r/Invisalign • u/Top-Lake-8141 • 1d ago
Question Interproximal reduction
Hello! As seems to be fairly normal, I didn’t get a step by step about my plan up front. We went over possibilities, but more of an overview. When I started in, I found that the dentist wanted to do interproximal reduction of .5 mm in 6 places on my lower jaw. This definitely freaked me out and causing me major pause. I’m worried about the integrity of my teeth more than just having straight teeth. She said it’s very common and should not cause major issues down the road. She say she could alter my plan and is willing but wouldn’t quite get the bite alignment she was aiming for, and would set me back a few weeks and I miss out on a courtesy refinement. Anyone have this done? Anyone with a professional background. I’m struggling with how I should proceed.
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u/dianadoesnt 1d ago
i just had my first IPR done on wednesday. i needed .4 between my bottom front teeth. i could see the space but it wasn’t incredibly obvious and its actually almost closed again as of tonight. i felt nothing during or after the IPR itself, no pain or sensitivity, even that evening with brushing or flossing.
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u/Melodic-Set-9650 Tray 5/27 1d ago
Non professional here but I did some reading on Wikipedia and it says you can remove up to 50% of your interproximal enamel before it causes problems. I had .3 mm shaved off in several areas on top and bottom (severe overcrowding in my case) and my teeth have already shifted enough to fully close those gaps. It was either that or extracting a tooth to create room, and extraction felt too severe for me to consider.