It is almost always lunch. The tray comes out, it goes in a napkin, the napkin goes in the bin. By the time you notice, it is gone.
Here is the plan, and one thing not to do.
Go back to your previous tray
Dig out the aligner you finished last week and put it in. Wear it as you would normally — the full 20 to 22 hours a day.
Your teeth were in that position recently, so the old tray still fits. It holds them steady while we sort out a replacement. It may feel slightly snug after a few days in the newer tray; that is expected and it is doing its job.
Keep your last few trays. This is exactly why we tell people not to throw them away.
Do not skip ahead to the next one
This is the one that causes real trouble, and it is a very natural thing to try.
Each aligner is designed to move your teeth a specific, small amount from the position the previous tray left them in. Jump forward a step and the next tray is being asked to grip teeth that are not where it expects. Usually it will not seat properly. It may rock, or leave a visible gap at the back, or feel painful in a way that a correctly seated tray does not.
When a tray does not seat fully, the movement it was supposed to make simply does not happen — and every tray after it inherits the same mismatch. That is how a lost tray turns into a longer treatment or a mid-course correction with new scans.
Going backward is safe. Going forward is not.
Call us
Ring (212) 966-9628 and tell us which tray number you lost.
What happens next depends on where you are in the series. Sometimes we can order a replacement of that single tray. Sometimes, if you were close to the end of it, we will simply move you on to the next one under supervision. Occasionally the simplest answer is a fresh scan. That is our call to make, and it is quick to sort — the mistake is guessing at home.
If it’s cracked rather than lost
A cracked aligner is a similar decision. If the crack is small and the tray still seats fully, we may ask you to keep wearing it for the last few days of that stage. If it has split properly, go back to the previous tray and call.
Do not try to repair it. Nothing you can glue is safe to wear for 22 hours a day.
Losing fewer of them
The same rule as retainers, for the same reason: if it is not in your mouth, it is in its case. Carry the case with you — that is what it is for. A bright case is easier to spot on a table than a clear tray on a white napkin.
More on how the system works on our Invisalign and clear aligners pages, and our emergency care page covers the other things that come up mid-treatment.
Lost a tray? Call us or request an appointment, and go back to your previous aligner in the meantime.
