Early this year, Mason was referred to an orthodontist by our dentist. We decided on Invisalign, made our downpayment (a jaw-dropping $6K!!!), and waited until his “trays” came in. The trays are the molded, plastic things that go on your upper and lower teeth.
The very next week, we were put on lockdown and the orthodontist’s office closed. When they finally reopened, they called us and Mason got his first set of trays, which would last for four weeks. Those trays slipped on and off, like a retainer.
When we went back for his new trays, they attached some tiny gizmos to his teeth. The future trays will be held onto his teeth by being “snapped” on to those. The orthodontist glued the gizmos to his teeth, put his new trays in, and sent him on his way. Because of the restrictions right now due to the virus, I was in the parking lot.
Mason was hungry when he got home. He went in the bathroom to remove his trays but…they weren’t coming out. He called me in there.
“Mom! It’s thuck on my seeth!”
I walked in. Mason was sitting on the toilet, holding my make-up mirror, and frantically pulling on the top tray. No luck. I got a flashlight, washed my hands, and dove in there, too. No luck. I said, “Didn’t they teach you how to remove them in the office today?”
“No!”
By this time, Mason was starting to panic. I smiled, and said, “Don’t worry. You will NOT have those in your mouth forever. I promise. They ARE coming out.”
I got my laptop, took it into the bathroom, and started looking for videos on YouTube on how to remove the trays. We found one and Mason, following the instructions, pulled the backs on both sides of the top one loose. It finally came out. By that time, his teeth and gums were pretty sore. One down, one to go!
The bottom teeth had a lot more of the snap thingies on them. The tray has to be unsnapped from all of them. But, the trays are so hard that they don’t bend. So, you can unsnap one side, go to work on the other side, and find that the first side has reattached itself. We could NOT get that one out!
There was a video of a tool online to use for removing them. I looked and there wasn’t one in stock at any drugstore near us. Mason was getting increasingly upset and his stomach was growling pretty loudly, too. You can’t eat with those things in your mouth.
We tried things we had on hand that looked like the tool. I dug through the kitchen drawers, my make-up box, my craft supplies, and even my toolbox. Tweezers didn’t work. A tiny screwdriver didn’t work. A dental scaler didn’t work. NOTHING WORKED.
I called the orthodontist at 3:00 p.m.. The receptionist said someone would call me back. Nobody did. I called again at 4:00, and was told the same thing. I knew they closed at 5:00. I called one last time at 4:45 and somebody else answered the phone. She said to bring him in. They’d stay open for us.
We arrived and I went inside with them because I wanted to see how it worked so I could help him in the future. They took our temperatures, and took Mason to a chair. The orthodontist came in. Mason opened his mouth. The doc reached in and POP! The tray was out.
I then told him that nobody had taught Mason how to do it. So, he did (and taught me, too), and then had Mason do it by himself several times.
Rather than grabbing the back of both sides, he was taught to grab one side only, and pull from left to right, like a zipper. It worked! And, I felt so dumb. Why did I think of that?!?!
After hearing horror stories of my days in ugly, shiny braces, Mason LOVES his Invisalign….stuck in his mouth or not.
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Oh my gosh, what a story! Good thing you got into the dentist just in the nick of time. You do not lead a dull life.