.: Invisalign & Elastics :.

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#1 Post by **Nanny** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 10:07 am

Hi,

today I am on tray 4 and I got my elastics.

I was sitting there 10 minutes until I was able to put the elastics in. It is really horrible put them in, but I think after a few day it should go on better.

The worse thing is, the I am in panic, that everyone is able to see the elastics. You can not see them when you are talking, but you should not open your mouth wide and you should not laugh so much.

At this moment I donÂ´t know how this will go on on Monday in the office. I have some crazy colleagues who like to talk about such things â€¦

I have also problems with a very dry mouth now, hope this will be better in a few days.

I will take pictures the next days, please be patient

#2 Post by **diehard** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:20 am

good at last I get to see some elastics in action iv asked my ortho about them because my molars have tipped but as usual seems to want to wait until im finished before discussing options, I do not understand why you need elastics so early in treatment though mabe you can explain

#3 Post by **Nanny** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 11:34 am

With the first 8 trays my rear molars (l/r) will move back. Then the next one will follow. My ortho told me that if I would have no elastics I will get an overbite / gap. The elastics will fix that and I have to wear them the whole treatment to get a great result. The best result I will get wearing them 22hoursâ€¦.

For me it is hard to belive it, too â€¦.that I have to wear these elastics and that this will really work. But I will wear them because I want to have a great result!

#4 Post by **jennielee81** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 1:03 pm

I am VERY curious as to how the heck you attach elastics to invisalign?

I had lots of elastic configs with my regular braces, I can't even imagine how to do it with invisalign.

Please tell me how this works?! THANKS!!

#5 Post by **Nanny** » Thu Apr 05, 2007 10:59 pm

Hi,

this is a picture of a website with Invisalign and the elastics.

The otho cuts the aligner with a scissors (?), after that you can fix the elastics in it. To put them in is really difficult

#6 Post by **diehard** » Fri Apr 06, 2007 12:04 pm

iv seen the picture before id still like to see a real case and I do not fully understand elastics what tooth is being moved in the picture the top 1 or the bottom 1 and can elastics untip molars???

#7 Post by **jennielee81** » Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:58 am

I am making the assumption here that elastics with invisalign are achieving the same thing as elastics with regular braces.

In that case, it's not a tooth that is being moved, but rather the entire arch.

In this case, it would be to correct an overbite. The elastic is hooked to the upper aligner (tray) and then again to the lower which then pulls the entire upper arch back.

I wonder if it causes the aligner to pop out when yawning or laughing (ie opening the mouth wide)

Thanks for the fantastic picture!

#8 Post by **diehard** » Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:41 am

iv not mentioned it to my ortho but if invisalign can`t do anything with my molars that have tipped mabe a brace system with elastics which does not have to go all the way around or crowns put on top of tipped molars to create good bite either way its gonna cost me extra thousands Â£Â£Â£Â£Â£

#9 Post by **torontoscuba** » Mon May 07, 2007 2:53 pm

I know this reply is a bit late, but I thought I would add my 2 cents worth since I have been wearing elastics with my Invisalign for quite a while now.

I am on trays 15 of 20/22 and have had to wear an elastic from the top back left to the bottom front left since trays 10. My ortho told me that since I had a near-front tooth extracted it was to keep symmetry in place so that my bottom teeth wouldn't shift too far around while the gap was being closed on the bottom front.

As of my last appointment I am also now wearing a crossover elastic at night only, from the top left to the bottom right. This is because I had a cross-bite due to overcrowding (which lead to the extraction) and it is supposed to help pull that stubborn bottom tooth on the right side back under my top ones to fix the cross-bite. I have only been wearing that elastic at night for 6 nights and it has made a noticeable improvement. I am finally crossing over to the dark side as of May the 4th!! ('May the 4th be with you')

It was quite difficult to get the elastics to stay on at the beginning, you have to be very careful not to cut too deeply into the plastic or it becomes too flimsy to support the force of the elastic. I didn't really perfect my technique until trays 13. Lots of trial and error. Now I can put the elastics on without even using a mirror. Very frustrating at first.

BTW, you cut the small slits using (clean) toenail clippers - it works well and creates a bit of a curve which you can use to your advantage if you curve the right direction, the elastic holds better.

Sorry diehard, I don't know if elastics can correct your tipped molars.

#10 Post by **diehard** » Tue May 08, 2007 1:01 pm

I have a feeling that the tipped molars are gonna have a crown put on top of them to give me a good bite it prob cost Â£2000 but be instant whereas metal braces may take 6 months or more and cost the same

#11 Post by **diehard** » Tue May 08, 2007 1:37 pm

Here goes ill try an explain best I can firstly its important to know I had 4 extractions to make some room, which I belive was the root of the problem (no pun intended), because the 1st movements in the trays were to move the molars towards the front of the mouth and in doing so I soon noticed that when the trays were in, the teeth did not fully fit them because they had started to submerge into my gums like a submarine, the teeth which have tipped are the 2 teeth next to the wisdom teeth which makes 8 in total some are worse than others but still tipped all the same. I think ill end up with a good looking set of front teeth which is ironic since when I 1st started my bite was good but my front look was sesame its like iv done a deal with the devil. Iv no problem at the moment with my bite because my trays meet for a good bite but it would bug me if I was not wearing them 22 hours a day, after im done with invisalign I just want a quick solution I know its not gonna be cheap no matter what happens though.

#12 Post by **diehard** » Tue May 08, 2007 2:18 pm

im afraid u are being a bit too technical for me im no newbie but your a lot more experienced in the whole ortho field