have a good fit, you need to wait and see your invisalign provider.  If you do not get a good fit, they need to remove and replace that attachment in any future aligner.  We use some of our own techniques such as lingual attachments as well as use of tiny elastics from tooth to tooth held by one attachment to another to help with rotation.  I will be more than happy to explain this technique to your invisalign provider should the need arise as its not taught by Align.  I am sure your provider is very experienced but as the top provider treating some of the most difficult cases in US approaching our 2000 case mark, we will be more than happy to help you or your invisalign doctor.  Good luck.

You've started your Invisalign treatment so now is the time to be optimistic and dedicate yourself to wearing the aligners at least 22 hours per day.  Having done braces for 23 years, and Invisalign for 11 years, I feel confident in saying that rotating canines is one of the things Invislign is not as good at doing as braces.  This means that results are a bit unpredictable, even with the new attachments Invisalign has introduced.  One thing for sure; if you want the best results follow the instructions of your doctor.  Feel free to ask  your doctor about doing a refinement or mid-course correction to get the best possible result.

Rotations are definitely one of the toughest movements to accomplish in the mouth.  Periodontal fibers that attach to the root surface tend to pull and prevent braces or Invisalign from accomplishing the goal of alignment when it concerns rotated teeth.  That's not to say that this cannot be accomplished.   It does take a bit more work, such as the use of attachments for added torque and with patience the teeth will rotate and align.  Invisalign in particular has done numerous studies using various shapes and positions for these tooth colored attachments to achieve optimum results.  Seven years ago Invisalign would have a very tough time with this type of movement.  Now with all of the research done, Invisalign can accomplish this and other difficult movements as well.  So yes you should be able to achieve your predicted outcome.

Stay calm Shona!!  While Invisalign is not for every case, the company is constantly improving their product.  One of the issues that they have worked on is the ability to rotate teeth effectively.  Those attachments that you speak of will provide the leverage that is needed to accomplish this. If the posts you are reading are older, Invisalign, at that time, may not have been able to handle a rotation movement. Keep in mind that you may still need to use traditional braces (or buttons and elastics along with the trays) for a short time to rotate those canines if the Invisalign itself cannot accomplish what you are looking to do.  Be patient and compliant; you and your dentist need to work as a team to get the results you deserve.

Best of Luck.

While Invisalign has a more difficult time rotating teeth, it CAN be done.  With the new attachment designs and better software, these are becoming more easy to do.  It may take longer to complete treatment, but it CAN work. A general rule of thumb is less than 45 degrees rotation is predictable, more than that is when we start to think twice.

Sometimes cases require using a wire for a short period of time and then complete treatment with Invisalign.

You might be just fine.