Invisalign treatment needs attachments to hold the aligner in position. But, what happens if one of the Invisalign attachments fell off? You would get frustrated. But, is it common for Invisalign attachments to fall off?
Though falling off Invisalign attachments isn’t so common, some people face the problem on a regular basis. It may happen within the first few days of getting the attachments due to their poor bonding with the teeth or your inexperience to handle them. Sometimes, an attachment may also fall off in between treatments if you don’t follow the instruction.
The good thing is once the attachments get fixed with your teeth, you can prevent them from popping off if you are careful.
Let’s find out all the causes of their falling off and also know what you should do and how to prevent this from happening.
Also, you can check this article to know, When does Invisalign attachment hurt?
When and Why do Invisalign attachments fall off?
In the modern Invisalign system, you get attachments to make the treatment more effective. The dentist attaches small bumps to the teeth with a bonding agent known as composite.
These tooth color ridges help hold the aligner and put pressure on the tooth as well in certain directions.
The bonding agent, the technique of fixing them to the teeth, your activity or habits can be responsible for popping them off.
These reasons can also be responsible for the Invisalign buttons to fall off.
Know what to do if Invisalign buttons fall off.
Here are the causes of the attachment coming off with the timing.
1. Poor bonding between teeth and attachment
Whether the attachment will stay in its place properly depends on the bonding between it and the teeth.
The procedure of attaching them should be ideal and the quality of bonding agents should be good.
However, you don’t need to worry about this technical stuff if you seek a certified dentist or orthodontist who is a specialist to handling the Invisalign.
The important thing is after they are attached to your teeth. If you don’t give the attachment enough time to set it in place, it may fall off or wear down after some time.
This may happen if you don’t follow the instructions after getting them on your teeth.
2. Acidic foods and drinks
You may love sports drinks, soft drinks, soda, or citrus fruits. But, the problem is they are acidic and cause weaning of the bonding between the teeth and attachments.
Taking those foods and drinks may lead to falling attachments after some time.
Some sugar and sticky foods like candy or chocolate may also weaken the bonding over time and stain your teeth as well.
3. Wrong Food habits
Sometimes, biting hard food like meat bones or getting hit by the food puts pressure on the teeth as well as the attachment. As a result, bonds may become weak and a bump may pop off sometimes.
4. Too-tight aligners
When your Invisalign trays are too tight to remove and you have to apply too much pressure while pulling them to remove them, the attachments may fall off.
Normally, you can remove them easily with gentle pressure. At the moment of removal, you hear a clicking sound that indicates it’s removed from the attachment.
But, sometimes, you may choke. This may happen when the trays are tightly fitted may be due to inappropriate adaptation to your teeth.
Find out how to remove Invisalign without pain.
5. Invisalign attachments being too big
Not only do tightly fitted aligners cause problems but also bigger-sized attachments can do the same.
When the attachments are larger in size, you can fit them easily. But, you may face trouble removing the aligners which may lead to the falling off of the attachments.
6. Patient’s Inexperience
This may happen when you don’t learn properly how to wear and remove aligners perfectly. You may face the problem during the first few days.
7. Not following Instructions
One of the most common causes of falling off the attachments is not obeying the advice of the dentist.
You might think that if you don’t listen to him one day, nothing will happen. But, you may end up having a problem.
What happens if an attachment falls off Invisalign?
If one of your Invisalign attachments gets popped off, you can get it fixed that’s not a big deal.
However, if your attachments keep coming off and it happens often, this is unusual. In that case, the progress of treatment will be affected.
Therefore, there will be delays in treatment and you have to wait too long for the removal of the attachments. Even, the outcome may not be so satisfactory.
To treat misaligned teeth, you need to keep wearing the Invisalign clear aligners as much as possible. But, if it is interrupted, the result will not be good.
Moreover, teeth have a tendency to get back to their original position. So, if your attachments fall off and you can’t wear the Invisalign for a few days, it will undo the tooth movement.
However, if this happens once or twice in the whole treatment period, you don’t need to worry too much about it. Just get it fixed as early as possible.
What to do if the Invisalign attachment comes off?
If the attachment is loose, you can apply dental wax over it so that it can’t hurt your cheek or gums. Use dental wax to make the surface smooth to prevent any damage until you visit the dentist. You should also try to wear aligners if it’s possible. But, if you can’t place the aligners normally, just leave them and make an appointment with your dentist to fix them.
It’s recommended you consult your dentist if an Invisalign attachment is off as soon as possible. Don’t panic and keep the fallen piece of attachment. When you will visit the dentist’s office he can reattach it or may prefer to replace it with a new attachment.
Store the attachment in a safe place if the attachment comes off completely such as a plastic box and bring it with you to the dentist so that the dentist can reattach it.
