I had two sets of aligners with me when I left for vacation. The first was the set in my mouth. The next was packed for when it was time to switch. I don’t know what happened, but I am up here in my hotel and those new aligners are no where. My dentist joked with me before leaving not to forget the aligners. But, it looks like I may have forgotten the aligners. Do I need to call him and fess up or is there a way to save my pride here?
Allison
Dear Allison,
You are not the first person to forget to pack their Invisalign aligners. In fact, there have been patients who have accidentally thrown away their aligners. I even heard about a person who left the aligners in her car during the height of summer. When she got back to her car, they were completely warped. This is not as big of a hit on your pride as it feels at this moment, though I do understand why it feels that way.
There is a chance that your dentist won’t even need to know about this little mishap. That is not a guarantee, just a chance. Here is what I am going to suggest for you. Keep wearing the aligners you have with you. This way you do not lose progress. Forget about the next set of aligners while you are on vacation. Enjoy yourself. You don’t get that fun time back.
When you get home, you may find that next pair. Simply put them on and no worries. On the off chance, that you did pack them and they somehow got lost in the transition, don’t panic. You can try to put in the next set. They may go on without much trouble and you will be good to go. Big warning here. Don’t force them on. If they are too tight, that means that your teeth did not have enough movement to skip that pair of aligners. Forcing them on will cause problems. In that case, you will need to go ahead and tell your dentist they went missing during your trip. He’s not going to judge you, even if he jokes about it. He can make you a duplicate of the missing set.
Also, don’t try to shorten your treatment by trying to skip aligners. Once, when it isn’t too tight, you can get away with. Doing it more than once will cause problems. These treatments are carefully planned.
A Hidden Benefit of Invisalign
Just to cheer you up a bit, did you know that your Invisalign aligners can double as teeth whitening trays? This means you can straighten and whiten your teeth at the same time while saving money. You simply need to ask your dentist to sell you the professional strength teeth whitening gel.
Then you wear them in your aligners at a time most convenient for you. By the time you are done with Invisalign, not only will you have a straight smile, but a beautiful white one as well. It is like getting a mini smile makeover at a fraction of the cost.
Have a great time on vacation.
This blog is brought to you by a compassionate dentist in Kalamazoo, Dr. Susan Dennis.