Dr. Noah's Dentistry Blog

Questions About Dentistry Answered

I’ve Ruined My Invisalign Aligners

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Can you help me? I’m so embarrassed. I left my aligners in the car when I went on a date. I was worried my date would notice. Now that I think about it, that was pretty stupid. No one has ever noticed I wear them. It’s just that I hadn’t been on a date in a long time and I was pretty nervous. Long story short. The heat warped my aligners. Can I use a hairdryer to try to get them back in the right shape?

Karen B. – Michigan

Karen,

I hope your date went well.  Dating can be nerve-wracking sometimes, so don’t feel too bad. Besides, you are not the first patient to do something similar. Unfortunately, the hair dryer isn’t a good plan. They’re carefully designed by computer. The chances of you getting them back to the exact correct position to continue your treatment are astronomical.

Generally, you switch Invisalign aligners every two weeks. If you’re early in those two weeks, I’d just tell your dentist what happened and then have him make you a replacement pair. If you’re later in that two week period then I’d speak to him or her about moving you onto the next pair.

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Can I use old invisalign aligners for teeth whitening trays?

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I was cleaning out my dresser and found an old pair of invisalign aligners. Can I use those as whitneing trays and just order the whitening gel? It would save me a ton of money?

Jillian K. – Ohio

Jillian,

Well, do you know which pair of aligners this is? If it’s anything but the last pair, you could shift your teeth and do your bite serious harm. Plus, they’re old, but how old? There’s a lot of information I don’t have here.

While some people whiten their teeth with invisalign aligners, that is always done during their Invisalign treatment, not consecutively.

If I were in your position, I would just talk to my dentist about it.  Let him look at the aligners and make sure they’re the right pair AND in suitable condition. It’s possible, but I wouldn’t do it without checking it with your dentist first.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Ryan Noah.

Can I Switch Invisalign Dentists?

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I’m not too crazy about the dentist who’s doing my invisalign. I’m happy with the product, but can’t stand the dentist. He’s always talking politics and of course he hates my candidate, so I spend the whole appointment hearing him tell me everything that’s wrong with him. I can’t go back every two weeks until the election. I just can’t. Is it too late to switch?

Vivian K. – Massachusetts

Vivian,

Politics should be left out of the operatory unless the patient brings it up. Sorry, there’s not thing more unbearable that won’t stop talking about politics.

You can switch at any point in any dental treatment and your dentist is ethically bound to share all the treatment information with the new dentist.

I’m glad you’re happy with the Invisalign treatment itself. It has a very high patient satisfaction rate.

There are lots of good dentists that are certified to place them. Most of them politics free….

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Can’t get a date. Is it my teeth?

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Everyone says I am beautiful. I can see where my face is pretty, but I have a huge gap in my front teeth. Could that be why I can’t get a date? If so, what can I do about it at 37? I’m not wearing braces.

Jenna S. – Maine

Jenna,

I would be ridiculously unfair of me to say your teeth are the reason you can’t get a date. It could be you just haven’t met the right guy. It could be you’re beautiful AND wicked smart, so men are intimidated.  I won’t convince you to get a procedure based on something emotional and personal.

What I can do is tell you how to discreetly fix your teeth at 37. You have a few options.

  1.  Fill in the gap.  That can be done wtih dental bonding. I have a hesitation with this, simply because you said the gap was huge. You don’t want to do this if filling it in will make your smile look unnatural.
  2. Invisalign.  If all that is worrying you about your smile is the gap, Invisalign can close it without you having to wear traditional metal braces.  This uses clear aligners to gently shift your teeth into proper alignment. No one will even know you’re doing it.
  3. Porcelain Veneers. I’d only suggest this if you needed a complete smile makeover. It can change the shape, size, and color of your teeth.

I’d pick one of these only if YOU are unhappy with your smile.  Otherwise, go about your life. The right man will come along.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

 

SmileCareClub

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What can you tell me about the Smile Care Club?

Jessica B. – Flagstaff, AZ

Jessica,

The SmileCareClub is, in essence, a do it yourself Invisalign treatment. There are some differences.

  1. Your treatment is not monitered by a dentist, so if something goes wrong, you’re on your own.
  2. A dentist looks at pictures of your teeth, to see if you’re a good candidate. That might work to tell if there is a crowding issue. Unfortunately, he or she is not likely to be able to tell if you have gum disease. That could be a serious issue, because if you have gum disease, the shifting of your teeth could cause them to come loose.
  3. With Invisalign you switch aligners every two weeks, with SmileCareClub every four.