However, consult with your dentist, if he allows you to wear the Invisalign without the attachment until you visit him. Talk to him over the phone.
Some people may hesitate to inform the dentist when the attachment comes off due to their own fault.
But, doing so isn’t good for your treatment. Try to fix it as soon as possible, otherwise, it will affect the progress of treatment.
Now, you may be wondering if you can do it yourself.
No, you are not allowed to fix the Invisalign attachment on your own at home. This technique requires specialized dentists to perform. The position of the attachment must be perfect and nicely adjusted to the aligners. Perfectly bonded attachments move the teeth effectively and faster.
So, you can’t do it yourself.
Now question is, what to do if you swallow the Invisalign attachment?
First of all, don’t panic if you swallow an Invisalign attachment. It’s inert and made of plastic. It may not cause any harm and will come out with stool.
But, we recommend that you consult with your dentist as soon as possible and explain it. He will do what you need to do and also set an appointment to fix the attachment.
However, if you feel sick because of that, seek an emergency service. But, it should never happen because of such a small plastic attachment.
How does a dentist fix the Invisalign attachments?
When you visit the dentist for fixing the Invisalign attachments, he will use the same technique to bond it again just like he did to attach the Invisalign attachments on the first day.
He will use the same instruments to do the job. First of all, teeth will be cleaned and composite or adhesive glue will be applied to your tooth.
After that, the dentist fixes the attachment with your tooth with the help of glue. He will apply a blue light to fix the bonding.
Finally, he will place the aligners in your mouth and check if everything is ok. In most cases, the dentist won’t pay you to fix the attachment.
How to prevent the Invisalign attachment from falling off?
Here are the ways that you can do to prevent the Invisalign attachments from popping off or chipping off.
1. Let the bonding agent work.
After you get the attachment, you should give the bonding agents or glues time to set and fix the tiny bumps to the teeth. So, follow the instructions of the dentist and be careful on the first day.
2. Be aware of food habits.
Invisalign treatment doesn’t restrict you to eat certain foods like braces, but you should be careful while eating some hard and crunchy foods so that they can’t damage your attachments.
If possible try to stay away from hard foods if you think that may be harmful to the Invisalign bumps.
3. Stay away from acidic foods and drinks.
It’s better to avoid soft or sports drinks and citrus fruits if you have the attachment to prevent any damage.
Besides, try to stay away from sticky and sugary foods like ice cream, candy, or caramel.
4. Inform the problems just after getting the attachment.
After the dentist fixes the attachment to your teeth, he tells you to check if there is any problem.
You should check it nicely during that time. Tell him if you think the aligner feels too tight or loose while wearing or removing it.
5. Learn how to wear and remove the Invisalign aligners.
After getting Invisalign with the attachments, the dentist will teach you how to apply and remove the trays.
As you have to do it every day before and after eating or cleaning your teeth, learn it properly,
6. Follow all the advice.
Invisalign treatment needs patience and discipline. Try to follow all the advice given by the dentist. This prevents any unexpected problems during the treatment.
7. Be careful.
You need to be careful during your place and remove the aligners in your mouth. It may be uncomfortable for the first few days.
After that, you don’t even have to think about it when you get used to the procedure.
8. Get a safe-to-use toothbrush and learn the proper brushing method.
The Invisalign attachments create a rough surface over your teeth and accumulate more plaque and food debris.
So, you face difficulty to remove those particles. Sometimes, trying too hard may result in a fall off of the attachments.
To prevent all of these problems, you need safe to use a toothbrush for Invisalign attachments. An electric toothbrush can help you in this purpose just like a braces wearer does.
It’s safer to use and can remove debris more effectively than a regular toothbrush.
Know which toothbrush can be the best for you.
Also, learn how to use a toothbrush with the Invisalign attachments properly to prevent them from falling off.
9. Get the right flosser and know the proper flossing technique.
If you have an Invilasng attachment, you should also floss your teeth at least once a day to get rid of staining with attachments.
Learn the proper method of flossing with the attachments and get safe-to-use flossers as well to prevent any damage.
Takeaways
Don’t be shocked if the Invisalign attachments fall off. This may commonly happen for the first few days as you are new to Invisalign.
Sometimes, an attachment may come off if the bonding between it and the tooth is weak or when you take a bite of hard foods and or clean your teeth carelessly.
When the size of the attachments isn’t ok or trays are too tightly fitted, you may face this problem.
Learn the proper method of placing and removing the trays in your mouth. Always follow the instruction from the dentist to prevent any damage to the Invisalign attachments and the aligners.
If you have Invisalign elastic buttons and want to know what to do if they fell off, check out this article.
Pallab Kishore is a certified dentist and the owner of Orthodontic Braces Care.
He completed BDS in 2014. Now, he is an MS resident in Orthodontics, BSMMU. He likes content writing and has 12+ years of experience in blogging.
