Dr. Allyson Hurley's Blog

I’m wearing Invisalign aligners. After just a few days they are really loose and i find it completely distracting. I’ve asked my dentist if I could just move to the next set, but he wants me to wear these loose aligners for two weeks. Is there an invisible adhesive I could use to keep them in more snugly while I wait for my 2 weeks to end?

Thanks,

Jennifer R. -Maumelle, AR

Jennifer,

What you’re describing doesn’t sound normal with Invisalign. The aligners should feel tight when you first put them on. As a matter of fact, they may not quite fit down all the way. Then, the teeth only take 2-4 days to move to their new position, and the rest of the two weeks is needed to give the teeth a rest period before the next movement. During this rest period, your body is busy remodeling the bone that supports your teeth. During this period, they should feel looser than at first, but not as loose as you’re describing. Though you could possibly use a denture adhesive, the first thing I would do is talk to your dentist and have him call the invisalign company. They may have encountered this before and have a fix for it.

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Dr. Hurley,

I’ve been searching for a good dentist to straighten my crooked tooth. My tooth next to my right front tooth is crooked and pushed back. I know there are a couple options, braces or possibly Invisalign, but I’m not sure which I would be a good candidate for. Are there any other options? Should I just have the tooth pulled?

Leslie from Sedona, AZ

Leslie,

Most of the time Invisalign will work for adults who have crooked teeth, but another option is to have porcelain veneers placed on your teeth. If you want to straighten your tooth right away, then porcelain veneers is the best and quickest approach.

Some dentists my offer extracting that tooth as an option, but I don’t advise you to do this. This will cause you to have an uneven number of front teeth, which will not improve your smile. Your front teeth include a combination of different shapes, and you have some options to making them look straight. But one thing you want to make sure of is that your smile remains symmetrical by keeping all six teeth.

Learn more about the methods for straightening teeth, and see patient photos of these procedures on my website.