Clear aligner treatment involves navigating some new sensations. Some are positive, like your teeth moving into a smile that makes you feel great. Others, like a stuck aligner, are a little more stressful.
If you’re having trouble removing your aligners or aftercare retainers, don’t worry — we’re here to help. In this guide, we’ll provide some tips on how to remove stuck aligners or retainers.
Table of Contents
Why Do Aligners and Retainers Get Stuck?
Every time you switch to a new set of aligners, they can feel a bit snug. This is because each set of aligners moves your teeth into new positions. Once your teeth have gotten used to their new positions, they’ll get a lot more comfortable.
If your retainer was a good fit for you in the past, but you’re suddenly struggling to remove it, it’s likely because you aren’t wearing it enough. Immediately following your treatment, you’ll need to wear your retainer for most of the day, but most people can slowly decrease it to just 8 hours, often overnight. If you’re not following that schedule, your retainer might feel snug.
How to Remove Stuck Aligners or a Stuck Retainer
This is where things get real. If your aligners or retainer feel stuck, here’s how to remove them.
Stay Calm
A stuck aligner might be stressful, but it’s important to keep calm and remember that this is a very reparable situation. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the process, stop for a second and breathe. Try not to get frantic, since it could hinder your ability to get your aligners off. Take a moment to destress before diving back in.
Dry the Area
The drier your mouth, the easier it is to remove your aligner or retainer. It’s difficult to get a tight grip on an aligner or retainer that is slick with moisture. Try to avoid drinking anything for a few minutes and leave your mouth open for a minute or two to let in as much air as possible. You can use a paper towel to dry the area further or use the paper towel over your hand as you gently remove the aligner.
Be Gentle
Aligners and retainers are powerful tools, but they’re not indestructible. You might feel like you need to meet the moment with as much strength as possible, but that isn’t always the best approach. It’s important to maintain a gentle touch—if you pull too hard, you can damage or break your trays.
Start With the Molars
When removing your aligners, always start at the very back with your molars. This is where you can get the most leverage without causing any damage. If you’re removing the upper tray, pull from the inside, or the side touching your tongue. If you’re removing the lower tray, pull from the outside, or the side touching your cheeks.
Stay Even
It’s important to remove your aligners and retainers evenly on both sides. If you put too much wear on a single side, it can cause undue stress that can decrease the aligner’s effectiveness. Try to remove the aligners with equal force and attention on both sides. This means alternating sides during your removal, and never pulling from just one side.
Use a Pull Tool
A pull tool is essentially a small plastic hook that grips your aligner to aid in removal. Use it to hook the back of your aligners by your molars, so you can gently pull the aligner off of your teeth. This is especially helpful in instances where your aligners/retainers feel stuck. Be sure to remember the ‘be gentle’ step if you’re using a pull tool, to avoid putting excessive stress on your aligners.
Take a Short Break
If you’re continuously trying to remove your aligners or retainer and you find yourself getting frustrated, it might help to take a break. Leave the mirror you’ve been grimacing into, sit down, and relax for a minute.
Take a second to let go of the frustration you may feel towards the little plastic trays that refuse to budge from your mouth. Try to distract yourself or think of something else for a few minutes, preferably something calming.
Swirl With a Warm Salt Water Mixture
We realize this contradicts our earlier direction to dry out your mouth before pulling out your aligners. If the other approaches we’ve outlined aren’t doing the trick, then try a saltwater swirl.
Mix a small amount of salt (1 tsp or so) into a glass of warm water. Be sure the water is warm, not hot, since hot water can warp your aligner plastic. Swirl this saltwater rinse around in your mouth for thirty seconds, then spit it out. This rinse may help slightly loosen the aligners or retainers so you can remove them more easily.
Contact Your Provider
If you’re still having trouble removing your aligner or retainer after all of these steps, then it’s probably time to contact your provider. With in-office options like Invisalign, you’ll need to wait until their office is open, then someone on their team can offer further assistance.
In-office options provide the comfort of knowing that if your aligner is stuck, a professional can remove it for you. It’s unlikely to come to that, but the peace of mind may still be helpful during treatment.
At-home clear aligner services offer a dedicated team of customer care representatives, as well as responsive chat features on their websites. Some providers also offer video assistance, so you can potentially get help from the comfort of your own home.
