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Question:
Invisalign Retainers seem to stretch: I completed Invisalign treatment last year and have worn the final retainers all night, every night (and at least three hours every day) for the entire year.
A few weeks ago I started noticing a gap re-appearing in my front teeth. I ordered new retainers and when I put them on the other day they were VERY tight (almost couldn't get them on). My teeth have since been VERY sore.
I'm glad I did it, though, because it tells me that my old retainer had stretched out.
Should I expect to get new Invisalign retainers about once a year? Do I have an alternative? I'm frankly surprised they stretched so much. Is Invisalign aware of this? ...Visitor from OH
Answer:
I provide Invisalign treatment for my patients. The longevity of the retainer is determined by several factors including: bruxism (grinding), jaw classification, amount of orthodontic correction and other factors.
Perhaps a Hawley appliance would give you a greater service life. This is the "traditional" type of retainer. However, if you are a bruxer, the biting surface of the teeth will not be protected.
In the vast majority of adult orthodontic treatment, and a significant percentage of child orthodontic treatment, equilibration is required to stabilize the bite. Before the treatment the teeth had a distinct wear pattern.
Just because the teeth are in the proper position doesn't mean that the occlusal (biting) surfaces are interdigitating (touching) properly. This in itself can cause bruxing which would result in the final aligner (retainer) being prematurely worn.
Occlusal equilibration is a very technically demanding procedure. The initial equilibration (trial) should always be done on models mounted on an instrument called an articulator. This instrument replicates the movement of the lower jaw.
The trial equilibration is where the amount of reduction or addition of tooth structure is evaluted. After it has been determined that the desired result can be obtained, the procedure is duplicated in the mouth. It is an irreversible procedure.
Failure to perform the trial equilibration may result in mutilization of the dentition (teeth). When
equilibration is successfully completed the vast majority of patients have little or no bruxing.
Editorial Staff
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