Can Your Teeth Be Too Short For Invisalign?

Dentist Blog

The visible part of a tooth is called the clinical crown, and the height of your clinical crown can play a role in the success of your upcoming Invisalign treatment.  

Heights of Clinical Crowns

There are natural differences between the heights of your clinical crowns. For example, a canine tooth may be slightly higher than a molar or premolar. And the heights of one person's clinical crowns may be different from someone else's. Some people have naturally shorter teeth. It's also possible for the height of a clinical crown to be gradually reduced over the years due to general wear, tear, and corrosion. But what does this have to do with your Invisalign? 

A Tight Fit

The transparent Invisalign trays fit over your entire upper and lower sets of teeth. They fit tightly, and each tray gradually shifts the position of each tooth. Once the configuration of an individual tray has moved your teeth to the extent of its range, the tray is replaced for the next in the sequence. You continue this until you run out of trays, meaning your Invisalign treatment has finished. But to tightly fit over your teeth, the aligner tray needs enough surface area to grip onto. And when clinical crowns are too short, this lack of surface area can be a problem.

Tray Dimpling

It's not as though you'll be told that you can't receive Invisalign treatment because your teeth are too short. But arrangements must be made to ensure the effectiveness of your treatment. There are a couple of ways to achieve this. Firstly, your orthodontist may dimple your trays. The teeth where additional traction is needed will be identified. The corresponding sites on your trays will be dimpled. Using retention pliers, a small dimple is made in the tray's thermoplastic. This creates a small convex bump inside the tray, which allows the tray to better grip onto your teeth—overcoming the issue of your short clinical crowns.

Invisalign Attachments

Alternatively, Invisalign attachments can be added to your teeth. These are also called bumps, and function in a similar way to tray dimpling, except the extra grips are added to your teeth. A tiny spot of tooth-colored resin is bonded onto the tooth. It's immediately dried and hardened with a special blue light, and it creates a traction point for your trays—allowing them to fit with sufficient tightness to do their job.

If a tooth's clinical crown is too short, Invisalign treatment may not work. But whether it's your trays or your teeth that are given some extra grips, this issue can be overcome.

Reach out to an Invisalign provider near you to learn more.

Share

30 November 2022

Improving My Dental Appointments

After dealing with a few root canals, I realized that it was time to take my dental hygiene a more seriously. I talked with my dentist about what I could do differently, and he was full of great suggestions that would help. He walked me through different ways to brush, floss, and take care of tartar buildup, and it was really amazing to see the difference that it made. I also started taking a fluoride supplement to strengthen my enamel. When I made it to my next appointment, my dentist was blown away with the improvement. This blog is all about improving your dental appointments by keeping your teeth healthier.