What Happens if You Lose an Invisalign Aligner Tray?

St. Paul, MN – A significant aspect of Invisalign is that you are required to discard the aligner trays every couple of weeks. Doing so allows you to keep your Invisalign progressing and looking as clear as possible throughout treatment. If you happen to stain a tray, you simply throw it away and use another one. Problem solved.

What happens, then, when you accidentally lose one of your Invisalign aligner trays?

The first thing you shouldn’t do, according to your Minneapolis/St. Paul Invisalign orthodontist, is panic.

Here are the steps your ORTHODONTIST suggests you follow when you’ve lost your Invisalign tray, and still want to continue your Invisalign treatment uninterrupted.

Don’t Advance Early

You might be tempted to keep your lost aligner tray a secret and just advance to the next phase of treatment. However, your aligner trays are specifically designed to advance your teeth in minuscule movements over time. Advancing when your teeth haven’t moved properly into position can alter treatment from the original plan your ORTHODONTIST prescribed for you.

Your ORTHODONTIST recommends that you try the next set of aligners to see if they fit, but only if you were almost at the end of the previous treatment phase.

However, if the aligner tray doesn’t fit properly, don’t force it, as that might be a sign that your lost aligner wasn’t quite finished doing its job.

Schedule an Appointment with Your Invisalign Orthodontist

Your doctor has patients come to her all the time with lost trays. “Lost Invisalign aligners are a common problem,” your ORTHODONTIST insists. She adds that most patients are unaware that the cost of treatment includes two built-in replacement trays.

That means that they are unlikely to be responsible for any extra charges or fees. Your ORTHODONTIST can make you a replacement tray for the one you’ve lost, and your Invisalign treatment will continue as intended.

Will Treatment Take Longer?

Your doctor also hears this question when patients lose their Invisalign trays. Mostly, they fear that months will be added onto their treatment for losing one of their trays.
She stresses that treatment can be set back a couple of weeks when trays are lost, as the replacement will need to be ordered from Invisalign, but that can only be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Act Right Away

The important thing is not to stress out about losing one of your Invisalign aligners. They can be easily replaced, most of the time at no charge to you, and while treatment may be set back a week or two, that’s nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The longer you wait to report the loss to your Invisalign orthodontist, the longer your treatment will be extended.

Be Proactive

The best way to avoid losing your aligner trays, and the potential stress that might go along with doing so, is to protect your Invisalign trays at all costs. Be mindful of where you place them when you take them out to eat and make sure you’re wearing them at least 20-22 hours per day so that you can achieve your new smile in the allotted time frame treatment allows.

As an added note, youd doctor says that anytime you have concerns about your Invisalign treatment, whether it’s a lost, damaged, or stained tray, she wants you to know that she’s always there to help, no matter what.

Do you have more questions about Invisalign treatment? Contact an ORTHODONTIST in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN today to schedule an appointment.

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