Bouncy Trays
Tell Dr. Cooke at your next appointment that you are experiencing bouncy trays.
Sometimes they are bouncy in the back because teeth are erupting (usually 12 year molars).
Most of the time the trays are bouncy because the aligners are not being worn appropriately. Recommended wear: 22 hours per day and aligners should never be out more than 30 minutes at a time.
You can better seat the aligners on your teeth by using chewies. Recommended chewie regimen: Use chewies 10 min every morning (after breakfast) and use chewies 10 min every night (after dinner). Chewies should be used from left to right to fully seat the trays over the teeth. When you do this, you are fully expressing the prescription in the aligners.
Sometimes if you bite the aligners into place, the aligner will fold over on itself and prevent proper seating of the aligners. Please look very carefully at your aligners and unfold the part that has bent over. Always place aligners with finger pressure.
Sharp Trays
Sharp trays are usually noticed at the beginning of treatment.
You can use a clean emery board or nail file to lightly sand the area that is sharp.
You can also use a little orthodontic wax on the affected area to make the aligner less prominent.
When aligners are fully seated on the teeth, they are less likely to be sharp. To fully seat the aligners on the teeth by wearing the aligners 22 hours per day and to use chewies as recommended above.
Air bubbles (space between teeth and aligners)
When you first put on your aligners, it is not uncommon to have a little gapping or air bubbles between your teeth and the aligners.
When you are getting ready to move to your next aligner, there should not be any air bubbles.
Most of the time there are air bubbles because the aligners are not being worn appropriately. Recommended wear: 22 hours per day and aligners should never be out more than 30 minutes at a time.
You can better seat the aligners on your teeth by using chewies. Recommended chewie regimen: Use chewies 10 min every morning (after breakfast) and use chewies 10 min every night (after dinner). Chewies should be used from left to right to fully seat the trays over the teeth. When you do this, you are fully expressing the prescription in the aligners.
Attachment or metal hook escapes
Occasionally an attachment or metal elastic hook escapes from your teeth.
We recommend that you continue to wear your aligners as prescribed.
Please call and let us know what happened so more time can be set aside at your next appointment to replace if appropriate.
If you are wearing elastics to the metal hook, then stop ALL elastics until you see Dr. Cooke. It is especially important to let your Cooke team member know you were wearing rubber bands when you call.
Lost aligners
If you lose your aligner and you don’t have a next aligner, go back to your last aligner and call the office ASAP.
Placing & removing aligners
PLACING ALIGNERS: Please place the aligners with finger pressure, do not use your teeth to seat the aligners. When you seat the aligners with your teeth you can fold the aligner over on itself and it will not fit correctly. To address this issue, carefully use clean tweezers to unfold the area and carefully place aligner with finger pressure.
REMOVING ALIGNERS: There are three ways to remove aligners:
From the cheek side:
From the tongue side:
Using a pull tool: