Under normal circumstances, orthodontists will suggest wisdom tooth removal prior to beginning a course of Invisalign. However, in some cases, wisdom teeth may erupt during Invisalign treatment. When this happens, if an orthodontist believes that those teeth will adversely impact your treatment, they will suggest that you have them removed.
Wisdom teeth can also push newly straightened teeth out of alignment post-Invisalign treatment. While not every patient will experience difficulties whilst combining these two treatments, in some cases, adjustments will need to be made.
Your Aligners may Need Adjustment
Adjustment during Invisalign is not uncommon, especially during the latter stages of treatment. However, because wisdom teeth extractions require more healing time, typically 1-2 weeks, your aligners may need to be adjusted to account for any swelling.
Your orthodontist will either remake one or two aligners or adjust the one that you were wearing when your wisdom teeth were extracted.
Treatment may be Slowed Down
If your extraction sites become infected or are causing you significant pain, you may need to go without your aligner for a few days to a week. However, in terms of orthodontics, this is a very short duration and will barely affect your treatment. You will need to either return to an earlier Invisalign aligner or wear your current aligner for an extra week in order to stay on track with treatment goals.
Before or After Invisalign is Best
When wisdom teeth are impacted and giving you pain, it is always better to remove them before any orthodontic treatment. The same applies if your orthodontist wishes to distalize your molars, in other words, move them backwards during treatment. For this to happen, incoming or already erupted wisdom teeth should be removed.
If your wisdom teeth have come in during your Invialign treatment and don't seem to be giving you any issues, for example, coming through at awkward angles, or becoming impacted, have them extracted after treatment. Although you could keep your wisdom teeth your entire life, as in fact many people wish to do, they can create problems later in life. They are more difficult to brush and floss and thus, are prone to cavities, and calculus build-up, which could later to lead to gum disease.
This is why many dentists recommend extraction even when there are no current issues. As far as Invisalign treatment and wisdom tooth extraction goes, your treatment should run smoothly whether you have them extracted or not.
Share2 October 2017
When I had my first child, I was a nervous wreck. Every book I read gave different advice, and I just wanted to be right! By the time I had my third child, some of the stress had abated. I now realised, there were tons of different perspectives on everything related to raising children including dentistry. To help parents, I have created this blog dedicated to unraveling dental myths about children. I am including posts that weigh both sides of issues such as thumb sucking, dental caries, breastfeeding, flossing and any other topic I can think of. I hope you find the information you need to unravel dental myths, but most importantly, I hope you find some peace of mind. With kids and dentistry, there can be more than one right answer, and I want you to be able to relax and go with the answer that's right for you.
