I was wondering if anyone else is having a reaction to the Invisaline plastic trays the dentist gives you to straighten your teeth?

I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and a host of other things that go along with it. I had it under control now for years. I was actually so much better I took up walking, and although I have to pace and still rest life had improved enought to have some sort of life.

Then I had to have the Invisalines on my teeth to helps save 3 teeth. My dentist felt this was the easiest way to go. I never thought about a reaction to plastic,you have to wear these 24/7. I have 9 trays. You have to wear each tray for 2 wks then switch to the next one. So I'm wearing plastic in my mouth from October to March.

From day one of the first insert I'm dizzy, my body feels toxic and it's not like CFS, but I do feel like I just don't want to do anything. I was told it's all in my head. That I feel panic cause you have to keep them in all the time, only taking them out to eat which can cause anxiety. I bought that theory the first 2 wks, then I kept getting sicker. I'm now on the 3rd tray which means I've had them in my mouth a month. I now am told I can't take them out and stop mid treatment because now my bite is all off.

My question, my fear is am I now perm. damaged with EI? Years ago when I got CFS I was so sick around perfume or any smells. I couldn't have yeast products. My blood sugar was so low I had to stay away from sweets. Lately I have been able to wear perfume and eat a little sweets. Then the Invisalines came on and now I reacted to sweets last night just like I did before I was detoxed years ago. I'm so afraid I'm back to where I started and I have to wear these darn things until March.

I have kept them in the sun. The dentist said it comes with a disinfectant on it so he stuck it in this microwave wash this time. This didn't cover the exposure to the tray 1 and 2 I had so who knows what leaked into my system.

Any advice on how to handle this besides letting it air in the sun. It can't get too hot or the trays won't fit. Am I perm. damaged?

Has anyone else had this reaction? Any hints in what I can do now and after this treatment is over?

Thanks so much and sorry for the long post.

DizzyMsLizzy

Hi,

Sounds like you're having a rough time.

I don't have any personal experience with invisalign but I also suffer from CFS and MCS so know how careful we have to be with what we put in our bodies.

It certainly sounds like the invisalign trays could be a problem given how much time they spend in your mouth. I imagine they are relatively soft plastic which is always a warning sign since they are more likely to offgas and leach toxic chemicals.

I came across an article just now which you might find useful. It's about a dentist who ackowledges how toxic dental materials can be and how much of a problem this is for people suffering from EI. He advocates special blood testing to find the least problematic dental materials for each patient before going ahead with any work.

The article is here: www.free-articles-zone.com/article/60383...emically%20Sensitive

I hope you have had improvement since your post. Since then have you received any new information? I am considering getting invisalign braces but I too am concerned about the possible toxicity of the plastic. All I can find online is that they are made out of medical grade implantable plastic, but I'm not sure if that really means they are safe.

Thank you both so much for answering me. I was off line because the invisalines really did knock me down. I don't know Matthew if you are like me with CFS, but if my body gets too beat up I get infections. I just had an eye one out of the blue. Antibs. stop me flat and I try to avoid them at all costs, but when I have to take it, it's a long recovery period.

Anyway, thanks so much for the link about dentists.

Marlena, here is what I found out about invisalines. The actual company is awful. They act like they are hiding something which makes me worry. Anything I asked they wouldn't answer and when I asked what the plastic was made up of they referred me back to my dentist. So they are useless in getting any help. I even asked how do you clean them, which is a pretty normal questions and they were defensive, and I got no real answer, my dentist told me what to do and agreed they are jerks to deal with.

As far as the actual invisalines I learned a few tricks that might help you. My dentist kept trying to figure out what I was reacting to and he decided that it comes coated with a disinfectant. He sticks my trays in this microwave type thing that cleans it. Then I take them home and degass it for a month. I put it in the sun when I can. They aren't supposed to be in the heat, but in the winter the sun isn't that hot.I wouldn't do that in the real summer. I keep them out of the plastic container it comes in and I expose it to the air for a good month and that seems to do the trick. The problem with this is it does taste like you have a plastic bottle in your mouth 24/7. I soak it in mouth wash that is chemical free and at least it has that taste to get you through. It's not a joy, but the results are amazing. If you want my e-mail address or have quuestions let me know.

Happy New Year!

Hi Lainey,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with invisalign. As you said it is difficult to find any information about it. Since your last post, I have been considering invisalign more and more, but I still can't make up my mind! I even had a consultation with a very nice orthodontist. When I asked him if he knew anything about the toxicity of the plastic, he said he has never had a patient experience a problem with it, but he believes the jury is still out as to whether any chemicals leach into the body from wearing them. I really appreciated his honesty. Apparently he thought it would only be 6-9 months of braces for me... But it is still a big expense and possibly a health risk, which I truly can not afford right now! Yet, I would love to have perfect teeth and also he said it would help my bite a bit - which could possibly prevent my night-time teeth grinding (I already wear a plastic nightguard!) - which could possibly prevent further gum recession. So those things seem important!! However, I am struggling with chronic fatigue and have lost so much I don't think I can bare to lose more!!! Any more thoughts from you or anyone else is very welcome!!

Well, I know for sure my dentist said the trays all come with a disinfectant on it. He steams it off for me in his special machine he has for cleaning night guards. I wore a night guard before all this cause I have really bad TMJ and never had a reaction, the plastic was different.

He said it's the same material of the night guard, but it wasn't. It's a much thinner plastic and I feel it's like having a plastic water bottle in your mouth 24/7. It's the same thickness as a plastic bottle.

The first few days of each new tray my CFS is horrible. I mean it takes me back to the beginning. I've had CFS since 1989 and up until this I would say I was 80% sometimes 90% with a few bad days that went away with rest. Now no matter what I do I'm in bad shape with CFS.

I started the invisalines in October and go until end of Feb. so around 4-5 months. It has completely changed me. He said it's cause the bones are moving, nerves, teeth, bite. That's a lot on your system 24/7, a lot of physical stress for us CFS'ers who react to air. I dont't know about you, but I can't even tolerate medications.

I do let the trays air out on the window sill in the sun for a good month. He gives me several trays to take home so I can do that.

Also, a real annoying side bar is I have to go in to see him every 2 wks when I get a new tray cause they have to trim it and fix areas that are ripping my mouth. Now I don't know if this was cause they didn't take a good impression or the way invisalines are.

My teeth look amazing. I was able to save 3 teeth this way, but I do worry about still having to have plastic in my mouth every night for the rest of my life. That's the thing about invisalines. You need to wear the last one the rest of your life at night to keep the bite from shifting.

So would I do it again if I had a choice? No. I feel it really hurt my CFS terribly. If there is another way for you to save a tooth I'd go that route. For the EI people step away from this big time. My EI part of CFS was gone completely over time and staying away from toxins. Who knows now with all this plastic what it has done. So far I'm okay in stores and with smells, but I'm very fog headed and confused again.

It is expensive.I'm not sure if you're going for just having nice pretty teeth or you have a problem with your tooth? I had major problems and it did fix it 100%. They are gorgeous. He wants me to bleach them. Bahahahhah I don't think so.

If it's for looks, it does work, if it's to save a tooth and you have other choices weigh them out and see cause sometimes even having metal in your mouth with the wires are worse. But these do have disfectant on them so if you do this, ask that they are washed off before you put it into your mouth, k? And don't call Invisalines. I'll save you a call. They are useless.

Hope this helps? Maybe someone else will post and you can get another opinion. We are all different.

lainey