It possible this will work. I would just be concerned about the possibilities of things going wrong and not having an orthodontist or dentist who does orthodontic work to keep his or her eye on things.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Could my teeth be keeping me from getting hired?

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A company I worked for has closed.  I worked with them for ten years.  The owner sold it and the new owners decided to only use their own people.  So, here I am looking for a job, something I never thought I’d have to do again.  My qualifications and recommendations are good.  I always get an interview, but once the interview is over someone else gets the job.  I’ve done interview skills tutorials and even mock interviews with peers I trust.  My interviewing doesn’t seem to be the problem.  I’ve begun to wonder if it is my teeth.  I know that sounds a little far fetched, but I’m getting desperate and reaching for anything that can help.  I will admit I have an ugly smile.  My teeth are stained. A few are chipped and crooked. Could that be the problem?

Davis L., Washington

Davis,

I don’t think that is far fetched at all. We are often judged and categroized in the first few seconds of a meeting with someone. As they haven’t had time to really get to know us, the judgment is based on appearance and maybe very intitial greetings and responses.  Our smile is one of the first things people notice about us.

If yours is unattractive, and you readily admit it is, that could likely be the factor that is keeping you from closing a deal with a hiring company.  The easiest way to find out would be to fix your smile.

I recommend you use Invisalign to do that. It is invisible, even at a conversational distance, so that will allow you to go to interviews without feeling self conscious about your orthodontics.

It is possible to whiten your teeth at the same time.  You can ask your dentist to allow you to use your invisalign aligners as whitening trays and just provide you with the gel.  This will also save you money.

Good luck with the job search.  This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Can invisalign be used on young children?

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My daughter has some teeth coming in crooked. Can we use invisalign?

Ellie L. – Miami

Ellie,

Invisalign is a fantastic procedure, but it won’t work for your daughter. One of Invisalign’s limitations is that the teeth have to be fully erupted to work properly.

If you wait until her teeth years, you could use invisalign. Before that, you’d have to try other types  of procedures.

However, even if it were possible, I wouldn’t recommend invisalign for children. The reason is patient compliance.  Unlike braces, which are stuck to your teeth, it is up to the patient whether or not to wear their invisalign aligners. Children are very likely to not only take out the aligners and mess with them, but to lose them as well.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

I ruined my aligners

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I have been using Invsialign for about two months. I’ve been very pleased with them. I guess that could also be the source of my problem. I completely forgot I had the aligners in when a friend came over. I made some coffee for the two of us and drank a complete cup before I realized what I’d done. Now the aligners are warped. What do I do?

Anita R. -Arvada,  Colorado

Anita,

I guess too comfortable isn’t a bad problem to have. There isn’t much you can do about the aligners that have been warped. You’ll have to have your dentist make a new pair.

You mentioned you forgot you had them in. I’m hoping you keep your Invisalign aligners in most of the time. You can take them out for meals obviously, but other than that you will want to leave them in for the treatment to be effective.

They’ve got a high patient satisfaction rate, so I understand how you can forget about them.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Tea and Invisalign

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I’m thinking of getting invisalign, but have heard you can’t drink tea with it. I’m a native of the U.K. and don’t much enjoy the idea of six months without tea. Is this accurate?

Zoe K. – San Diego

Zoe,

You can drink tea during your treatment, but you won’t want to do it while your aligners are in. The reason for that is two-fold.

First, tea is hot (at least the type of tea I’m assuming a Brit will be asking about). The heat is likely to warp your aligners. This will negatively impact your Invisalign treatment plan and could cause it to take longer.

Second, the tea will pool in the aligners. When that happens, the acid from the tea, and possibly sugar, will eat away at your dentin. This will lead to tooth decay.

This doesn’t mean you cannot drink tea at all. You take your aligners out for each meal. I’d have a cup of tea then.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.

Is my Invisalign Fake?

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I’ve heard there are knock-off Invisalign going around. How can I tell if that’s what I got?

Andrea- Portsmouth, VA

Andrea,

There’s nothing funny about a knock-off. In fact, it is theivery. There are some off brand companies around, but there is an easy way to know if you’ve got the right thing. Look on your aligner. There should be a stamp on it indicating it is Invisalign with their trademark.

There will also be some numbers and letters. They represent your patient ID number. It should also tell you whether it is for your top or bottom teeth.

If it turns out you have been given an off brand, I would confront your dentist about it. You paid for Invisalign and that is what you should get.

This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Dentist Dr. Ryan Noah.