How To Prevent Trays From Getting Stuck
Hopefully, those tips can help your stuck aligner or retainer get removed. But how can you ensure that you don’t have to deal with this problem again in the future?
Always Wear Your Aligners as Directed
If you aren’t getting the proper 20-22 hours/day (or 8-10 hours/day for night time only treatment) of aligner wear, you may fall behind in your treatment plan, which can affect your aligner fit and have a domino effect on your treatment plan.
If you don’t wear your aligners enough, your current set won’t move your teeth to the correct positions for your next set, causing them to fit poorly, or not at all.
Similarly, it’s important that you follow the retainer wear schedule outlined by your dentist. Retainers are designed to keep your teeth in position after aligner treatment, not to move your teeth back into position if they shift again. So if you fall behind with your retainer wear, you may have a snug-fitting retainer moving forward.
Be Honest With Your Provider
You can have the best intentions for aligner treatment, but sometimes life gets in the way. If you don’t wear your aligners as directed, it’s crucial that you inform your provider. Most people have fibbed about their flossing habits to their dentist, but when it comes to aligner wear, resist this impulse and be honest with them instead.
If you’re candid about wearing your aligners less than you should, your provider can alter your treatment moving forward. If you keep this valuable information to yourself, your aligners won’t fit as well, and in the weeks to come, they could get stuck again.
Ensure Your Trays Are Seated Correctly
If your trays are seated unevenly, they can be harder to remove. If you want to make your aligner/retainer removal as simple as possible, be gentle when placing them so you don’t put excessive pressure in one area, which can affect the tray’s fit.
Final Thoughts
We hope that you don’t have to deal with your aligner or retainer getting stuck again. But if it does happen, calmly apply the tips we’ve outlined and remove your trays with relative ease. Keep these tips in mind moving forward, and no snug tray will be able to send you into a stress spiral.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a filling affect the fit of my aligner or retainer?
Clear aligners and retainers are molded to fit your precise tooth shape. If you have a cavity filled and this changes your tooth shape, you may need new trays. If you need to have a cavity filled during treatment, consult your dentist or orthodontist about the best course of action.
Can hot water change the fit of my aligner or retainer?
Yes, hot water can warp the plastic of your aligner or retainer, which can change its shape and affect its fit. It’s best to clean your aligners and retainers with lukewarm or cold water.
Can I throw my old aligners away when I move on to the next set?
We recommend hanging on to your old aligners, even after you’ve moved on to a new set. If something happens to your current set, it can be a huge relief to have the next best fitting aligners on standby so that your teeth don’t have time to move out of place.
Can I switch to nighttime only treatment if I’ve already started all-day treatment?
Some home aligner companies use different materials and designs for their nighttime-only aligners, while others don’t. So switching from all-day treatment to nighttime treatment might be more complex than just changing your wear schedule. Still, you should reach out to your provider if you’re struggling to consistently wear your aligners for 22+ hours per day.
Will I always need to wear an overnight retainer after treatment?
After teeth-straightening treatment, you will need to wear an overnight retainer indefinitely to ensure your teeth stay in their new locations.
Where should I store my aligners?
Always store your aligners in a clean aligner case, and if possible, keep that case in a dry place. People often keep their aligners or retainers in their bathroom alongside their toothbrush and toothpaste, but we recommend putting them in a different room, so that heat and humidity from the shower won’t affect them.
If I have fallen behind in treatment, how can I catch up?
It depends on your treatment plan. With some clear aligner treatments, falling behind on your treatment plan can mean taking new impressions or scans and getting new aligners. This may not always be necessary, your provider will be able to guide you through the next steps of treatment if you fall behind.
Do I need to buy a pull tool for aligner removal?
You don’t need to buy a pull tool, but it can be helpful, particularly when you’re getting accustomed to removing your aligners. It’s a useful tool, but it’s absolutely possible to remove aligners without it.
Is there a tool to help seat clear aligners more easily?
Most aligner providers offer a version of Chewies: small, chewable, foam pieces that help seat your aligners. Biting down on a Chewie for 5-10 minutes a day can help evenly seat your aligners. This is particularly useful while you are getting used to the fit of a new aligner. Be sure to move the Chewie across every tooth, so that you don’t seat them unevenly.
Join The Discussion: