It’s Time for Invisalign, Round 2

A few months ago, when I finally returned to the dentist after being fully vaccinated for COVID-19, we talked about redoing my Invisalign.

Although I had braces as a teenager, my teeth began to shift again as I got older. While it wasn’t too bad yet, my dentist told me at a regular cleaning a few years ago that if I didn’t do something about it sooner rather than later, it would eventually become much more complicated to fix.

As a result, I did Invisalign in 2019 and got everything straightened out pretty easily.

All was going well until I badly broke my right ring finger in a freak accident last fall. This required urgent surgery, and I didn’t wear my retainers at night for about four or five days while I was recovering. While this would likely be wholly irrelevant for the average person, my Ehlers-Danlos syndrome allowed my teeth to shift enough during that time that I could no longer get my retainers back in.

Because this was last October, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I couldn’t return to the dentist, as he was understandably only taking emergency appointments. I was stuck.

When I finally saw him in March and explained what had happened, my dentist was stunned. He’d never in his career seen someone’s teeth move that quickly, and given the fact that he’s retiring this year, that’s pretty impressive! So, technicians took a new scan of my mouth to have a new set of Invisalign aligners made, and the staff said they’d call me when they came in.

Not long ago, I realized that I’d never heard about my new aligners, so I gave the office a call. Some kind of technical glitch had prevented the new scan from being sent to the company. After profuse apologies and a call to Invisalign, the staff straightened everything out and my new aligners were set to arrive last week. I was highly skeptical that they’d still fit at this point but figured I’d give it a try. Thankfully, all of this is included in the original cost!

To my immense surprise, when I went into the office about a week ago to receive them, I was amazed to find that they actually fit. Although I’m frustrated to have to go through the process all over again, I’m thankful that there’s a relatively easy fix for what’s going on. This time when we’re finished, my dentist will put in a permanent retainer so this won’t happen again!

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Note: Ehlers-Danlos News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Ehlers-Danlos News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to Ehlers-Danlos.